The sea is heaving. The waves, restless and angry, threaten to upturn our outrigger boat manned by two young Hambil locals. The boat creaks as it bobs over a deep blue bayou that stretches out to the treacherous Tablas Strait in the west. For nearly about an hour, my heart is in my throat.

Sailing to Boracay from Tablas, Romblon when the waves are rough can be a scary ordeal. The sea that separates both islands tends to get tumultuous even during summer months. They say there's a powerful current that flows from Sibuyan in the east all the way to Palawan in the west. Even local fishermen who knew these waters like the back of their hands were not spared from its menace. I remember a friend who grew up in Carabao Island telling me stories about fishing boats being washed away by these tricky waves - the hapless fishermen were found miles away in the south, near the waters of Mindoro and even as far as Palawan.

Traveling to Sibuyan, Romblon requires patience, time and long ferry ride. It's physically taxing but it's worth it.

1. They have an island called Cresta de Gallo that's uninhabited and beautiful, with white-sand beach and rich marine life.

When I think about Philippine geography - there are two things that come to mind. One is the unique map of our archipelago, and the other is Yoyoy Villame's Philippine Geography song. The melody is a little funny but its lyrics offer a primer on geography. It's probably too kitschy for your taste so you hardly recognize the song. Well, it goes something like this. From the north Batanes, Aparri, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Isabela, Cagayan Valley, Mountain Province, La Union, Baguio City. Pretty straight-forward right? But even the composer got a few things wrong.

Then down to Visayan shore/ The most tamis sugar, coconut and corn/ Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan, Antique
Palawan, Negros, Bacolod City or Dumaguete.

Clearly, Palawan isn't in the Visayas region. Oh you thought all along that it's part of Visayas? Well, time to brush up your knowledge on Philippine geography, don't you think? But don't worry, you are not alone. Yoyoy Villame isn't the only one who's not perfect when it comes to Philippine geography. Unless you have studied and memorized each nook and crany of our country, you're forgiven if you don't have any idea where Romblon is or if you mistake Iloilo for Ilocos.

But you are not forgiven for judging people and stereotyping places to the quick.