By YOLANDA L. PUNZALAN
IF one has to be marooned on an island, it is his great fortune if it happens to be in Balesin.
The stranded would not only be surrounded by nature’s beauty but also man’s magnificent creations.
Situated in the municipality of Polillio, Quezon Province, it is the landmass between the deep green Pacific Ocean and the fish-wealthy Lamon Bay.Owned and managed by Roberto Ongpin’s Alphaland Corporation, the 424-hectare the island used to be owned by property businessman and pilot Edgardo Tordesillas, formerly vice-chairman of the Board of Investments in the 70s.
Alphaland transformed the verdant isle into seven international tourist havens, each beckoning the privileged members and guests of this time-sharing club to supremely furnished stately manors and beach houses, replicating the playgrounds of cosmopolitan tourists: St. Tropez (France), Mykonos (Greece), Costa del Sol (Spain), Bali (Indonesa). Phuket (Thailand) and the Balesin Village. Sardinia of Italy is scheduled to be put up next year. There is an Ifugao Village, inhabited by Ifugao natives hard at work right there as they are commissioned to produce the furniture requirements and woodcarving ornaments for the island’s hotel rooms. These Ifugaos can also be hired and brought by any interested client anywhere in the Philippines if their artistry is needed for their homes. The same also goes for any foreign client who may want to bring an excellent furniture maker to his own country so that the Ifugao can be his artist in residence.
Balesin is refreshingly charming during the day- from the time that a garland of pandakaki blooms with a shell pendant are offered to you upon disembarking from the E. Tordesillas Airport -and enchanting at night, when the island is jeweled up by thousands of stars fantastically bright. The blueness of heaven’s dome even at night is evident because of the stars’ brilliance. Vincent van Gogh, who defined religion as “to go out and paint the stars” would have loved Balesin.
Folklore says Balesin is a contraction of two words: the balete and “asin” (salt). The lore is that fishermen out in the sea would see the island’s abundant foliage, mostly balete trees, appearing to be planted on fields of salt.
Amidst Balesin’s impressive architecture , the center of attention is still the giant balete tree, whose age vary from 150 to 300 years. It is soooo huge. It will take about 20 adults with hands extending, holding each other to surround the tree. It stands proudly lifting its whole crown to the sky, so majestic and reverence- inspiring.
The area around the Balete is now called the Banyan Tree Park, the perfect place to do yoga meditation (just like the Buddha’s enlightenment beginnings), or for themed parties like the recently held zombie-crazed Halloween event.
Life on the island is far from slow. A beehive of activity, from daybreak, when uniformed gardeners are toiling and maintaining the greens. The club staff and drivers are on round the clock duty. At the crack of light, the airstrip is occupied with arrivals of guests. Balesin can be reached by its clientele thru three types of light planes, Jetstream, Dornier and Cessna and the 94-seater Magnum Air Sky.Transportation costs seven thousand pesos, round trip.
The nine hundred workers on the island come from the Balesin island itself or from other provinces, And they are transported via Lamon Bay on big boats. On peak holidays and long weekends, the golfcarts that ferry guests from village to village become insufficient, and several vans have to be brought here from Real, Quezon to service the holidaymakers around the island.
There are no animals on the prowl, domesticated or wild for the safety of everyone who prefers to go around the island on foot, horseback or bicycle,open golfcarts or Segway. The only animals in abundance are birds who show off their baritone calls in various tones, the fresh fish of the bay, and small island insects one can use as specimens of a biological trivia game, something like “Name This Insect”.
Competing with this tapestry , atop the trees , on twilights from November to December are swarms, armies of fireflies with silver fires. On other nights, what are visible are the golden-blazed.
Some dare to catch them with the intent of keeping them in bottles so they could bring home to
City dwellers who never see these incandescent charmers anymore. Island visitors overwhelmed by the rare sight can only whisper God’s name.