"Travel. Your money will return, your time won't."
Unknown
We leave Singapore and head to one of the most beautiful countries in the world, the "Pearl of the Orient Seas", the........
Philippines
Officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, this archipelagic country is made up of more than 7,600 islands, and with that many islands, it is a beach-bums delight!! The Philippines is a land apart from mainland Southeast Asia - not only geographically but also spiritually and culturally. With over 100 million inhabitants, the official languages are Filipino and English and nearly 90% of the population are of the Catholic faith. Of the 50+ countries I've had the opportunity to visit, this one definitely ranks within the top 5! It is the people that captivate and ultimately ensnare you, they are welcoming, warm, smiling, happy-go-lucky, and hard working.
Our stay here in the Philippines will include both the Christmas and New Year holiday season and we'll visit five islands. Our first stop is the island of......
Cebu Island
The Philippines only have four international airports and one of those is in Cebu City, which is where we fly to from Singapore. We don't stay in Cebu City, rather we grab a taxi, and take the four hour drive to the village of Moalboal.
Cebu island is a stunning destination that has a wide range of adventure, natural and historic attractions; and the village of Moalboal sits smack-dab in the middle of it all. Being a tropical island destination we could sit beneath a palm tree, sip on cheapie cold beers and soak up the sun at the many beaches that pepper the Cebu coastline OR we could get the adrenalin pumping by going canyoning at Kawasan River valley. Time to get the adrenalin pumping I say!
What is canyoning you ask? It is the act of navigating down a fast flowing mountain river in a gorge using a variety of techniques including abseiling, climbing, sliding and jumping! Some fun!!!
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| The Kawasan River gorge, like all gorges, have been carved out of the mountainside by the river current. There are steep and dramatic cliff drops on both sides and seven cliff-jumping waterfalls along the way (ranging from 5 metres to 14 metres). |
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| That look you get after making your first cliff jump at 5 metres (16 feet). Baptism by fire!! |
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| Some waterfalls form natural toboggan chutes and I'm about to check it out with the backward double-flip sow-cow slide! The judges gave me a 9.3 for form and style. |
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| Falls # 3 at 7 metres (23 feet). You go girl....... |
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| .....a leap of faith! |
Falls # 4. I want to take you higher!
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| It wasn't all jumping and sliding. Sometimes you just let the current take you along while you enjoyed the scenery and sipped on a beer. |
Falls #5. Eight metres (26 feet).
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| We survived, but opted out of the final 14 metre jump (45 feet)......seems I remember reading a 'null & void clause' in my travel insurance about jumping off of high cliffs. |
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| "Hey B, you remember that Chinese girl that was taking a selfie and then she slipped and fell over the waterfalls. And the falls was only this high......the look on her face cracks me up!" |
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| Kawasan Falls. The end of the adventure. Time for a beer! |
Back in Moalboal and heading to the local watering hole for some.......aaah water. Yeah, that's the ticket....water!
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| The local watering hole. Chillin' at the Chili Bar! |
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| "Yes we'll have two waters please. And while we're waiting for the waters, can you bring us two ice cold beers?." |
One of the things I always wanted to do was to 'swim with the fishes' (Guido's Travel Agency can arrange that!). Not just any fishes, mine you, but the world's largest fishes, the incredible Whale Shark. A whale shark IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST FISH; and one hour south of Moalboal is the worlds largest gathering of them.
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| The whale shark is enormous and can reach a maximum length of 18 metres (59 feet) - to put that into perspective, a yellow school bus is only 13.7 metres (45 feet) long. The average whale shark is 12 metres (39 feet) and weighs a cool 15 tons. |
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| A rare shot of two whale sharks! |
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From the largest fish in the world to one of the smallest, it's time to see the famous Moalboal Sardine Run. So what's a Sardine Run, you ask? Well; it's not a run to the grocery store to pick up a can of sardines. It is, however, one of the highest concentrations of sardines in the world and its only 30 metres off of Moalboal beach.
