“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain
1. Calaguas, Camarines Norte No argue. Mahabang buhangin of calaguas group of islands is the best beach I've seen so far. It was love at first sight when I saw this beach. And I cannot wait to go back. The long bus ride was so worth it. I wish the place would stay the same five or ten years from now..
a long stretch of white sand beach
cake soft sand
2. Malcapuya Island and The-Island-That-Must-Not-Be-Named, Coron I thought I've seen the best beach of Coron when I saw Malcapuya. I was wrong. I was back early this year and saw the most amazing place I've seen. Thanks to mamita for insisting to go to this place.. hehe
Blinding white sand of Malacapuya
the beach that shut me up
3. Blue Lagoon, Ilocos Norte Even I saw Blue lagoon on a gloomy day, I still found the beach to be beautiful. Mang Arnel says it shows a different shade of blue when the water is calm, seen from the cliffs.. Still.. the beach is pristine and the sand is remarkable..The beach is also known a surfing site.
sorry for the poor shot..believe me, it's better than the photos
4. Boracay Island, Aklan Maraming magagalit sakin kung bakit no4 si boracay. Undoubtly the longest white sand beach I've seen so far but the scene doesn't appeal to me. i prefer the laid back atmosphere over parties.
Boracay's famous 1km stretch of white sand beach
5. Manlawi Sandbar, Caramoan I've only seen this beach on high tide. I've yet to see this on a low tide. And the perfect spot for some drinks with your best buds. The submerged huts is so much inviting. Sit on one of these huts while enjoying your beer.. Now that's a vacation..
Day02 Php 80/4 = Php 20 : taxi (Pensionne too South Bus Terminal) Php 150 : bus (Cebu to Tan-anawan) Php 300 : Whale shark watching fee Php 40/4 = 10 : add'l fee Php 30 : lifevest rental Php 1500 : Sumilon Day tour Php 155 : bus (Tan-awan to Cebu) Php 180/4 = Php 45 : taxi (South Bus Terminal to I.T. park) Php 654/4 = Php 159 : dinner Php 75/4 = Php 19 : taxi (I.T. park to pensionne)
Day03 Php 120/4 = Php 30 : taxi (Pensionne to North Bus Terminal) Php 170 : bus (Cebu to Maya port) Php 20 : Tunda Php 100 : boat (Maya port to Malapascua Island) Php 500 : lodging, Blue Coral Resort Php 350 : dinner Php 20 : tunda Php 80 : boat (Malapascua to Maya port) Php 170 : bus (Maya port to Cebu) Php 120 : CnT lechon
Grand Total : Php 6,998
Day01 am : arrive Cebu Bohol Day tour Tarsier watching Chocolate Hills Manmade forest Loboc River cruise Python, Butterfly sanctuary Baclayon church Blood compact site
pm: dinner Larsian Barbecue
Day 02 am: Whaleshark watching, Oslob pm: Sumilon Island
Day 03 am, pm: Malapascua Island
Day 04 am: Snorkeling, Malapascua Island pm: leave Cebu
1. Travel taught me a lot of things I never learned inside schools.
2. Genius ideas are recycled ideas.
3. We owe it to ourselves to live..and not just exist..
4. Your beliefs and/or standards in your teens will change when you hit your 20's.
5. Change is the only constant thing.
6. There are friends who come and go. And there are those who you know you can depend and trust your life on.
7. I don't believe in the saying "asa babae yan"..kung walang pumapatol sa mga hirit mo, kahit ano pang pagpapacute mo, walang mangyayari. Remember, it takes two to tango.
8. Gay men are way cuter than straight dudes.
9. Girls stick together during break-ups. and boys? in cheating..
10. Ang tiyan ay sign ng pagkalalake.
11. Office politics. Its either you swim in it or get drowned in it.
12. Marry your bestfriend.
13. I never liked milk teas. Its just a fad, this all too shall pass.. like Nursing.
14. Liking pages which advocates something never actually helps.
15. Wala sa model ng camera yan, nasa kumukuha parin..
16. I find guys who don't find themselves good-looking, attractive..and, I tell you, that's rare coz all looking guys i know are either gay or downright mayabang..
17. Never ever say yes to a spur-of-the-moment-last-minute-decision-after-movie-late-night-tagaytay-roadtrip when you have to report for work at six in the morning the next day.
18. Maturity is not measured on how old one is. I know people who are waay older than me and still think like they're in their early teens
19. Never talk to self-absorbed people. They treat people like mirrors when all you have to do is nod..agree to everything they say..
20. Conservative, makitid ang utak. iisa lang yan. parang burara, di lang daw organized. or malandi, friendly lang daw.
21. I don't get what's with people putting every single feeling they have on their social sites.
22. Mas masaya ang lakad na di planado kesa sa ten-year planned na lakad.
23. Facebook status are half-lies. People will put anything to sound and look good.
24. When you don't drink or smoke, it doesn't make you a goody two shoes. It just means you don't like drinking or smoking.
21march2012 sometimes, it gets tiring.. but every single time I get my zen you know.. when i sit on the beach shore..close my eyes and feel the seabreeze. and hear the waves.. i dont know i feel close to God..this is one of the many reasons why I travel.. for these moments..
Starfish's footprint :)
Malapascua.third day. We were praying for a good weather this time. The last days, we haven't seen the sun shining. It was hiding with all the clouds. We left Cebu a bit late, no rushing today. Bad move coz the trip was almost five friggin' hours!!
