Eastern Visayas welcomed on Sunday a luxury cruise ship with 490 German guests who explored Leyte’s Kalanggaman Island.
Passengers of MS Europa 2 explored the 6.8-hectare picturesque island in this town.
The destination is 15 kilometers away from the town center of Palompon and can be reached from mainland Leyte through a 40-minute boat ride.
Kalanggaman, derived from the Visayan word “langgam” (bird), has a bird-shaped feature when viewed from above due to the prominence of its sandbars that look like bird wings, spreading in the middle of the sea.
During their day-long stay on the island, the guests enjoyed their activities like swimming, sunbathing, and stand-up paddle.
Students and teachers of the Taberna National High School welcomed and greeted them with dance performances. A local band played bossa nova songs for the guests.
Aside from the guests, MS Europa 2 crews like Claudine Sieras, a native of Bulacan and who has been working in the company for 10 years, also enjoyed their stay in Kalanggaman.
The cruise ship has visited Kalanggaman five times already, but this is her first time setting foot on the island.
“I am proud as a Filipino because we’re able to show to foreigners the beauty of our islands,” Sieras said.
After staying one day in Kalanggaman, the ship headed to Boracay Island. Prior to its cruise call in Leyte, the ship visited Bohol province.
DOT Eastern Visayas regional director Karina Rosa Tiopes said two other cruise ships are scheduled to make stops in the region this year. These are the Heritage Adventurer and Coral Geographer.
Although the number of cruise calls is less compared to previous years, Tiopes said, they are still excited because there are more places included in their itinerary.
“Among the reasons why we are focusing on expedition cruises is because this helps us in attracting local, domestic, or foreign guests to look at our region. It is one way to tell the world that there are many destinations, several destinations, especially in Eastern Visayas, that you have never heard about, but when you see them, especially when foreign tourists are saying that they are beautiful, others would also aspire to go there,” Tiopes told the Philippine News Agency.
Aside from Kalanggaman Island, other sites in the region that are now included in the list of cruise destinations are Limasawa Island and Padre Burgos in Southern Leyte; Cuatro Islas, Tacloban City, and Palo town in Leyte province; the islands of Sambawan, Maripipi, and Higatangan in Biliran province; and Biri Island, Capul Island, and Lalaguna Mangrove Eco-Park in Northern Samar.
The DOT said it continues searching for more sites in the region that may be included in cruise ship visits to allow guests to have more choices of what to do when coming to the region. (PNA)
