'Survivor' town remote but not isolated

MANILA, Philippines - Mention Camarines Sur, and instantly Naga City and Pili town come to mind. Naga is known for Peñafrancia, the biggest Marian festival held in September, while Pili, the provincial capital, is home to the CamSur Watersports Complex, venue for wakeboarding competitions.

Of late, another municipality has been gaining prominence, thanks to an international TV show. Caramoan is a favorite shooting location for various editions of “Survivor,” the game-format reality series wherein contestants are isolated in the wilderness. 

This obscure town has hosted the French, Israeli, Bulgarian, Swedish and Dutch editions of the show.

Caramoan is a fourth-class municipality located at the tip of the Caramoan Peninsula on the lower eastern part of Camarines Sur. Its topography, characterized by a rugged coastline and rocky terrain, has that untamed, primitive feel that’s just perfect for “Survivor.” A few islets surround the peninsula.

Despite its international fame, however, Camaroan remains largely unfamiliar to Filipinos. For one thing, it has long been eclipsed by Naga and Pili. And then, getting there can be a challenge — not unlike being on “Survivor,” on a smaller scale. 

To get there, one may take a 50-minute flight from Manila to Naga, then travel by bus or van for an hour through the countryside to the tiny port of San Jose town.

There, a motorized boat ferries passengers to Caramoan two to three times every morning, weather permitting. The trip takes about two hours.

“The boat ride can be tough. The waves are rough, and it’s often raining,” says Julieta Boringot, who makes the trip twice a week. “But it has become a regular part of my life, much like how I would take the bus or the jeep if I were elsewhere.”

Boringot, who lives in the town of Goa, teaches Filipino at the Partido State University, located in the heart of the Caramoan main island. She goes to Caramoan every Monday morning and goes back to her hometown on Saturdays.

(Thankfully she is able to monitor the household via her Smart cellphone, even during the two hours or so she is at sea.)

The boat from San Jose docks at Guijalo, where one completes the journey to Caramoan via a 30-minute tricycle ride to the Gota Village Beach Resort.

The gateway to the rest of the Caramoan islands, Gota Village is also the jump-off point of “Survivor” contestants.

“Every time a ‘Survivor’ edition chooses to shoot here in Caramoan, Gota Village starts buzzing with activity, because this is where the production crew sets camp, while the contestants are thrown into one of the wilder islands,” says Jovi Villareal, executive assistant of Gov. Luis Raymund “L-Ray” Villafuerte Jr.

Considering Caramoan’s remote location, setting up shop to conduct a months-long shoot that entails a massive communications network across all sorts of channels, with a global workforce, can be daunting.

How on earth does Gota Village keep the “Survivor” production crew connected to the rest of the world?

“Despite the hills and mountains surrounding Gota Village — that used to keep even cellular coverage impossible — we have high-speed Internet connectivity here,” says Villareal. “We provide wireless connectivity to every room in the resort, and from the common areas all the way down to the beach area, through many units of Smart Bro Pocket Wi-Fi.”

Smart is the only operator with cellular and data coverage in Gota Village, and in most of the rest of Caramoan. Even the more remote “wilder” islands have data coverage, enabling “Survivor” production crews to be constantly connected even while on the islands and off-base.

“Now, we no longer have to send people all the way to CWC (CamSur Watersports Complex) to deliver important documents. The arrivals and departures of our guests are better coordinated,” says Villareal.

“Most importantly, while Caramoan’s wild and untamed allure makes it attractive to global production teams, the connectivity we provide them is also a deal-maker. This is the kind of engagement that brings jobs and opportunities to the people,” adds Villareal.

Caramoan may be remote, but it is connected to the world. That is the fruit of Smart’s commitment to the Department of Tourism to provide connectivity to the country’s tourist draws.