to get to Malapascua Island, it's a bus ride from Cebu City to the Maya Port, at the tip of the island, beyond Bogo City; then a ferry to Malapascua Island
Alex and i got a taxi in Cebu City to the North Terminal and hopped on a 210peso bus at about 5am. it was a 4hr journey up to Maya, at the north tip of Cebu. in actuality it is only 85 miles! travel is painstakingly slow here ! this was a Cirus Air Conditioned bus ... but they had the most uncomfortable seats i think i have ever been in :(
when we arrived at the Port in Maya, it was raining …i looked at the seas and they did not look friendly :) we carefully boarded the 100peso banca that would take us to Malapascua Island
the rain didn’t last long, but the seas were a bit rough and the trip there was stop and go battling the waves, but we made it safely.
a ‘porter’ grabbed my big bag and carried it to Mr Kwiiz, which was a 10min walk. i liked this place immediately because of this sign.
this is a recent island initiative … one that i truly support … why can’t we do this in the USA ?
sitting in the dining area, waiting for my room to be prepared … i immediately fell in love … with Baby Zane ! i was there for a week, and i never saw this little baby boy cry or fuss, he was just was always smiling ..... at me :)
i might also mention that he has a huge ‘family’ and someone was always holding him. he was always clean and had clean clothes on … what a sweet baby ! and, coming from me … that says a LOT !
Divers flock to Malapascua Island to dive with the Thresher Sharks. they are an interesting species that live at 1,800 feet. but they come to a certain ‘cleaning station’ at about 90-100 feet, much like the Manta Rays that i saw last year in Indonesia. Divers leave at 5am in hopes to see them. they have extremely long tails and very big eyes, so they can see in the dark depths. they swim really fast into a group of fish, and then stop very quickly, which makes their long tail whip forward and 'stun' the fishes. then it turns around and eats them! for whatever reason, they are not compelling for me; which is just as well, because i cannot dive with my cold. i am just here to ‘escape’ the Michigan cold, and ‘do nothing’ :) Alex is interested in diving with them. the first day we canvassed the beach gathering information and prices on: the Thresher Shark dives, a day trip to Kalanggaman Island, day snorkel trips, and motorbike rides around the island.
the first day sunset
i was there for 7 nights, and honestly don’t know what i did while i was there … not much :) time goes so fast when you are doing nothing. we did take a boat tour to Kalanggaman Island … a very tiny island. i went in hopes of some good snorkeling. it was a typical ‘Philippine’ tour. it left late, we had to wait for another boat to show up, and was over-booked. i counted 70+ people on the boat rated for 26 passengers :)
we were the last boat arriving on the very pretty island, there were several other tour boats already on the small island and most of the cabanas were occupied - there were lots of people there … which kind of ruined the atmosphere. i think they need to limit the number of boats/people that can visit each day ... but that will never happen
i had an opportunity to snorkel for 1.5hrs. the sea was rough, not a problem for me, …but there was little to see. and the coral was in sad shape.
there were 2 floating signs that said ‘Giant Clam Sanctuary’. i briefly looked around the signs and didn’t see any, so i headed for deeper water to find the ‘Giant’ clams. finding none, i retreated back to the floating sign. yep .. i found some ‘BABY' Giant Clams’… actually lots of them … but they were all quite small … not GIANT, like i was expecting !
most of them were pretty
this one looks like it is in the process of dying
and this one looks dead :(
after this, i had to do some research on Clams … yes these were dying from Coral Bleaching. a direct result of the water becoming too warm. this is now a HUGE problem on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, of epic proportions ... and obviously here too …
When the coral dies, the entire ecosystem around it transforms… the slow decline:
--Fish that normally feed on the coral, use it as shelter, or nibble on the algae that grows among it, will die or move away.
—Bigger fish that feed on those fish disappear too.
--Birds that eat fish, now lose their energy source
—Island plants that thrive on bird droppings are depleted
--And, of course, people who rely on reefs for food, income or shelter from waves – some half a billion people worldwide – lose their vital resource.
sad what is happening to our earth :(
before my time was up, i did get a photo of this Juvenile Bristle Tail Tang
and some adults
it was time to get out of the water for our included BBQ lunch. it rained a bit and it was another hour or so (that i could have stayed in the water); but eventually lunch was served. lunch was great: grilled chicken, pork, fresh tuna, rice of course, pancit (noodles w/veggies and i’ve come to really like this local dish) watermelon and soft drinks. all in all a good lunch. it was cloudy and i was ready to go; but because we started late, we were staying another couple of hours in not so nice weather.
