Now I can say I was there. I am referring to what could be the most beautiful place in Eastern Visayas – Calicoan Island in Guiuan, Eastern Samar.

Oh yes, I’ve been there before, many times in fact.

But it is a different and much better setting now because of its amenities and the tour packaging they have started to do, including the Aquaculture and Nature Park where you can enjoy being in lush greeneries (with monkeys loitering all around), then into a set of ponds where you can order bangus and tiger prawns (and eat them right there, or bring home as pasalubong). And the trek up 107 steps to a Sai Shanti Yoga Sanctuary to a porch that provides a panoramic view the island and the Pacific.

There are several other places to go like San Antonio de Padua Church in Barangay Sulangan, a favorite pilgrimage destination for many Samareños and Leyteños. (Now under renovation so it can accommodate probably double its existing capacity).

The star of it all, of course, is Surf Camp with its “infinity pool” that uses seawater and has the picturesque waves of the Pacific Ocean as a breathtaking background. Surf Camps “Boardwalk” is a place that defies description. Let me just say, it is the most beautiful beachside structure I have ever been to. (A guest who was in our delegation said Calicoan and Surf Camp offers a much better view than Bali, Indonesia).

Going inside the Surf Camp, however, requires an appointment through their Cebu Office. (No walk-in check-ins). By the way guests stay in villas and cottages which are designed to match the natural setting, very spacious and comfortable.

What are the best things to do at the Surf Camp? At least two: (a) swim in the infinity pool and (b) just lie down on one of the reclining chairs by the pool and think of nothing; look at the sky and the waves. Close your eyes and listen to the droves of waves splashing upon kilometers and kilometers of coral reef.

It’s that invigorating.

My congratulations to those who made Calicoan Island what it is today and what it will be in the near future.

(Filipinos, Korean, and Chinese investors will be putting up hotels and resorts very soon).

We can expect regular flight to Guiuan from Cebu and Manila, probably by 2009 and, even direct from Korea and China by 2010. The airport will be ready for wide-bodied planes by then (remember that the Guiuan airport was used by heavy bombers in 1944).

How’s that for promoting tourism? More on Calicoan in next week’s column.