Lakawon meets Boracay challenge

A TOURIST attraction in northern

Negros may soon give Boracay Island

a run for its money.

The challenger is Lakawon, a 15-hectare banana-shaped island

about three kilometers off Cadiz City.

Few people have heard of the island, but ''Lonely Planet,'' a book

circulated internationally for travelers, has already included the

pristine islet and its shifting white sands among the places

worth seeing in the Philippines.

''Nature has provided Lakawon with a gorgeous white beach

consisting of coarse coral sand and the island is covered with

palm trees and in places dense bushes,'' Lonely Planet says.

Lakawon, unlike Boracay, will not be commercialized, according

to Victor Puey, who manages a family-owned resort on the islet.

While more cottages have been built at the resort to

accommodate families and groups, and air-conditioned rooms

have been planned, Puey says they intend to keep Lakawon a

wholesome place to stay.

Conventions and seminars can be held on the island, but Puey

says, ''We want to keep it an island for families.''

Aside from its vast expanse of white sand, Lakawon has clear

blue-green waters free of coliform (disease-causing bacteria).

As one approaches the island in a pumpboat, speedboats and

jetskis brought in by resort visitors take a break from

high-speed fun at sea.

Other guests enjoy windsurfing. Children frolic in the sea as a

lifeguard keeps watch. A net prevents them from straying into

deeper waters.

The well-lighted beach front allows visitors to enjoy swimming

under the moonlight and to spread sleeping bags on the sand.

Many foreigners and local tourists have found Lakawon an

alternative destination to Boracay, Puey says. It takes only an

hour's drive from Bacolod City and a 15-minute pumpboat ride

from Barangay Cadiz Viejo in Cadiz to reach Lakawon. Travel

time is much longer for those going to Boracay.

Rooming rates are also a lot cheaper (P1,400 for an overnight

stay at a cottage that can accommodate 10 people) in Lakawon.

Deliciously cooked seafoods, like crabs, fish, squids and

seashells, are reasonably priced. Along the beach front are

trampoline tents that can be moved into the water by people

who want to enjoy a good meal while feeling the sea on their

feet.

Lakawon is one of those few places in the world that are free of

the boundaries of time and responsibility, says Puey.