Malapascua Island | The Peaceful Beach of Cebu

After the traditional one year wait for a super budgeted plane fare such as this 200 peso round-trip ticket to Cebu, we braced ourselves for a long and exciting vacation.

For a good start, we proceeded to Malapascua Island, one of the most popular diving spots in the country.

After travelling on air via an airplane, on land via a bus and on water via a pump boat, we finally set foot on the island. We were staying at an inn called, 'White Sand Bungalows' (09058615616)

Even from afar, looking down the seabed, one can see multi colored corals, fishes of varied colors, shape and sizes, and a variety of other ocean life.

Setting this white sand beach above all the others is its pristine waters. In my entire life, this is the clearest one I have ever seen. 

It was so clear and crisp, the boat was like hovering atop a different world. It’s not blue and it’s not green. It was just a clear transparent view such that the water looked like a glass covering an aquarium teeming with life.

After lunch, we set sail to explore the whole island and its splendid underwater world.

We snorkeled down the shipwreck, went to the other islands to view its vast environment and swam near the beaches until the sun sat on the horizon.

It was a good first day for our vacation. We enjoyed the place and as a bonus, we also feasted on the local food.

After dinner, we rested and prepared for the next day of our trip.

Morning came and a good breakfast was served, then we set on to Calanggaman Island, Leyte.

The clouds were giving signs of impending downpour but as real troopers of this group, we had been used to it.

As we arrived after a 2-hour boat ride, the gusts of wind that greeted us made our body shiver. We hurriedly went to a place where we could be sheltered from the gale. We waited for the skies to calm and went on to cook and prepare lunch.

We stayed at the Island for the whole day. It was a beautiful island hidden from the mainland. Again, with fine white sand and pristine clear waters, this was starting to be one of the best vacations I ever had.

Growing up at a place full of mountains and rivers, this was a different sight for me. White sand beaches were far from our hometown that’s why seeing this collection of pristine beaches was sheer ecstasy.

I bathe for almost the whole day and I can't remember a minute of rest from the waters. The lure of sea was so intense, I had to comeback immediately after the moment I had something else to do.

It was a bit sad that we were bound to leave this place the morning after. We gathered as much memory that we can take, up to the last sand that stuck in our feet.

We went back at sundown. We ate dinner, had a chat and slept.

Our first destination was covered and now, we’re off to one of the popular spots in Cebu. 

As we sailed for Bantayan, our experience with Malapascua and Calanggaman islands gave us a good benchmark on what to expect the next day.

I hoped and prayed that Bantayan would not be a disappointment. And after experiencing the island, the word “disappointment” never crossed my mind.

Group itinerary

day 1

04:30 - departure from Manila to Mactan Airport

05:30 - arrival at Mactan Airport, arrange taxi to North Terminal

06:30 - arrival at Bus station, departure from North Terminal to Maya port

10:30 - arrival at Maya port, arrange boat to Malapascua Island

11:00 - arrival at Malapascua Island, resort check in, lunch, rest

14:00 - start island hop aroun malapascua

17:30 - back to resorts, tidy up, rest, prepare for dinner

19:00 - dinner, socials, explore bounty beach

23:00 - lights out

day 2

06:00 - wake up, breakfast, prepare for boat ride

08:00 - departure from Malapascua to Calanggaman

10:00 - arrival at Calanggaman, arrange payments, prepare lunch

11:30 - lunch, activities

16:00 - departure to Malapascua

17:30 - arrival at Malapascua, tidy up, rest

19:00 - dinner, socials

23:00 - lights out, prepare for Bantayan the next day

How to get to Malapascua Island

From Cebu, Proceed to North Bus Terminal. Board a Maya Bound Bus. From Maya Port arrange boat to Malapascua Island

Article for Bantayan Island

http://trampingphilippines.blogspot.com/2011/09/bantayan-island-cebu.html

*we would like to thank Agnes Navales for organizing the trip and for the photos in this post