On our second day in Moalboal, we spent half of our day in the sea, basking on Cebu's blessed underwater treasures. After our adventure at Kawasan Falls, Kuya Arnel ushered us to our next stop: Basdaku Beach and the beautiful corals of Moalboal.
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| The white sand and the breath taking view! |
When we got to the beach, the first thing that we did was eat lunch. Since Cza and I are cheapskates, we asked Kuya Arnel to bring us to a karenderya around. We ate some karenderya staples like sinigang and menudo before we proceed to our snorkeling adventure.
Where to rent a bangka:
Basdaku beach offers various packages for snorkeling. Some resorts have their own bangkas, but if you happen to be from another hostel, you can always walk and ask around. We found our bangka through Kuya Arnel. If you happen to need help, you can contact him through (0943) 589 8886. Each boat can accommodate up to 6-8 pax, for Php 2,500.00. Free life vests and snorkel gears. :)
Where you'll go:
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| The island! |
Destination #1: PESCADOR ISLAND
A couple of minutes from the shore, Pescador Island houses beautiful coral reefs and an abundant fish sanctuary. You can bring bread to attract fishes to your direction, perfect for underwater photos. The view is just breath taking. Best experienced with an underwater camera and 20/20 vision (both of which I don't have). Here are some photos that we captured through Cza's cam:
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| SO MUCH FISH. |
DESTINATION #2: Turtle Sanctuary
There are also a lot of turtles living in the island BUT they only go out in the morning. It is advisable to go there at 7AM-11AM, when they are still very active. Unfortunately, when we got there, it was already 2PM, and we weren't able to spot anything. They usually sleep during that time, and the waters are pretty dark (it's really deep) so the chances of seeing them on the sea floor is very little, too.
DESTINATION #3: Sardine Run
This was my personal favorite of it all. There are literally thousands and thousands of sardines running around, and they usually go under the shade of boats. In a couple of minutes, we saw them migrate from one boat to ours, and it was majestic. It felt like there was a wall of fish under the water! It felt terrifying at first, imagining that they would bolt in and become a giant and eat you alive (hahaha), but when you get a hang of it, it was like nothing I've ever experienced.
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| So many fishies!!!! |
DESTINATION #4: Coral Sanctuary
Compared to Pescador, this one was a bit shallower, and it doesn't have much fishes. This was our last destination and most of our time in this area was spent taking photos such as this one:
Love the under water? Here are other things that you can do in Moalboal:
- Oslob Whale Shark WatchingThis has been a huge attraction in Oslob, which is just a couple of hours from Moalboal. This is usually done in the morning, around 5am. Seeing them is just wonderful, I know, but I still kind of feel bad about trapping them, as feeding these gentle giants make them incapable of surviving the wild.
- Dolphin Watching
This usually comes with the island hopping package that we had, but only in the wee hours of the morning. Call time would be around 5AM at Basdaku beach, and it costs Php 500.00 more than our package. - Dive!
And then, of course, there's diving. If we enjoyed snorkeling a lot, then imagine if you can dive and see the corals and fishes more up close! I still dream of diving, but the deep waters terrify me in a weird way. Oh well, maybe someday.
Budget:
Here's a breakdown of our budget. There were four of us in the boat, so we eventually saved a couple of bucks from that. :)
Php 2,500.00 - Boat (625/head)
Php 15.00 - Bread
Php 50.00 - Lunch
Total: Php 690.00
How about you? Have you ever been to Moalboal? And do you enjoy snorkeling? Share your experience below and I might list down your favorite snorkel destination on my next trip! :)
