Hagnaya is the jump-off point to one of the Philippines' finest beach, Bantayan Island. In this sleepy town of San Remigio located in the northern part of the Cebu mainland, I learned a very valuable lesson, that patience is indeed a virtue. We left Cebu Northern Terminal at around 5:00 AM and arrived in Haganya Port at 7:30 AM missing the 7:00 AM ferry ride. They said that the next ferry will leave at 9:30 AM, so its a good 2 hours wait in the port area. Kathy and I spent those hours touring Hagnaya while munching sinugba and puso (rice inside weaved coconut leaves). We were back in the port before 9:00AM just to learn the the 9:30AM ferry was cancelled. Tension builds as passengers await for confirmation if the next ferry (at 10:30AM, will sail. Announcements had been made that all trips are cancelled for today due to the bad weather. Most of the passengers left the port, disappointed. We decided to stay and I talked with the coast guard asking for instructions on how to go to Malapascua. Kathy was speaking with some locals and they told her that the same incident happened yesterday and they resumed trips in the afternoon. We decided to wait... and wait, after 5 hours of waiting and tons of grilled food, they announced that the ferries will resume operation at 1:00 PM. Kathy bought the tickets (with much pushing and shoving involved due to the volume of people eagerly waiting for that trip). We arrived in Bantayan at 3:00 PM. I will never forget this town due to this incident.

As an advice for everyone planning a trip to Bantayan, it is better to go there during summer. Be prepared if you find yourself going there during the rainy seasons especially if there is a tropical storm in the area because they really cancel ferry trips for days.

Hagnaya Port, San Remigio, Cebu