The month of May reminds me of summer vacations and having long stretches of hot days. It reminds me of beaches and tan lines. It brings to mind both fun-filled activities and relaxing siestas.
In May of 2021, my girlfriend and I were fortunate enough to go on a trip to Malapascua, an island beyond the northern edge of Cebu (Philippines). I took screenshots of Google Maps on my phone when we arrived at Maya Port in Daanbantyan. I was amazed to see that we were at the island's northern tip. And we were going to cross a small distance of the sea to get to that tiny island northwest of the port.
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We took a bus from the North Bus Station in Cebu City. It wasn't one of those regular yellow Ceres buses, which was a good thing if you wanted to hurry. Ceres buses are well monitored and regulated in terms of their speed limits.
This was my first time going to Daanbatayan and the very northern part of Cebu Island. The farthest I've been was Kawit, Medellin. I was not prepared for the long bus ride of more than 130 km. The trip took about 5 hours, and the excitement was palpable when we reached the port.
The port was like a boardwalk or a long concrete road by the sea. We walked the road under the summer heat. There weren't a lot of tourists, and a boat was waiting to be full. We entered their tourism office to register our names and declare our health conditions. They asked us where we were staying on the island. One of the protocols was that tourists had to book accommodations in advance, and the place had to be on the list of approved tourist establishments. Our resort was on the list, and we filled up all the forms and paid the tourism fee before going to our boat.
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The boat was spacious, and on pre-pandemic days, it would have been filled with many people, but the number of passengers had to be limited because of social distancing on our trip. We were all seated comfortably, and as we started our journey, this islet caught my attention. There were others islets that we passed by while going to Malapascua. I was intrigued whether people lived on the islets and whether tourists could also visit.
The ride was smooth. The weather was perfect that day. My girlfriend planned most of the things about this trip, and I was happy to go along with her plans. Initially, she would have gone with her workmates but they had to cancel due to work commitments. They'd already paid for their accommodations, and it was such a waste if no one went. Naturally, my girlfriend asked if I wanted to go, and I said yes immediately. I've never been to Malapascua, and I've heard a lot of good things about it.
My colleagues from work had been to the island recently, and they raved about the clear waters and the fine white sand beaches. Their only major issue with the island was how narrow the roads were. All in all, I had high expectations of the island.
After about 45 minutes of sea travel, we reached Malapascua. I was shocked to see their port. The water level was so high that it almost went past the concrete. And the water was so clear! It was inviting me to jump right in. The passengers were getting off the boat, so we had to follow.
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I kept looking at the water and taking pictures and videos. I could see schools of fish swimming. My first impression of the island was set pretty high. If this was their port, then what more can the island offer?
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We made our way out of the port, and there were some passengers, who turned out to be locals, chatted with us. They asked us where we were staying and if we wanted to go island hopping around. We told them we were headed for Romantic Place Guest House and contacted someone to tour us around the island. They were friendly and helpful, and they told us our accommodation was just nearby and that beside it was a popular place for nightlife.
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Someone from our accommodation greeted us, and I thought we would ride a vehicle, but she told us that she would lead the way. We walked out of the port area, and true enough, the island's main road was narrow. Four-wheel vehicles would have trouble passing through them. The island was made for motorcycles and boats.
We followed our guide, and I was a bit confused when she led us to a tiny passage and through alleys between houses. We passed by a small hill with trees on both sides, and I wondered where the place could be. We passed a school before reaching the place. It was called Romantic Place Guest House & Resto Bar. It was near the port, but it was also secluded and hidden away in alleys and narrow passages.
But when we got inside the gate, what greeted me was a maximalist and colorful interior. There were lanterns on the ceiling, planter statues, wooden furniture with wheels. A lot was going on. Further ahead, we saw their pool. It was shallow and not that big. I was more looking forward to enjoying the sea than a pool.
A lot of trees shaded the place. The tiles and the rooms were all colorful and vibrant. Tiles with different designs covered most of the ground. There were mermaid statues in the pool, and plants were scattered around. I liked the place. It was a bit eccentric, but I could see how it can be romantic at the same time. And the shade was a relief from the summer sun.
We arrived at the island around noontime, and expectedly, we were famished. We looked for a place to eat before taking our time to rest inside our room which was thankfully airconditioned. We told our contact that we'd do our island hopping in the afternoon.
After filling ourselves and recharging, we were ready to take on the summer heat once again while we went around the island through a boat. The activity was called island hopping, although there was only one island, and we were going to 'hop' around the different destinations throughout the island.
We walked back to the port area, and a boat was waiting for us. We brought our snorkels because we knew there'd be corals and marine life to see. Malapascua is a famous diving spot. People would come to the island to do Scuba Diving and swim with their famous Thresher sharks. We didn't plan on doing scuba diving. I was still a beginning freediver, and I just got from a traumatic swimming experience weeks before the trip. Still, I was excited about what was to come.
We booked a boat that was good for two people, which was strange for me because most island hopping was intended for groups of people. But I wasn't complaining. I was with my girlfriend, and we had the boat to ourselves. The boatman started the boat and moved it around the shallow waters. We were off to a splendid experience!
I'll be leaving you with a bit of a cliffhanger. The island hopping experience deserves a post of its own. I will be continuing this series one after the other, so you won't have to wait long for the next part. This trip was just two days, but we did so many things with the time we had, and I'll be sharing them all with you here.
For now, you can view the 3speak video below for a sneak peek of our island hopping experience.
That's it! Another blog series about a summer destination. Malapascua Island has become one of my favorites after going on this trip. I revisited it after a few weeks, and the experience was still good (except for the jellyfish stings part). Thank you for taking the time to read my post and going through my photos.
See you in the next one. Cheers!