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| Tiny Moalboal beach is the gateway to one of natures wonders.....the famous Sardine Run. Just 30 metres off-shore the beach gives way to a dramatic drop of hundreds of metres into the abyss and this is where the sardines gather. |
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| All you need is a mask & snorkel, a good net to catch some sardines and, with the water temperature hovering around 30C (86F), not much else! "Mel.....let's go fishing!" |
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| Never stationary, the sardine run is a constant moving ball of billions of fish, stretching up the Cebu coast for kilometres. |
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After a week of adventure we head back to Cebu City and take a 2 hour ferry ride to our next island destination.......
Bohol Island
Located east of Cebu Island, Bohol is equally beautiful, but in a different way. Famous for its unusual landscape, specifically the Chocolate Hills - mounds of limestone formations left over from coral reefs during the Ice Age which turn brown during the summer (hence the name). It is also home to the indigenous and delightful Philippine Tarsier monkey - one of the world's smallest primates.
While on Bohol Island we will stay on Alona Beach, a small, quiet, tropical paradise famous for its 1.5 kilometre stretch of beautiful white sandy beach.  |
| No too shabby for December 16th. The air temperature is 28C and the water temperature is 30C.....warmer in then out! |
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| It would be a lot nicer if there wasn't sooooo many tourist! Hard to get a seat at the local bar joints! Jeeeze where everybody go? |
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| Local sand carver sending out a Christmas greeting. |
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| Glad we're not over there today. |
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| Our hotel had nightly entertainment from the house band named: 'Sacrifice, The Band'. The lead guitarist could play just about anything and play it very well. Add to that the mega-size beers and all is right with the world!! "Isn't that correct Melanie?!?!" |
My brother, Wayne, had told us about the Chocolate Hills, when he had visited the Philippines a couple of years ago. Even though he said they were a little underwhelming, we wanted to see them, so we up the game a little and made it a bit more exciting by renting a buggy to get to them!
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| Us and our buggy, complete with our designer clad garbage bags! |
We had time for a little photography while on the way to the hills.....
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| Jump they say. |
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| What are the chances of there being two B's on the same trip! Melanie you are one lucky girl! |
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| The 'Chocolate Hills', which during the rainy season are not 'chocolate' at all, but calling them the "Green Hills" just doesn't carry the same glamour! |
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| Apparently there are 1260 of these mounds rising to a height of approximately 100 metres scattered over a small part of Bohol Island. |
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| Many people described the hills during the dry season as a box of Hershey Chocolate Kisses, except it's green. OK.....a Hershey Green Kiss! |
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| This is rice country and there are terraced fields all over, which look pretty neat as well. |
My brother Wayne was correct, the Chocolate Hills are a little underwhelming, but our next stop was anything but!. We are off to see out the tiny and bizarre monkey, the Tarsier. A small animal, one can easily fit in the palm of your hand, with enormous eyes; each eyeball is larger than its entire brain. They are the worlds second smallest primate and are only found here and few other islands in this area.
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| "Look Melanie, a gremlin." |
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| Yoda, the Jedi Master! |
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| The solitary animals are the world's only entirely carnivorous primate; consuming a diet of insects, reptiles and birds, which they only hunt at night. Otherwise they sleep their days away......Similar to a few people I know! |
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| "My what big eyes you have!" "All the better to see you with, my dear!" |
For Christmas week, we decided that we would head to an island that has been consistently ranked as one of the best islands in the world.......
Palawan Island
Boasting whiter then white sand beaches and clear blue waters, a spectacular variety of marine life and towering majestic limestone cliffs. It has seascapes that equals any in Southeast Asia. This is the Philippines' most sparsely populated island and it is 403 miles long and stretches all the way to Borneo. Thankfully, the Thailand-style tourists hordes have yet to arrive and the island's interior remains relatively pristine.
We fly straight to the village of El Nido, known as the Philippines' 'last frontier', it's a perfect place to kick off your shoes and spend lazy hazy dazy days of Christmas waiting for Sanity Clause.
