Day 20: Best Survivor Location
Survivor 39-Day Challenge
I am a fan of island locations on Survivor, although the show setting up camp now for years in Fiji is kinda stale already.
Palaui Island in Sta. Ana, Cagayan, Philippines is Survivor’s best location yet. It’s the filming location of two community-acclaimed seasons of Survivor — Blood vs. Water (2013) and Cagayan (2014).
I chose this one because I’ve been there and I could share some of my photos of the island here. Besides, Palaui Island registered beautifully as well on TV.
I thought I’d share some of my interesting photos and memories from my trip to Palaui Island. My friends and I took the plane to Cagayan, took a van from Tuguegarao to Sta. Ana, and spent the night in its outskirts.
We took a tricycle to San Vicente port where we rented a boat to go and explore the island. It was a fifteen-minute tricycle ride to the port.
Upon arrival, we settled in a little cottage on Punta Verde before going off to explore the rest of the island.
The water was a little rough near the shore of Punta Verde so we needed to ride a little farther to the Pacific waters and circle back to Cape Engaño colonial lighthouse, our first stop. Going up to the lighthouse, we stumbled upon great views and familiar locations.
Next stop was the Anguib beach, where most of Cagayan challenges were done, and Blood vs. Water Day 1 first impression twist was held, according to our tour guide. It is one of the most beautiful beaches on the island, and people can actually go set up camp there for a day trip.
On the way to our last stop, we went slowly through a narrow waterway guided by lush mangroves on the sides. It was almost sundown, but it was a beautiful sight.
We also had a peek of Cagayan’s tribal council set location while navigating the mangrove waters. I’m not particularly sure if Blood vs. Water tribal council set was also built on the same location but the tour guide told us that tribal council sets were taken down almost immediately after the season concluded. No trace should be left whatsoever, as briefed. (Or maybe it was BvW’s Redemption Island set that was erected there, I’m really not sure. It’s been four years since the trip.)
Our last stop was the Crocodile Island. It was called such because of its croc-like rock formation in the middle of the Palaui waters. It was amazing as advertised. But we were there at sundown, and it was cloudy, raining on and off, so the shots were a little dim.
Sitting atop the rock formation, we could see the vastness of the island which is encapsulated by the banner photo of this entry. This island is one of the best, really.
The next day, the sun was up, thank goodness. The first thing we did early in the morning was to snorkel the Palaui waters. In between the Anguib beach and Punta Verde beach, our boat anchored and we began swimming. I was afraid to swim at first, but did it anyway and the underwater scenery was amazing. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any cameras or equipment to take underwater shots.
I was stung by a jellyfish after that, however. Luckily, it wasn’t that bad that I didn’t need to nurse the injury that much.
And we continued to explore the island even more. Our next stop was the expansive Punta Verde shore on our way to the Baratubot Falls.
The highlight of the trip was our trek to Siwangag Cove, which was the Aparri tribe beach and eventually became the merged tribe Solarrion beach.
There are two options to go to the cove, actually — one is trekking from the other side of the island and two is the usual boat ride. My friends and I decided to trek, just to have a different route and experience.
The thing was it’s already past midday and our tour guides were hesitant to just say no to us because of how enthusiastic we were with our decision to trek a literal jungle. The tour guides should have said no. Why? Read on.
There were snakes hissing while we walked through the woods, and we could hear them slither away. It was scary and exhilarating at the same time. I wasn’t able to stop and take pictures because I felt it’s too dangerous deep into the jungle already. While walking, I remember turning to one of our tour guides and asked if we were going to trek back to our cottage. She answered no and she’s contacting a boat to fetch us from the cove.
Towards the end, I saw some familiar trees, I wasn’t sure which though was the location of the super idol.
In the end, we made it through the trek and got to see Siwangag Cove, quite living the dream of being able to camp for a while where the Aparri/Solarrion tribe lived during the game.
It was almost sundown when we arrived at the cove. Our guides caught an injured octopus upon arrival (which I thought would be our dinner due to what transpired after). It was a delight to stay there, swim in the waters, walk on the pebbly shore. Well, after all that, there’s not much to do.
I noticed one of our tour guides walking to the end of the cove for at least the fourth time. I asked the other guide who was with us the whole time, “what’s he doing up there?” “Getting a good cell signal, he couldn’t reach the boatmen who’ll fetch us here,” she answered. At that point, I was like calm on the outside but hysterical on the inside silently screaming “Oh no, we’re going to be stranded here for the night???” When I told my friends about the situation, we were all laughing at each other. “That’s it, we’re on Survivor,” one said. I was like “Should we start gathering woods and try to make a fire?” Another resounding laughter from all of us ensued.
Be careful what you wish for ‘cause you just might get it.
Just when the dark was starting to set in we truly realized we could really end up spending the night on that beach. Probably sleeping in the dirt, with no fire, food, or water. We were about to be stranded. Luckily, after about four hours of waiting, we saw a boat approaching the beach. It was a slow approach, however, because from the moment we saw it, it took like half an hour for the boat to be actually on the Siwangag shore, so the sun was almost completely gone. We were navigating the Pacific waters with literally just the stars as our guide (well, the boatmen’s guide for that matter) back to our cottage.
It is one of the most memorable days of my life.
We had to leave the island early the next day, as our flight back to Manila was at noon. But I would not let the beautiful sunrise pass by without seeing it. I woke up much earlier than calltime and went outside, sat by the Punta Verde shore and watch the sunrise in one of, if not the best and most beautiful Survivor location ever.
Runner-up: Koror, Palau – Palau (2005) & Micronesia (2008)
