island hopping
i would have welcomed some rain in this heat. except that it is july in the philippines and by this time, we should be knee deep in flood water or getting our roof fly off to never-never land. someones' curse is someone else's blessing
with that in mind, i had a recent island hopping trip off mactan island. first drop was in pandanon island which is technically part of bohol. an interesting place as it has a sandbar and some of our friends enjoyed some jet skiing activity. architectural note: the island has a very quaint chapel done in white reminiscent of mediterranean type of buildings.
picture: approaching the island
not far from us, some koreans were squatting enjoying their barbecued meats and getting ridiculously sunburned under the scorching heat that's reflected off the white sand. a thought flashed into my head that i am probably more of a foreigner in my own country compared to the koreans who have literally explored every nook and corner of this country.
frankly though, the sandbar near guilotongan offered better swimming opportunities with fine white sand compared to the pebbly beachfront of pandanon. picture: a boat idly floating off the island
after lunch we headed off to the guilotongan marine sanctuary and enjoyed swimming with the overly fed and fat fish in the area. i think we're sort of screwing the balance of nature by feeding the fishes around the sanctuary. you know you're doing something wrong when fishes are literally making a beeline for you the moment you drop into the water. you can hear them scream "buffet". watching a parrot fish going at you with big beak-like teeth and you feel like part of the menu.
the area features a steep drop a few meters from the island and is perfect for wall diving. a group of divers (korean) were doing some dive and the curtain of bubbles floating to the surface is a visual treat. i hurriedly swam through the bubbles, the bursting air pockets like hundreds of butterfly kisses on my naked skin. good thing i can't smell anything, i imagined someone with halitosis and i am swimming through that. ewwww.
i spied some barracuda floating off the distance and huge plate like fish eating off the hands of the divers. even in underwater photography, the koreans still used that trademark V for victory sign when posing for cameras. i guess it is the same as us filipinos pointing with pouted lips.
picture: man overlooking the darkening skies, sailing over rough waves...
towards late afternoon, the wind picked up and the tides got rougher. with the tide came the jellyfish and the kids had to be dragged out of the water.
after all the eating done throughout the day, it was a bit uncomfortable going through waves that gained ferocity and height. puke is not a fashion accessory. ugh.
picture left: another shot of the boatman with the overcast skies as the backdrop.
picture rigt: feeding the fish... errr, taking a swim in the marine sanctuary
not wanting to end on a rather... uh.. unsavory ending, the trip was definitely worth it. the best part of this experience is that it is literally an hour away from the urban jungle (cebu city).
disclaimer: the picture of the fish and man flashing the victory sign came from the web.
with that in mind, i had a recent island hopping trip off mactan island. first drop was in pandanon island which is technically part of bohol. an interesting place as it has a sandbar and some of our friends enjoyed some jet skiing activity. architectural note: the island has a very quaint chapel done in white reminiscent of mediterranean type of buildings.
picture: approaching the islandnot far from us, some koreans were squatting enjoying their barbecued meats and getting ridiculously sunburned under the scorching heat that's reflected off the white sand. a thought flashed into my head that i am probably more of a foreigner in my own country compared to the koreans who have literally explored every nook and corner of this country.
frankly though, the sandbar near guilotongan offered better swimming opportunities with fine white sand compared to the pebbly beachfront of pandanon. picture: a boat idly floating off the island
after lunch we headed off to the guilotongan marine sanctuary and enjoyed swimming with the overly fed and fat fish in the area. i think we're sort of screwing the balance of nature by feeding the fishes around the sanctuary. you know you're doing something wrong when fishes are literally making a beeline for you the moment you drop into the water. you can hear them scream "buffet". watching a parrot fish going at you with big beak-like teeth and you feel like part of the menu.the area features a steep drop a few meters from the island and is perfect for wall diving. a group of divers (korean) were doing some dive and the curtain of bubbles floating to the surface is a visual treat. i hurriedly swam through the bubbles, the bursting air pockets like hundreds of butterfly kisses on my naked skin. good thing i can't smell anything, i imagined someone with halitosis and i am swimming through that. ewwww.
i spied some barracuda floating off the distance and huge plate like fish eating off the hands of the divers. even in underwater photography, the koreans still used that trademark V for victory sign when posing for cameras. i guess it is the same as us filipinos pointing with pouted lips.
picture: man overlooking the darkening skies, sailing over rough waves...
towards late afternoon, the wind picked up and the tides got rougher. with the tide came the jellyfish and the kids had to be dragged out of the water. after all the eating done throughout the day, it was a bit uncomfortable going through waves that gained ferocity and height. puke is not a fashion accessory. ugh.
picture left: another shot of the boatman with the overcast skies as the backdrop.picture rigt: feeding the fish... errr, taking a swim in the marine sanctuary
not wanting to end on a rather... uh.. unsavory ending, the trip was definitely worth it. the best part of this experience is that it is literally an hour away from the urban jungle (cebu city).
no wonder am making cebu my home.
disclaimer: the picture of the fish and man flashing the victory sign came from the web.
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