I enjoyed my short stay at Talima Beach Resort and really liked Nadine and Neil. But note to self: it was a long way to go for only 2 nights.
At 8am, they got me a tricycle and i headed back to the pier to take the boat, and then an hour taxi ride to the South Bus Station in Cebu.
And the map again, please …
Now i am traveling on the Island of Cebu, from Cebu City to Moalboal which is down the west coast. I have never learned how to pronounce Moalboal properly, but it seems no one else has either :)
Ah, i really need to figure out a way to ‘lessen my load’ and eliminate the necessity, in my mind, that all i pack is absolutely necessary. It is such a pain in the ass to haul all my stuff. Especially at a pubic bus station. I asked and asked, dragging my bags around, and finally found where i was supposed to be to load the AIR CONDITION bus to Moalboal. It is at least a 3hr ride in good traffic.
A nice Asian guy saw the confusion on my face and showed me the ‘que’ to get on the A/C bus … when everyone started moving to get on the bus. He said, ‘come here, be part of my group’ and hustled my luggage to the belly of the bus and me onto the bus. I needed to pee after a hour taxi and before another 3+hr on the bus ! I told the bus-guy, he said no problem. But when i got back on the bus, there were no seats…. (actually none for my Asian friend either (he probably gave his away, he was so kind). Standing for 3+hours didn’t sound like much fun and i didn’t know if it was ‘legal’ … silly me. My Asian friend said, oh look another bus is going also, you can get on that one, get a seat and then we’ll get your luggage off THIS bus. I got my seat and went back to make sure i got my bag from that bus to the next one. Mission accomplished, sitting on the bus, and i looked around, the windows were open … this was NOT an A/C bus! No can do this either. Off the bus, got my bag again and sat and waited for the next A/C bus. I was lucky, 10min later it arrived and i was on my way.
At the ‘bus stop’ in Moalboal, more confusion, as i was wisked off on another tricycle to Cabana Beach Resort, arriving at 4pm, just at the deadline where they said they would hold my room. It doesn’t much matter what you do, you need to realize it will take you an entire day to get from one place to the next.
When i made my reservation, i was rather desperate trying to find a room in Moalboal, as i have been every place i’ve been. This area is not like Central American where you just show up and there are lots of rooms. She said they had one room left, but it was behind the parking lot. I agreed, but this is not what i had expected. Hummm, i guess i didn’t even take a photo. And, the room was a bit smelly, and dark. Hey, you win some and you lose some. But it had a couple fans, including a ceiling fan i needed to change from ‘winter’ to ’summer’ so it provided some benefit; and i asked for some room spray, and it was fine by evening.
Why Moalboal ? ….what is there?
It is famous for it’s Sardines, lots of them !
Millions, literally, of sardines have been attracting tourists to this tiny town for years. A few years ago they swirled around Pescador Island a few miles off-shore. You had to hire a boat and snorkel a ways off shore to see them. The locals used to fish them and eventually the numbers dropped, ... almost overnight they disappeared. Hotel and restaurants figured their 'cash cow' had gone forever. A few months later the sardines reappeared just off the main town beach. Bonanza! The local 'headman' had a quiet word with the fishermen and the message got out that they weren’t to fish the sardines anymore. It’s the same story: they are worth more alive than dead.
And….. they were right off ‘my’ dock ! I’ll check them out later. Although my room was 'in the back of the bus', i had privileges to use all their facilities. This was a pretty nice 'resort' ... mostly they all call themselves 'resort'
With a kitty that actually let me pet it .... my 'cat fix' finally !
After sunset i was looking for a restaurant, when i ran into my Asian friend from the bus station. He was with a huge ‘educational’ group from Japan and elsewhere for a conference here, and he insisted that i join them for dinner. I was not able to refuse.
