Last time we were freezing in cold and traditional Japan and this time we are already sweating like crazy
We had a little bit more than three weeks, so we visited 6 islands and the capital,
Manila. Due to the poor internet situation Jure took time off work. This was the first time in our travels that we had visitors: our travelling buddies from the UK, whom we meet in Laos and travelled together for two weeks, came to the Philippines just for us, so we could celebrate Jure´s birthday together. The
Philippines also turned out to be very popular among Slovene travellers, because with the help of our blog we were able to meet a Slovene couple, so we went for a beer, just not at home, but on the other side of the world.
Cebu, Bohol, Panglao and Apo
We landed on
Cebu, spent only a night there and immediately went to the small island of
Panglao with our British friends. We spent a few very relaxing days in a nice resort and celebrated Jure´s birthday. We rented scooters and explored the nearby island of Bohol – running away from a storm looking for the famous Chocolate hills and saw tarsiers for the very first time.
After a couple of days we moved on to the island
Negros. The reason we came here was the proximity of Apo Island where we swam with giant sea turtles.
From Dumaguete (Negros Island) we went back to
Cebu Island (the southern tip). Our mission here was to swim with whale sharks. We did that, but in hindsight we think a few things should be done a bit differently. They should limit the number of people in the water, people should not go that close to the sharks and there should be some security personnel who would enforce these rules. Swimming with these massive creatures was truly unforgettable, but it would be even nicer, if a few things would change.
After this it was time to go our separate ways. Our friends went back home and we continued to the west coast towards Moalboal.
Moalboal is famous for the sardines run, where you can snorkel offshore (10 metres from the beach is a reef drop) and you get to see huge (thousands of fish) schools of sardines, accompanied by all the »usual« stuff you see while snorkelling in the Philippines. We have never seen so many sardines in one place.
Moalboal is also worth visiting because of Kawasan falls. Tiers of waterfalls in blinding emerald colours will bring out the Tarzan in you (that´s how Jure put it). We enjoyed a day there and took some amazing pictures.
Palawan
From Cebu we flew to
Palawan. After spending a night in Puerto Princesa we took a 6 hour ride to El Nido, town in the north of the island. If you like spectacular scenery, beaches, hidden lagoons, then look no further. We were quite active here: we did some proper kayaking, joined a two day tour with an overnight stay at a lovely secluded beach. These two tours included amazing snorkelling and we spent two days just shaking our heads in disbelief that such a landscape truly exists. The highlight of these two days was the night. We saw bioluminescent plankton for the first time and couldn´t stop playing in the water in pitch darkness. What is bioluminescent plankton? Small shiny spots in the ocean that you can see, only at night. Unforgettable.
Boracay
After all the activities we needed a break and
Boracay was just perfect for that. The most touristy spot in all of the Philippines, but we were fine with that. You can easily escape all the crowds and still enjoy all the comfort a touristy place has to offer. Boracay really does offer the best of both sides.
Manila
Our last stop was
Manilla. We had just enough time to see the historical part Intramuros, before the temperatures soared to unbearable heights. Then we strategically moved to the biggest shopping mall in Asia, Mall of Asia.
We are completely impressed by the Philippines. Because we were on a tight schedule we were able to visit only some major tourist spots. We still want to see the northern part and all the dive spots. All in due time.
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