Story & photos by Lualhati Faurillo Perez
It isn’t hard to fathom why Masbate is regarded the Philippines’s cowboy land. Situated off the Bicol mainland, the province is the country’s “Rodeo Capital” with its vast cattle ranches and the telltale cowboys who tame the herd.
Every summer, cowboys (and cowgirls) from all over the country converge in the provincial capital of Masbate City to show off their skills, such as lassoing, bull riding, whipping and carambola, among others.
Come April 12 to 16, Masbate will bristle once more with Texan-themed adventure, as it holds the Rodeo Masbateño Festival.
A much-awaited event is the Cattle Drive, where scores of cows are let loose in the streets of Masbate City to chase pedestrians, akin to the popular Bull Run in San Ferminez, Spain.
Spectators can get a feel of this one-of-a-kind festival fever by dressing up in a checkered long sleeves, leather vests, jeans, boots and Western-style wide-brimmed hats. Visitors can tour the sprawling cattle ranches, where they can be cowboys even for a few fleeting moments by learning to ride a horse, lasso a cow and other skills of the trade.
Masbate Gov. Vince Revil said the rodeo is their unique way of luring visitors to showcase its country-ranch lifestyle and its best-kept natural wonders. He said that beyond its “Wild Wild West” peg, the province is an exciting travel frontier, especially for beach bums who want to bask in uncrowded shores.
The province is a part of the Albay-Masbate-Sorsogon (Almasor) travel cluster crafted by the Department of Tourism Region 5, which seeks to boost visitor arrivals in the Bicol region.
Just a few minutes from the city is Buntod Sandbar, a 251-hectare reef marine sanctuary which boasts of a 200-meter stretch of white sand and mangrove forest. You can snorkel in the glassy sea, paddle a native banca or kayak around the sandbar.
Managed by the Masbate City government and a fisherfolk organization, it has been awarded the Para El Mar Best Marine Sanctuary by the Marine Science Network.
Further down south in Balud town is the Palani Beach, a wide cove in a sleepy shore reminiscent of Boracay’s raw allure. With only a handful of resorts in a vast expanse, you can play beach-ball games, go bamboo rafting, row a dugout canoe, or idly laze on the cabanas to gaze at the sunset.
Along the way is Fazenda de Esperanza in Milagros town, an agricultural retreat and halfwayhouse for victims of substance abuse preparing reintegration into society. Literally meaning “farms of hope,” this is a visually refreshing pitstop with the undulating mountain ranges, which conjure of pastoral Alpine images. You can cool off with flavored cow’s milk or take home organic farm produce and native souvenirs to help fund the institution.
Up north in the northern point of Dimasalang town is Porta Vega, which offers an unparalleled stunning view of the dusk and the moonrise in a milelong stretch of uninhabited fine-sand beach.
If you can’t get enough of the sand and sea, you can hide off to the nearby Ticao Island, whose iconic spot is the postcard-pretty Catandayagan Falls, with gushing waters emanating from a cliff and droping directly into the sea.
Nearby is Burubangcaso Islet, which boasts of talcum fine sand, crystalline water and a huge monolithic rock. It is among the chain of islands in Masbate that you can almost call your own because of the absence of the madding crowd.
Tucked in Ticao’s northern portion is Halea Nature Park, a hidden placid cove teeming with aquatic life. Named after a mythical character of Bicol folklore, the marine sanctuary is beautifully framed by limestone rocks and patches of sleepy shores.
On the other side of the island is the Manta Bowl of Ticao Pass, the habitat of the manta rays and where butanding (whale sharks), the world’s biggest fishes, occasionally stray from their feeding grounds in Donsol, Sorsogon. You can also go scuba diving at the Ticao Island Resort and foray into the world of these amazing underwater creatures.
This is Masbate—a mesmerizing blend of cowboys and beaches.