Canibad: Hidden Paradise No More

It has been four long years since I set foot in one of Samal’s beautiful beach – Canibad Cove. I’m not going to say “best” because the place that time was far from those other beaches that offer luxury to their guest with their nice and comfortable rooms and cottages.

I was with my office mates when I went there. I was excited because I will be able to explore another beach from Samal. I had a work a night before and did not have enough sleep prior to our trip but it did not stop me from being overly excited to discover a new place that many have been calling “the secret paradise”.

We left Davao as early as 6am but we reach Samal at around 7am because we needed to wait for other passengers for the bangka. When we got off, our jeepney was already waiting, ready to take us to the beautiful Canibad Cove. Good thing that we rented a jeepney going there because the road was bumpy and the travel time was 1 hour and 30 minutes! You can also opt to ride the bus going to Samal then just hop off to the terminal at Central Warehouse Club. From there a lot of single motorcycles are waiting to take to you Canibad Cove, just prepare your wallet though because you will be charged for a hefty amount of cash.

After the bumpy and dusty ride, finally we reach the secret paradise. I was ready to get my feet soak in the water but I have to wait for a little longer because we needed to walk downhill for another 15 minutes or so! It rained a night before so you can just imagine how slippery it was going down. I know that we were almost there because I can already hear the sound of the waves crashing to shore and the familiar smell of the ocean breeze.

It was around 10am when finally reach our destination. It was true after all! Canibad is truly a secret paradise, untouched by modernization and commercialization. There were no luxurious rooms, no restaurants, no abundant supply of water, and there was no network signal; there was only a white sand beach with crystal clear waters. Looking around the beach, all you could see are mountains covering the whole place. This is the place that I want to go when I want to run away from all the stress that city life brings.

But that was four years ago!

Today, Canibad Cove is a highly commercialized beach where you have to pay for almost every thing you do (even taking photos from the other end of the beach). There are already decent room accommodations for a comfortable over night stay. There’s entertainment courtesy of several videoke machines. There's a constant increase in the number of people going there every day.

The tranquility of the beach is slowly fading thanks to rowdy beach goers.

Apologies for the photos as I was not blessed to have a high end camera when we went there...