A big, rather stressful day and I slept good that night. Every day that i have to travel is stressful for me .... new unchartered territory :(
When i arrived, the seas were very calm, but once again in the morning the seas were rough. The Dive Boat was packed with divers and just a few snorkelers. Again, i didn’t ask the right questions. Again, we motored down the shoreline and stopped close to the beach. The divers went down the wall, and i snorkeled off the shore in an area very easily accessible from the beach without paying $$$. There was a strong current and the snorkeling was uneventful except for this Juvenile Yellow BoxFish
i did see this nice big turtle resting on some healthy coral
The next snorkel spot was better, but still right off shore. The divers did a drift dive and the boat would pick them up ‘over there’. I could just snorkel along, and get in the boat with them at the end of their dive. Another little known fact to me and obviously the guys on the boat: the current at the surface can be directly opposite from the current at depth. This meant that while the divers were effortlessly drifting; i was swimming my ass off just to move forward. That wasn’t much fun either.
I sure complain a lot in paradise, don’t it ?
Another turtle on more coral
I was taking a photo of that little clam when i got 'photo bombed' by a Black Spotted Puffer
I had intended to see how i felt about the Dive Shop and Staff and then do a dive myself at Pescadore Island. Where the sardines used to live. But after seeing how many people were on that boat, i decided i could just snorkel around the Island. I heard it was good snorkeling out there too; and i KNOW it is not accessible without a boat.
The next morning i got on the boat to go out to Pescadore Island. The boat wasn’t near as crowded as yesterday, and i kind of regretted not diving. I met a guy from Australia who is traveling around. After the first dive, he said i didn’t really miss much.
The snorkeling, however, was really horrible. Waves were huge and the current was strong. There was a 60 foot section where you could snorkel and all the snorkel boats were there. As you can imagine, the coral was demolished by the tourists and there really wasn’t anything to see. On either side of the 60 foot section the current was strong going one way on one side and the other way on the other side. The divers did another drift dive. And once again, i was snorkeling against the current. Waves were huge and there were lots and lots of jellyfish in the water. i motioned for the boat to wait for me and i got in. i’d had enough of Pescadore Island.
The second dive spot was at a Marine Sanctuary. It was nice. There was lots of healthy coral and quite a few fishes. I saw a couple of nice size Groupers ... haven't seen any of these here.
Unfortunately i saw a HUGE colony of the nasty Crown of Thorns Sea Stars. The longer i looked, the more i saw. yuck
Pretty fishes over the reef
When i got back i decided to go snorkel with the Sardines. The seas were rough, even on shore, and visibility was bad; but i saw the millions of sardines …. there were be several layers of them, you could not see through the swarm. And it went on and on down the shore … fascinating !
My photos don't do it justice. If you want you can go to YouTube and search Moalboal Sardines and see some great footage.
I went back to my favorite SunSet place. I forgot to mention there was a guy there who was playing the guitar last evening and he was there again… great music !
Another nice sunset
Tonight there was a girl there with TWO of these little darlings :)
I saw Glen that i met on the Dive Boat today. We ended up at One Eyed Jacks, a nice restaurant/bar owned by a Texan, Wayne. If you ever find yourself in Moalboal, check it out ... great live band upstairs. And i don't remember what those 'shots' were :)
The next morning, I had some time before i needed to go to the bus. So i decided it would be a good idea to get some decent food, since this was going to be a very very long day/night/day. This poor little kitty had a skin problem. I couldn't tell if it was from a fight or a parasite. But it did look like it was healing.
Such pretty blue eyes. She got most of my chicken :)
This was the 'Bus Stop' ... just a sign on the side of the road. THAT is the nice big Air Condition bus :) The buses reportedly leave every 30minutes. I arrived at 2pm, the A/C bus arrived after 3:30. I was the first to sit and wait, and as the minutes went by, many more people arrived. When the bus got there, there was no 'que' ... i should have been first in line ... AND i'm a SENIOR ! But it didn't matter anyway, all the seats were already taken, so we stood and sat on the floor. Yes, i guess there are no rules or limits to the number of passengers even on the A/C bus.
It looked to be a miserable ride, but eventually some people got off, and the 'bus warden' moved some people closer together and i got a seat in the back, normally for 4 people, but we were 7 ... but it was better than standing or sitting on the floor.
Then on to the airport...... next post
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