Views of Marinduque from Gaspar Island

Photo: ogGie Duque

Gaspar Island is the biggest of the three islands in Gasan known collectively as Tres Reyes Islands for they were named after the biblical three kings who offered gifts to the newborn Jesus in Bethlehem. Measuring about 108 hectares, the island’s old name is Laki, big.

One of the most important archaeological sites in Marinduque is found in a cave site on this island. Some of the artifacts uncovered were burial jars that had decoration and form that are said to fit the Kalanay complex style found widely in Southeast Asia and South Vietnam from 500-400 BC to 1500 AD. In 1957 Beyer wrote that specimens from this cave which were among those collected by Marche still remain in the Trocadero Museum in Paris or in other French or Spanish museums. Some have found their way into the Smithsonian Institution. No one appears to have re-examined these pieces or the cave site since then.

Photo: deaconblue

Inhabited today by some families who survive through fishing and extra income from tourists who might buy some of the seashells turned into necklaces by the kids, it is part of a protected marine sanctuary. The island’s beach is a mix of white sand with tons and tons of crushed corals with huge boulders and steep cliffs surrounding it.

Swimming in Gaspar photo: Ian Sotto