We arrived at Maya port around 3 in the afternoon. There were already dark clouds looming at the time. We were arguing if those are rainclouds. We got our answer as soon as we docked at Malapascua island. Heavy rain poured heavily on us.(If that's not redundant enough.haha) The temperature suddenly dropped and the water became warm. It was such a bummer. We haven't eaten lunch and I'm wet all over, including my things! This isn't a vacation anymore!! While I was pissed off with the whole situation, I look at my company and saw them estactic and uttering Ryan's infamous line.. it's a different experience. argh.
Gloomy Maya Port
The rain stopped eventually. Then dinner came. Treated ourselves to a nearby buffet. Liempo was good. I was hoping there were crabs or seafood. pero wala. The island is a reminiscant of Boracay. Perhaps ten years ago. A lot of high end resorts and restos lined the shore. But no nightlife.Maybe because of the heavy rain..
Calm sunset after the heavy rain
Our room. Fixing our wet clothes..
Sunny day on our last day
View from our room
The following day we woke up early for some snorkeling. We only have an hour to do this.
Clear blue skies
Blue Coral Resort's bar
Having been to palawan a couple of times, my standards for the corals are high that when I saw Malapascua's, I was a bit disappointed. Though they were pretty, everything is in the same color. Unlike Coron's. Not to mention, the sea was a bit rough.. I got dizzy snorkeling. Not really a nice combination. Rough seas + snorkeling.
The sun is finally out!
Sunny Maya port
We arrived at Cebu around three or four in the afternoon and our flight is at six. We haven't bought any pasalubongs.. and we haven't had lunch! argh. traffic is everywhere. and the airport is at mactan island, a 20-30 minutes drive. Amazing race it is! We ate at CnT lenchon, the famous Cebu's lechon across Sm cebu. Then, somehow a kind lady at the jeepney terminal advised us to take the taxi instead to save time if we were planning to drop by the Sto.nino church and Magellan's cross.
Basilica de Sto. Nino
Magellan's cross
Parang hindi ka nakapunta ng Cebu pag hindi mo nakita to
Good call. Coz we arrived a couple minutes before boarding time. We bought the pasalubongs at the airport. And the required ref magnet was bought at a sidewalk near the Magellan's cross. hehe.
What do I think of Cebu? I'm not liking the city. Sorry, but I don't. Its provinces are beautiful. I'll come back to see Malapascua in a better weather, perhaps. And when I finally know how to dive. Yay! And visit some off the road getaways around Cebu. I am pretty sure there still are. and I'm confident i won't be disappointed.
I was looking forward to our next day's activity. Whaleshark watching. We've been hearing things about the unusual acts of the whalesharks here in OSlob. Having seen the whalesharks in Donsol, twice, I was so eager to see, what's so special. We paid some fees and rentals, few minutes of briefing and off we headed to the sea. It's a bit unorganized, from the registration and the briefing. The briefing was worse. You can tell the lady was having a hard time. Oslob is way, way far compared to Donsol's. Maybe because this whole thing is still new. Well, I do hope, the fees collected would go to the improvement of the place.
So, we were told we have 30 minutes interaction. A bit short compared to Donsol's, we said. From the shore, we can already see the whalesharks. It only took us a good five minutes or less to finally spot a whaleshark. This time, it was feeding. They have assigned feeders for the whalesharks. I was in awe. In Donsol, I can only see a whaleshark for what, a minute or two? But here, I can stare at him, as long as I want. I was expecting the whaleshark would suddenly go away or charge at us, or something..but it just stayed there..feeding. It was unusual to see these wild animals as pets here. SO against their nature.
A designated feeder feeding the whalesharks some krills
So what do I think of how these people were treating the whalesharks?Do I agree with them?Well, not exactly. I always say, I am really not a fan of zoos. It may not actually fall into the category of caging (these whaleharks) but still, it sort of fits the bill. The locals treat them as pets. I asked one of our boatman if they do this the whole day. After 1pm, they leave the sea. No more whaleshark watching/encounter. And they say, the whalesharks never leave..they still stay near the shore. Now that is unusual. I wish the fishermen would just let them be..just let them roam the sea. Don't feed them or anything. And let people see them in their natural habitat.
We finished the whole thing for a good thirty minutes. I stopped as soon as I got a good video of them.
Since we finished early, we all agreed to spend the whole afternoon at Sumilon Island. The island can be seen from the whaleshark encounter site. From there, we just walked for 10-15 minutes to the resort's shuttle port. For a daytour at the island, we were burning a good 1,500 that's why we're hesitant at first. But we're already here and since we finished early, yeah, why not. And that's the best decision we did. haha.
Sumilon Island is an exclusive resort. For an overnight stay, you have to pay 25,000, the least. thank god for the daypass.
One of their jacuzzis
Lunch was served. Instead of the buffet that we all were expecting, we had a set lunch. Sayang naman. The staff said, there were only a few people that's why they werent serving buffet. Though lunch was not buffet, the food was superb. We can only think of what the buffet would have been. yum. yum.
How much is the soda again? Php65 b?
After eating, we hiked to the lighthouse.
Then snorkeling. Then kayaking..
Then went to see their famous shifting sandbar.
On the way back, we saw this shark swimming on the shallow water. I think the water is just ankle deep.
And spent the last few minutes in their infinity pool.
I met this little girl named tala. I told her we have the same name and asked if we can get a picture. She doesn't want to. What a brat. Her full name is Sophia Natalie Miller. Until I met her again at the pool. She agreed this time. So cute..if not for the attitude. haha.
It was already dark when we got back. While waiting for the bus back to cebu, we had an improptu dinner. Right at the street! Isaw which costs us Php3.00 per stick. what a deal. Kuya Benard, generous as he is, treated us. Big time teh ha!
A whole day should be spent here. We haven't seen the whole island! We'd definitely come back.
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