Alex spent the night there, in a tent, on the ground, with no pad, no fresh water. it sounded like fun, kind of .... but i had already booked/paid for my room, so i went back with the boat. we arrived back just as the sun was setting, a long day
the next morning i scheduled a ‘personal island snorkel tour’ … it was not worth the money. i spent 20+minutes and believed that i had communicated my wishes for my own personal snorkel experience, to a 'smooth-talking-english-speaking’ local. he obviously paid no attention to what i had said, and sent me on ‘run-of-the-mill’ snorkel tour with a guy and his wife, who could not speak English. (one of my criteria was they were English speaking, it's difficult to sit with someone for hours and not be able to talk). in the future i will make sure that i talk directly to the person who will be the ‘boat captain’ and not rely on the 3rd party ‘sales rep’ … grrrrrr
the first stop on my 'personal tour' was at Coral Gardens ….quite a way off shore … the seas had really picked up, but i got in the water and managed to stay a half hour
i hope that on a better day, the coral would look better. but today was not an ideal day, and i had a hard time seeing any beauty. it was a huge area of corals, there had to be something there; but i wasn’t going to see it today.
i saw a few fishes. a Long Beaked CoralFish that continued to elude me time and time again. it’s a pretty fish, but this is the only shot i got
one nice piece of coral
this was a pretty bright site on the reef … it is a ‘Burrowing Clam’ …. different from the Giant Clams. this one ‘burrows’ into the coral, as opposed to standing up straight.
here is a pic taken from the water looking at ‘my boat’ … not a great day
i took this video of us in the boat to give you an idea of the size of the waves. the boat was good size and stable, so i wasn’t worried — plus, i had my snorkel gear if i fell over board ;)
i should also mention that with the huge waves, came lots of clouds and wind. ...i was cold :(
but i persisted. the next ‘snorkel stop’ was a non-snorkel-stop …. there was nothing there, rock ledges and a deep ‘pit’ …. what a waste. i managed to find these Spot Gill Cardinal Fish that i meet for the first time in Anda
i lasted 10min there :( ....disgusted, i got back in the boat.
on to the next ‘non-snorkel stop’ …. the Japanese Ship Wreck. some people love to dive a ship wreck …i don’t get it …. and i specifically told Mr. Smooth-Talker that i did NOT want to go to the Ship Wreck. this piece of information he was supposed to relay to my boat Captain. obviously that didn’t happen. before i got in the water the captain said ‘last stop’ …. i said no, i get 4, not 3. i don’t know where he was going to take me next, but i was going to find out and hopefully get my money’s worth.
i got in the water and dove down and took some photos of the sunken ship … exciting, huh? ....you decide …
10min later and we were motoring off to a couple of large rocks off shore. this actually is probably a good snorkel spot on a different day. not really any coral there, just the rocks, but there were shallow areas and deep drop off, so i saw quite a few fishes. fortunately, my boat captain coached me on where NOT to go because of a ‘strong current’. so my snorkel area was very limited. another 15min and i was cold and done.
i thanked my Captain, and his wife, who could speak a little English .. it wasn’t his fault.
when i made this ‘deal’, i did not have the correct change. so i owed Mr. 'Smooth-Talker' another 100pesos when we finished. Fat Chance ! ... If i see him again, he’ll get an ear-ful, and not one peso more. live and learn, and then learn again :)
Alex returned and we went to dinner. it really is nice to have someone to have dinner with and share the day’s experiences, good or bad. i will say we had a couple very nice 'classy' dinners
the next morning, Alex and i walked to the north end of the island. it was sunny and hot! we walked up to the LightHouse ……. which shockingly provided no views. ...that was a hot sticky climb for nothing. then we walked down to the beautiful beach and spent several hours in the shade. neither of us needed any more sun, and it would have been unbearably hot. when we arrived, the tide was out and we put our towels down, by the time we left, our feet were almost in the water. there are huge tide swings here
it looked like the clouds were forming, so we found a guy with a motorbike to give us a ride back. neither of us had any interest in walking. we returned to our rooms just as the skies let loose again. it has rained every day we’ve been here. we really thought that after that Tropical Storm-Typhoon, all the rainy weather would be gone for awhile … not …
the next day Alex went for a dive with the Thresher Sharks. i called a guy that we met the first day and asked him if he would take me on a motorbike tour of the island. what a great day we had ! such a nice young man, Roland .... he posed me 'here', and posed me 'there', for lots and lots of photos of the beautiful views.
when i got back and looked at all the photos he took. i then realized he was taking photos of 'ME' ... i was centered in every one of them !
