Day 05: we checked out out of Radisson Blu Cebu early morning, had a quick brunch at McDonald’s, then started the long 3.5 hour drive to the northern tip of the Cebu island, where we were received by our guide for the next two days. The boat ride from Maya port was in calm waters again. I’d been really lucky this trip: I haven’t suffered even the slighest vertigo this vacation, compared to our Maldives trip in 2019.
Arriving at Malapascua Island, we swapped out to a smaller boat that took us around the waters off the island. We snorkeled at four different spots, including a place where baby sharks hang around, a coral garden, and also the wreck of a Japanese cargo ship sunk during World War II. Like in the Maldives, much of the corals we saw were lifeless, but we did see a few live ones. The Japanese ship marine sanctuary was a little disappointing: on account that just the skeletal structure of the ship remains.
Generally speaking, apart from the whale watching and also sardine run spots, the snorkeling in this Cebu trip has felt somewhat less interesting compared to what we saw at the Maldives. The waters are as clear for the most part, but we saw less interesting marine life, and it was harder to elicit the best bits of the numerous underwater videos we took for the highlight compilations. It’s also probably because the snorkeling spots we went to around Malapascua Island were all several meters deep at least. And since all four of us were wearing life vests, that made it hard for us to dive down for closer looks: we frequently had to rely on our guide to help us with that.
Still, comparing this trip to the Maldives, I reckon all of us are a little better at snorkeling now: we at least know what to expect, have come better prepared, and were blessed with relatively calm waters and excellent weather throughout.
Pictures!
We’d be staying a night in Malapascua, then Day 06 tomorrow making our way to Bohol. To be continued!