Kwebang Lampas

Kwebang Lampas
13° 53.077N 121° 45.117E

	The place derived its name from a rock formation which forms part of a cove in Brgy. Ibabang Polo in the southern part of Pagbilao Grande Island.  Continuing wave action has sculpted the rock into a lovely and unique cave. The beach is bounded by the property of Lu kang, an old time chinese. Some locals call the place by that name. Lu kang's caretakers charge Php10.00 per head for keeping the place trash free. Three-walled cottages may be rented from Php200 to 400. Hover your mouse over the pictures to know more: View of the cove from the cave View of the wave in the cave How to get there? A simpler way known to outsiders is to hire a boat from Brgy. Bantigue. But there is a way of reaching the place via dry land: From Pagbilao, just follow the National Highway going to Atimonan. The first Y-junction, a few hundred meters after KM 146 and just infront of Binahaan Elementary School, is the access road to Mirant Pagbilao Coal-fired Power Plant (an Independent Power Producer). It is marked by an impressive modern directional sign which looks out of place in a rural setting. So follow that sign which tells you to take the junction to the right. Just a few meters therein will be a railroad crossing without a safety barrier, so stop, look and listen. You will notice that the road's kilometer posts are not related to the ones in the main highway. Be watchful of road humps strategically placed at school zones, barangay centers, pedestrian crossings and dirt road junctions. The concrete road passes thru Brgy. Binahaan. Then, going across the Spillway over Locohin River will take you thru a winding and rolling road within Brgy. Kanlurang Malicboy. In the vicinity of KM8, you can leave the Island of Luzon without having to fly or to swim, because Quipot Bridge was there to join Brgy. Kanlurang Malicboy in the Luzon mainland and Brgy. Ilayang Polo in Pagbilao Grande Island. Then, more of winding and rolling road will lead you to Sito Capalos in Brgy. Ibabang Polo where the main entrance of the Power Plant is located. By now, you have driven 15km from the junction at Binahaan. Sitio Capalos also hosts the jeepney terminal a few meters before the plant entrance gate. Jeepneys regularly ply the Capalos-Pagbilao-Lucena route for those who do not have a private transport. From Capalos, there are two routes. First is if you got prior permission to go thru the plant premises (getting permission on the spot could not be possible, no one among the guards can decide). The second route is by going around the plant's perimeter fence. The first route is easy if you have obtained prior permission. After security check at the plant's main entrance, follow the fence to your left until you find another gate. That gate is the service gate for the Cooling Water Outfall Canal. This is where the sea water used to condense the plant's steam is allowed to cool down before returning to the sea (sounds good for the environmentalists?). Follow the dirt road on the Canal's left side. The end of the Outfall Canal Road is the farthest your vehicles can go, if you were allowed to go thru the service gate. Otherwise, you may have to walk from the service gate an additional 330m to the end of the Outfall. For the second route, face the police detachment at the corner near the plant gate, then follow the road to your left. Starting from concrete, the road will become asphalt, then broken asphalt, then gravel road. About 670m from the police detachment will be a junction where you should turn left. After another 355m, turn right at the next junction. Then, follow the road for another 935m, which passes thru cogonal area. Stop when you reach a residential area. That is the farthest your vehicle can go and you have to pay a Php100 parking fee as a sign on a tree says. You will find out that you are just outside the fence of the Power Plant. Walk alongside the fence. There is one part of the fence where you have to make a 180 degree turn and keep on following a trail with the fence to your right until you reach the service gate described in the first route. From parking area to the gate is 240m plus another 330m to the end of the outfall. That means a total of 570m additional walk compared to the first route From hereon, no matter which route you take, the direction will be similar: From the end of the Outfall Canal, turn 90degrees left, pass over a short stretch of sandy beach. Then find a trail in a grassy area. The trail passes thru jagged rocks. (Without those rocks, it would have been possible to get our bikes thru.)My 550 paces (1.4 paces per meter) measured the trail to be about 400meters. Thus taking the second route will give you a 970m brisk exercise. Now, if you have to rely on public transport and have to walk all the way from the police detachment, that would give you almost three kilometers. The walk, no matter how long or short, will be rewarded with this view:
	Not only for a good view but for a nice swim too.
	The distances featured in the narratives were obtained using a handlebar-mounted cyclocomputer, which was later calibrated using the access road's kilometer posts. Results may not be accurate due to the difference in road surface conditions in the measured distance and the calibrated distance. See Kwebang Lampas feature on waypoints.ph Photos and Narratives by  Engr. Gerry B. Lontok ©2002