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| Christmas is alive and well in El Nido! |
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| Seems so unlike Christmas when it's 28C and a palm tree sways in the wind. |
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| When the tide goes out, the beach area becomes a street and work area...... |
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| .....however, when the tide comes in the road to a part of El Nido starts to disappear.... |
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| ....finally, when the tide is almost high (it has another foot to go yet), the access to the other part of El Nido disappears completely and, if you are over there, you have to wait until the tide allows you to pass. |
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| A funeral procession. Most Filipinos dress in white to mourn as opposed to the black that the western world dresses in. |
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| Although it's a beautiful day here, the winds offshore makes getting on the water a no-no. This is the tail-end of typhoon season and the winds can whip up pretty good. Alas, we are forced to spend our days exploring the neighbourhood....the sacrifices you have to make! |
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| El Nido's cemetery. A typhoon breezed through here in 2004 causing mass destruction and eroding many of the above-ground burial plots. The perils of putting your cemetery on a beach. |
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| A residential area of El Nido. No tourist here, just Melanie and moi, and five young fellas havin' a time! |
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| Heading back before the tide comes in and strands us on this side of El Nido. We could've grabbed the passing moto-taxi (AKA motorcycle with a thingy attached) but we didn't have too far to walk. |
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| We sat at a beach bar (like you would) and watched the young fella playing on the beached boat as each wave came in and battered both him and the boat. Eventually a wave of significant size hit the boat and took him out, he surfaced in the cabin, climbed out and did it all over again! Tough cookie. |
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| The day we were leaving the wind finally subsided and all of these outrigger boats left the shelter of the harbour carrying tourist to the destinations we were supposed to be carried to. Damn the torpedoes. |
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| "That look you get when the wall poster is staring you down" |
It being Boxing Day, our time on Palawan Island had come to an end, so we boarded a ferry for the two hour crossing to our 4th island.......
Coron Island
Ignoring the super rough seas and the ferry ride from hell to get here, Coron Island is one of the top tourist destinations in the Philippines. Offering towering limestone karst landscape, beautiful beaches, crystal-clear freshwater lakes, multi-coloured lagoons, and shallow-water coral reefs great for snorkelling and diving.
We stay in Coron Town (which is actually located on Busuanga Island), which when approached from the water, makes you wonder if the long journey was worth it. There's no beach and the waterfront is a mishmash of half-done buildings and ramshackle houses. But I've learn early in life not to judge a book by its cover, and Coron Town is but a gateway to other adventures in and around Coron Bay!
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| Coron Town as seen from my hotel balcony. It's them yonder hills on Coron Island and its surrounding waters that we've come to this part of the world. |
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| Many of the residents live in stilted houses on the ocean, just waiting for the next super-typhoon to hit. |
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We couldn't escape Christmas even if we tried.
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| One of THE things to do in Coron Town is climb that there hill (Mt. Tapyas) for an epic view of the surrounding area......so we did....... |
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| ....that epic view doesn't come easy though; to reach the giant cross at the summit, you need to climb 721 steps. In the piercing sun of Coron Town, this is a challenge that leaves you drenched in sweat and gasping for breath once you reach the top. |
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| The epic view just as the sun is getting ready to set. |
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| After the sweaty hike up Mt. Tapyas, we were looking for a place to soak our aching muscles and the saltwater Maquinit Hot Springs were the perfect place to do just that. Fueled by an active, underwater volcano, these waters heat to a wonderful hot-tub temperature of 39C. |
The next day we suit up and head out on the water to go snorkelling and snorkelling and snorkelling. Yeah baby!!!!!!
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| Twenty minutes via outrigger boat to our first destination and B is ready to rumble....... |
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| ....our first destination was Kayangan Lake found somewhere in them there yonder hills. |
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It's a ten minute hike to the lake; up 177 steps, down 177 steps, and into and out of the jungle.
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| The view of the bay from the top of the path before descending to the lake. |
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| Kayangan Lake, considered to be the cleanest lake in the Philippines allowing you to easily see the 20 feet to the bottom. |
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| The clarity of the water can be seen here at an entrance to a small limestone cave...... |
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| ....the view looking out from the same limestone cave. |
We leave Kayangan Lake and head back onto the ocean for our next snorkel. We sail a short distance to Malwawey Island and its coral gardens.
