Spending the morning at Taggat Lagoon we decided to spend the afternoon on the eastern side of Claveria where the legendary rock of Ubing-ubing can be found at Sentinela Beach. We took the services of Mang Pedro again after lunch and his tricycle zoomed through the hilly road taking around 15 minutes before we left the paved road to head to the beach. We reached Sentinela Beach and was pleased by its rugged beauty.
We immediately set out to explore Sentinela Beach from corner to corner. Starting from the rocky east trailing the crushed coral shores of the beach and finding a river connecting to the sea. There we found a family enjoying the more manageable waves and depth of the river where kids can easily wade through. There we spotted Ubing-ubing standing grand like a sentinel which may also be why the beached was named so.
A few more kids were running and climbing the Ubing-ubing rock to jump to the waters on what looks like a large passageway where the river and sea meet. From hereon the landscape is more rugged, with defined lines and formations sculpted by the crashing waves. There is also a huge cave nearby but we didn’t dare to explore as Mang Pedro told us that once they found snakes inside.
The low-peak of the 100-meter hill they call Bantay Kalbo (Bald Watcher) was too easy not to climb. The hill got its name from its bald like peak which overlooks the whole cove of the beach. Peeking through the other side is a long wide stretch of another beach I didn’t get the name which. Opposite Bantay Kalbo is a cliff with a tower standing distinctly like a knife cutting through the sky. We stayed up the hill for a while enjoying the wind and the views.
Clouds seems to converge heavily on the horizon threatening the light we were hoping would burst for the sunset. Either way we went to our preferred places along the rocky shores to take some landscapes despite the bleak sky. It was a sudden turn of weather from the sunny afternoon we came in to the impending rain towards the evening. We shot what we can of the scenery with gloomy skies. It did show how quick the weather in this region can change. I think we were blessed to have a few days of sun since Claveria is known to always have a downpour.
We did left the beach as it started to drizzle and we were grateful to have finally seen this very nice beach. As much as we wanted to return to Sentinela the next day, it was our last full day in Claveria as the next day we’ll be moving along to who knows where. The rain poured heavily that evening.
Ferdz Decena is an award-winning travel photographer, writer and blogger. His works has found print in publications such as Singapore Airlines’s Silver Kris, Philippine Airlines’ Mabuhay, Cebu Pacific’s Smile and Seair InFlight. He has also lent his expertise to various organizations like the Oceana Philippines, Lopez Group Foundation, Save the Children and World Vision, contributing quality images for their marketing materials.
