HUNDRED ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK,

The Hundred Islands National Park (Pangasinan: Kapulo-puloan or Taytay-Bakes) is in the province of Pangasinan in northern Philippines. It is located in Alaminos City, Pangasinan. The islands (124 at low tide and 123 at high tide) are scattered along Lingayen Gulf and cover an area of 18.44 square kilometres (4,557 acres). They are believed to be about two million years old. Only three of them have been developed for tourists: Governor Island, Quezon Island, and Children's Island.

The world-famous Hundred Islands in the Philippines ranks third most favorite destination in Asia among foreign tourists, besting other more popular places in the country and in Asia.

This was the result of the latest global on-line survey conducted by the Asia Pacific Management Forum (APMF), which monitors frequented places visited by tourists.

There were 3,153 voters who participated in the online survey. Penang in Malaysia and Koh Samui in Thailand ranked first and second in the survey.

MYTHS & LEGENDS

One of the legends told by old folks who live in the area and passed on to generations of storytelling, is the story of a couple named Akong and Anita. There used to be only one island in the place where the Hundred Islands can be found today. Akong is a fisherman and his wife Anita sells the fish he catches everyday. But discontentment soon crept in Akong’s heart and thought of ways to earn money in an easier and faster way. While he went out to sea one night, Anita had a dream about an old man who visited their hut and told them that if they work hard, they will eventually get rich after three years. She shared this with her husband when he returned but he dismissed her impatiently.

One night, he set out to sea again; his first throw of the net didn’t yield any fish but the second one caught black stones the size of a man’s fist. In disgust, he threw them back to the sea, accompanied by complaints. Just then, he heard a rumbling sound and saw the waves becoming bigger, making him paddle faster towards the shore. Unbeknownst to him, the black stones he threw to the sea became islands. He died that night in his sleep. And once more, the old man appeared in Anita’s dream, telling her about the islands and the fate her husband brought upon himself. Anita just cried as she looked at her dead husband.

Another legend tells how the islands were created by man’s greed for power and other worldly things. The story goes that a kingdom just lost their king in ill health and his people were left without a leader. There were two datus from two warring tribes who are legitimate successors. They were not only rivals to the throne but rivals to the love of a princess named Liglioa who was also a ward to the kingdom’s priestess and for a mystic huge pearl which would give wealth to anyone who possesses it, but is mysteriously un-gathered from the bottom of the sea. These two rivals had been fighting for a long time now that the priestess finally consulted the ancestors and the oracle gave her what ought to be done to attain peace and unity for the whole kingdom, which she in turn instructed to the princess. Liglioa then told the two warring datus that whoever wins in the last battle shall win her hand in marriage and the pearl in the bottom of the ocean. The two datus and their tribes prepared long and hard for the upcoming sea battle and by night, bodies and swords were clashing each other. And before daybreak, something strange can be noticed on the dead warriors’ bodies and their upturned bancas. They were immobile; and soon grass began to grow on them and became a hundred small islands. The priestess then told Liglioa what happened and the truth about the huge pearl. The real pearl was Liglioa all along, sent to the people by the gods, as they foresaw that the kingdom would be without a ruler when the former king dies. The huge pearl at the bottom of the ocean was a mere illusion made to test the character of that rightful ruler. Fishermen of today still swear that a bit farther of where the islands are now, one can see the mysterious huge pearl mystically gleaming under the clear waters of the sea, beckoning, then disappearing just as swiftly as it came.

A trip to Alaminos, Pangasinan is a great diversion from urban hustle-and-bustle. Free ways, rice paddies and rustic ambience is to be beholden. A big stretch of blue sea signifies one is in Sual, Pangasinan. Big commercial ships dock on its shores in case of tropical depressions. Sual has a zigzag road resembling that of Kennon Road in Baguio City.

The costal city of Alaminos in the province of Pangasinan, where the islands is much nearer, is about five hours bus ride from Metro Manila and three hours from Baguio City. Land travel from Manila to Alaminos City is 250 kms, 4 hours by private vehicle from Manila via Camiling, Tarlac 5 ½ hours by public vehicle.

Public bus lines have scheduled rides from Manila, Baguio, Dagupan, Subic, Tarlac, and Zambales bound straight to Alaminos City and vice versa.

From downtown Alaminos City or from terminal, the Lucap Wharf is only 10 to 15minutes away by triccycle. At the wharf, one can already have a sight of the inviting islands and the best way to get there is by chartered boat. The port can serve as a parking lot for a fee. Outrigger motorized boats can be rented here to ferry you to a cluster of islands and islets collectively known as the Hundred Islands.