... i didn't mind being in the photos, as a 'footnote' ....but i really wanted photos of the beautiful views :( more than ever, i realize how important 'composition' is in a photo, and i had to do a lot of cropping. but he was sweet and was having fun :)
he totally choreographed this photo :)
we took photos from high up on the cliffs where 'kids' jump into the water ..... a VERY high cliff ... crazy !
there were beautiful views everywhere you looked. the water was amazingly clear
then down to the beach
past where Alex and i were, and up some steps that someone painstakingly took a lot of time to design and build
to where a Dive Shop, Resort, and Restaurant once stood before Typhoon Yolanda destroyed it the morning of 8 November 2013. Malapascua took a direct hit from the super-typhoon Yolanda, the strongest typhoon ever measured in the recorded history. (unfortunately, that record has probably been beaten a time or 2 since 2013 The typhoon left Malapascua almost completely devastated with more than 95% of all buildings totally destroyed or severely damaged.
many were rebuilt, but this one was not. this is the remains of what appears to have been a very nice Resort. the bar at the restaurant
overlooking this
the building in the distance is what's left of the Dive Shop on this beautiful beach
i was taken by how much time, effort, and money someone(s), put their heart into this making this Resort .. lots of small ponds/waterfalls, now overgrown .... and to have had to walk away from it all -- destroyed
i should also mention that while Roland and i were at one of the beaches, we ran into Mr. sweet-talking-english-speaking jerk that i booked my personal snorkel tour with. he recognized me right away with a smile, and i let him know how angry and disappointed i was in his performance. he shrugged and got on his motorbike and left. there, i felt better :) if anyone is reading this blog and looking for reviews ... his name is Jason .... find someone else !
i haven't said too much about Mr. Kwiiz where we stayed, other than i met my little Baby Zane boyfriend there, and they don't use straws. it was on a 'back street', where the locals live, and not on the main beach. which would be nice and quiet ... we thought ... until the first morning. when we heard the roosters crowing
i actually like hearing a rooster crow in the morning, reminds me of my Grandparents farm. however, this was not just one rooster. what we learned was that out our back door was a 'Rooster Farm' .... and there were 20-30+ roosters ... all crowing at the same time. ok, now that's a bit much
they were all beautiful birds
other than that, i have mixed emotions about Mr. Kwiiz as a place to stay. the food was basic but really very good, and cheap... that's a big plus. their English is not very good, and they didn't seem very willing to do anything, nor were they very flexible with their bookings and requests. although the sheets were clean, as far as i could tell, they were stained and thread-bare. but i was there for 7 nights, and at the end, the girls began to 'warm up' to me.
i needed to plan my next move. this is always a struggle, especially without good WiFi. fortunately, when i was in Anda, the guys helped me get my cell phone set up to use as a 'hot spot' so i could get internet through the cell phone signal. this turned out to be an amazing life-saver! it works really well as long as you have good cell service, which was pretty good most of the time, ...slow, but working. Alex was leaving for Germany, and it was time for me to go too.
the Camotes Islands were on my original list of places to visit. so i started researching: which of the 3 islands do i want to be on? what part of that island? do i want peace and quiet, or noisy-lively where i might meet some people? which facility do i want to stay at... or can i afford to stay at? not knowing if i will like it there or not, how long do i want to book for? how do i get to the island? once on the island, how do i get to the resort? and where can i get some more money before going there, because there are no ATM machines on the islands.
after a couple of days, i had it figured out ... at least the major parts.
Malapascua Island summary: it's a small, rather flat island. 2km x .5km (about 1.5miles x 1/3 of a mile), they say you can walk around it in 1-2hrs. no cars, nor tricycles because all the 'streets' are sand ... only motorbikes with horns, which they use frequently. it means, 'i'm coming through get out of the way'. this is TOTALLY normal for the Philippines, and the sooner you learn this, the better :(
i really like islands with sand streets and no cars ... there are a few: Caye Caulker in Belize; Gili Air in Indonesia; Ko Lipe and Ko Kraden in Thailand .... my kind of places !
there are a lot of families living in the interior with little more than a roof over their heads. it's hard to see. most were born there and will die there, never knowing anything else. but all seem happy; there's a lesson there. it has some beautiful beaches and scenery. there are some nice 'resorts' there, that serve very nice meals, if you want to spend your money that way. but, there is little to do except diving, eating and relaxing; and no snorkeling from shore :)
one more photo of Baby Zane ...he looks like he has a halo ;) ....and that little girls is a beauty
on to the Camotes Islands in the next blog.
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