Aboard a van running at moderate speed, we reached the municipality of Estancia, the ideal jump-off point for Sicogon Island, an hour after leaving Roxas City Airport. As we waited for our speedboat at the port, I ventured into the fish market and marveled at the vast array of dried seafood being sold across numerous stalls. Our guide Melanie Ortega informed me that Estancia is renowned as the hub of commercial fishing in the country, drawing comparisons to Alaska in the early 1900s due to the extensive fishing activities in the area brought about by the large presence of marine life in the waters of Visayas Sea.

Home in the island: Huni Sicogon with Mount Opao in the background

Cutting through the mountains and hillsides of Samar from east to west, the 90-kilometer Ulot River, the longest river in Samar, is a thing of beauty. Surrounded by verdant forest and limestone karsts featuring dramatic rock formations, clear cascading waters stream through a setting that conceals a vast network of cave systems, including the Langun-Gobingob Cave, widely regarded as the biggest in the country and itself, the river once known as a distribution channel for illegal logging has now become an emerging adventure tourism destination.

Group shot at Deni's Point of Ulot River