When I heard the name Virgin Island, my mind conjured up a picture of pristine white sand, beautiful untouched waters, and a feeling of adventure and solitude. But such expectations rarely fail to disappoint you. Or rather, don't believe too much what the locals there tell tourists just to get money out of you, which I've experienced a few times there.
We were brought to Virgin Island by our boatman after snorkeling around Balicasag Island (my best snorkeling experience ever! It was as if I'd had discovered Underwater World - a world filled with the most amazing array of colourful marine life.), as part of our island hopping tour, which also included a disappointing wild dolphin watching time, with NO dolphins. To think that we woke up at 5 am just for that. We were so miffed that we didn't have the mood for snorkeling at Balicasag at first, until we were drawn by the excited shouts of other snorkelers.
Virgin Island in reality was littered with trash (perhaps because it was during low tide that we went), prowled by touters selling drinks and pearls that looked fake for 50-100 pesos (cheap, but why do I want to buy fake pearls that are uneven in shape and size?), and not conducive for swimming. Although the water was clear, you could see and feel a lot of seaweed, which could land you into a very tangly spot!
But I was lucky that I was able to get some good shots of locals fishing for sea urchins (日本人が大好きなウニ!）and sea cucumbers and got to touch them too on the "untouched" Virgin Island.
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