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| Local fisher along the way........ catching my supper. |
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| Time to get wet......again! |
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| The coral here was pristine and very healthy! |
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| Two tums up Mel!! |
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Our next snorkel is in the most famous of Philippine lakes - Barracuda Lake, which is both a fresh and salt water lake. Its crystal blue waters, hidden between majestic rocky formations, aren't actually big on Barracudas but instead it's the thermocline transition from fresh to salt that is unlike anywhere else. The surface temperature is 27C (84F) whereas just a few feet below the surface the temperature spikes to 37C (100F).
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| We arrived in the small bay but the low tide meant the water level was too shallow for our big outrigger to dock, so we had to swim to the boardwalk. Sucks to be us. |
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| It's a ten minute walk through some of the best limestone karsts I've seen since our trip to the tsingy in Madagascar in 2016 (check that blog out!). Still sucks to be us! |
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| It's an up and down kinda walk on some very questionable structures. Really sucks to be us! |
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| The journey to the lake was half of the adventure! |
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| And with that we arrive at the lake. |
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| The lake entry area. To get here, we hiked through that gap in the karst. |
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| A lot of people come here to scuba dive in the lake. The sheer cliffs drop for another forty metres below the water surface before reaching the bottom. |
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| Well Mel, not a bad way to spend December 29th. Guess it doesn't suck to be us after all! |
After Barracuda Lake, we pull anchor and set sail for our next location where we'll have lunch and then snorkel (or kayak for those wishing to do so) in the Twin Lagoons. To get to the Twin Lagoons, the outrigger enters a maze of limestone rocks, passing towering limestone cliffs on brilliant blue water.
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After we had had our fill of snorkelling, it was time to head to our final destination, Beach 91, which is a photographers dream come true. Despite its unusual name, Beach 91 has it all: powdery white sands, crystal clear waters, and a stunning backdrop!!
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| Arriving at Beach 91, not to be confused with Beach 90 or Beach 92. |
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| The famous Filipino outrigger complete with two stabilizers. Couldn't tip this baby over even if you tried. |
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| Legend has it that five Frenchmen started singing '99 Beers on the Wall' at this beachside restaurant. They drank a corresponding beer with each diminishing number. They all passed out at 91 beers on the wall, and that folks is why the beach is called Beach 91.......................OK I'm making that up, but if it were Newfoundlanders playing, the beach would be known as Beach 1, cause we'd always leave one beer in case company dropped in. |
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| They gave up building this when they realized it was going nowheres. |
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| I believe some people would refer to this as 'Paradise'. |
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| With the rising tide, Beach 91 will soon be Beachless 91. |
And with that, our time on Coron Island comes to an end. With the New Years Eve festivities fast approaching we pack up and head for the most famous Philippines island........
Boracay Island
The magazine, Travel & Leisure, ranked Boracay Island as the 9th top destination in the world. While Time Magazine, described the beach as 'one of the top beaches in the world'. The magazine, Conde Nast Travelers, 2022 Readers' Choice Awards awarded Boracay Island, the Top Island in Asia award!! The prestiges EarthwalkerMoondancer gave it an unconditional 'two-thumbs up'! Enough said........the perfect spot to spend New Year celebrations with the white stuff being sand NOT snow!!!
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| "And dere she be. One of dem top ones.....sure never so much as put me toe in da water!" |
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| Sunset from our hotel balcony. |
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| All was quiet until the zombie cluster came up the beach........just got away in time. |
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| New Years Eve Eve. Me and the Missus; sitting on the beach with a cold Gin and Tonic, a shisha and squid rings on a stick, sure what more do yeah need? Butter on it? |
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Our hotel. This is the first picture of a hotel I've ever posted in my blogs. Fancy. It was New Years. Gotta splurge every once in a while!
Time to celebrate........ |
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| PARTEE! Happy New Year!!! |
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| BOOM |
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| BAM |
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HAPPY 2023!! And what a year. It started out with a COVID lockdown in Newfoundland. (shiver me timbers) but it ends in Boracay, Philippines, at a fancy spot. Good transition! That concludes our month long adventure in the Philippines. Stay tuned, we are off to Malaysia for a month of adventure next.
