Since the COVID-19 pandemic restricted me from receiving my usual double dose of Vitamin D and Sea, it made my trip to Malamawi Beach twofold memorable—not to mention visiting the province of Basilan for the first time. As part of the Tourism Promotions Board of the Philippines’ Influencers Program aimed at promoting destinations across the country to restart an industry hit hard by the pandemic, I joined other travel writers, bloggers, and vloggers on a trip to the Zamboanga Peninsula. After spending a night in Zamboanga City, we boarded a ferry for a two-hour sea journey to Basilan. Among the places we visited upon arriving was Malamawi Beach.

It didn’t happen every day that I got to wake up in a new and unfamiliar place. Yet there I was stirring into consciousness from a deep slumber in the province of Basilan. A full day had passed since I stepped out of a ferry ship from Zamboanga, shattering my previous misconceptions about this province.

A feast of a brunch consisting of mouth-watering Tausug and Sama delicacies on a floating cottage, followed by a beachfront banquet with curacha crabs and other fresh seafood catches, made for one memorable first day in Basilan. It went without saying that I expected our lunch the next day would be equally fulfilling—and it indeed was.