There it is again. That pull. That inviting feeling. The appeal. The beguiling allure. Bantayan Island. There is something about this place, something strange, even mystic. I have gone through so many phases in my life and this island has witnessed many of them. I even intentionally ended and started some of the phases of my life on this island.
I visit Bantayan Island almost every year, and one thing I never miss out on is the sunset in Kota Beach. Each time I look at the sunset, I'm a different person--a poor skinny boy, a drunk heartbroken man, a struggling young professional, a hopeful romantic, a long-haired bulky guy. Never the same. Always changing. But still entirely me. Like a sunset, never the same, sometimes subtle, other times fiery-red, but ultimately still the sunset.
Maybe I will get tired of the island. Maybe the time will come when I won't want to go back there again. Maybe the white-sand beaches will no longer be beautiful in my eyes. Or the land trips around the island will be boring and predictable. Maybe, just maybe. But until then, Bantayan Island will always have its power over me, regardless of who I will be.
So for now, I will revel in its white sand beach, its soft waves, its pastel late afternoon skies, its glorious hints of the sunset over the coconut trees, and the sudden change in the hues until everything turns a mixture of pink, orange, amber, red, yellow... And you can't help but be moved. Be pulled. Be beguiled. Something about it so strange, even mystic. The Bantayan Island Sunset.
