Bantayan Island: blessings of light (Madjestic Madridejos)

Kota Park - Madridejos Bantayan Island Cebu

Majestic Madridejos – Cebu’s northern Sentinel

What: The town of Madridejos

Where: Bantayan Island Cebu

What to expect: the other face of Bantayan, rocky shores and windblown coastline facing the Visayan sea.

Madridejos Town Arch

The town of Madridejos is at the western tip of the Province of Cebu. Having one of the best sunsets in Cebu and a beautiful rocky windswept landscape make Madridejos a must visit for any traveler looking for a cut away from bustling city lifestyle. Dried fish and fresh food are a must try in this town where fishing is the primary source of income. It also is the location for Kota Park, an old Spanish lookout famous for its romantic allure and popularity amongst wedding photos.

cornfields in madridejos

The town features a lifestyle of simplicity and the comfort of enjoying time. Most of the towns 23.95 square kilometers is covered by either corn fields or poultry farms. The inhabitants of the town usually wake up in the wee hours of the morning to start work and can be seen waiting for the 1^st trip bound for Sta. Fe as early as 4am. In 1942 the town was occupied by the Japanese and was liberated by Ameriacan-Filipino force in 1945. It is best to visit Madridejos to experience their town fiesta every December 8. Grabbing something to eat isn’t really a problem any time of day since there is a bakery that is open 24 hours in the center of town. Roaming around the distinct things that you will notice when walking around the town are; the abundant bulad / buwad ( dried fish ) being sold and dried out in beds, I’ve written a separate article on this HERE. Another is the influence of Spanish architecture in the local ancestral houses that are still standing despite the winds that assault the town every night.

simplistic island lifestyle

The coastlines of Madridejos are a mix of coral and jagged limestone rocks sculpted by the relentless winds blowing from the Visayan sea. These winds are usually howling in the night made it hard for me to sleep. The coastline however is rocky, jagged and dangerous for those who are inexperienced in scaling and leaping around the rocks. While shooting there the wind was making it hard to shoot, since it was making the tripod shake. The rocks that you step on are filled with moss and seaweed so make sure to gear up properly to make your shooting experience favorable. Stories of the locals handed down from their fathers depict a very different Madridejos coastline. They say that the quality of the beach is as good as Sta. Fe but due to constant boat landings and human erosion the beaches are now a shadow of what it used to be. Here it goes! I’ll be attaching some pictures

jagged rocky coastline

windswept grass and trees carve the coast

at Lawis Madridejos Cebu

a former house (lower right) devastated by wind and tide

Kota Park

Kota Park is a Spanish lookout in the northern portion of Cebu that was made by the Spaniard in 1740. The fort primarily focused in protecting the villagers from Moro raids of stealing children for the slave trade. The materials used for the construction of the walls are coral, red sugar, sand, egg whites and lime. After the Spanish left the country the park was used as a public cemetery during the 1800’s to the 1900’s. During the Second World War 34 Japanese prisoners of war were executed inside the bastion in 1945. Now Kota Park is a beautiful ocean view park managed by the local government. Most of the town’s ancestors are buried in this historical landmark. Unfortunately squatters have invaded the back part of the park and can be seen from the watchtower afar. As I’ve been shooting on the shores it’s very noticeable that human trash and debris washed on the shore. I do hope that the local government would take some action in this case. Recently an Indian Rubber Tree otherwise known to the locals as a “Balete” tree has been found encroaching on top of one of the pillars of the structure and is endangering the landmark. Here come the pictures!

the walkway to the watchtower of Kota Park

the old spanish bastion

the indian rubber tree endangering the landmark

Kota Park at dusk

squatters have errected shanties on park soil

underneath the walkway

sunset colors in Kota Park

lights illuminate the walkway in the evening

Romantic Kota Park in the evening

For some reason I like the town of Madridejos and if find the time I spent there to be very short in consideration of fully photographing the beauty of this town. In the future I will definitely return to this majestic place hoping that next time I will be blessed by beautiful light and cooperative weather. The town is best explored via motorcycle or by bicycle, since most roads are still not paved with concrete of asphalt.

best explored via motorcycle

I hope you had an interesting read about the town of Madridejos. Since this is a photo blog most of my friends consider it “wordy” for a photo blog. Anyway I hope you follow my next articles in the future. Till then!