Blast from the Past. Bellarocca!

Under the Sea @Malapascua Island

Diving has always been one of the things that I wanted to do. To know what its like to actually see the view below the waters, up close and personal. But since I'm not the best swimmer there is, I was hesitant to try it. 

For my birthday I wanted one thing off my bucket list and this time, it would be diving! So off I went for a trip to Malapascua Island to discover scuba diving.

We contacted one of the dive shops (near Ging-Ging's Restaurant) and arranged our schedule for diving. We got our DSD (discover scuba diving) for P2500 and Sam's fun dive for P1200 since he is a licensed diver.

We went to Bantigue Island for the briefing near the shore and then off we go to the site where we can see soft corals.

 Before the dive; TIPS FROM SAM:
1.Drinks lots of water
2.Take a rest before the dive
3.Equalize — Begin equalizing before your head submerges and continue to equalize frequently during descent.

Equalization is the act of forcing air into an open space to offset increasing hydrostatic pressure. This can be applied to such spaces as a dive mask or the diver's ears, and prevents what is known as a squeeze.

~http://www.gooddive.com/



preppin for the briefing




briefing before the dive

 After the briefing, I got a bit scared because its different to breathe through a tank. Its also important to listen very carefully to the dive master so you know what to do once your under the water and lastly but I think one of the most important, DO NOT PANIC.

The first few meters on our way down was scary because it would hurt your ears but you just need to equalize underwater ear pressure.



under the sea





ohh the ocean floor.


After descending, I cant stop looking at the surface cause I cant actually believe I was that deep under the water. I didn't touch anything because I was scared that they would move or could be poisonous or something, but it was so much fun.

But the view under water is really different compared to snorkeling. Its like having a backstage pass for a concert. I felt like I was Ariel from The Little Mermaid. I felt like I was visiting my fishes in the tank in Doodle Fish Farm, up close and personal..hahaha



ok!





exhausted and hungry after the dive



thinking: I'll get a diving license!!!

 I once said that I would never go back to places Ive traveled before but well I must say "Malapascua, I shall return!" and next time with a diving license! #FingersCrossed

Beachified in Malapascua Island!

My summer started early this year with my CamSur Adventure where I got to try wake boarding for the first time. I wanted another thing off my bucket list and this time its diving, so my next stop? Malapascua Island in Cebu:)

How to get there:

From airport, you can take a cab to the Northern Bus Terminal (approx P200 for metered taxis) then you can take a bus to Maya port (P170) or rent a van for P2000. Travel time is approximately 4-4.5 hrs for bus and 3 hrs if you rent a van.

From Maya port, there are boats waiting for passengers going to the island for P80. Travel time is about 30-45 minutes.



Malapascua Island



We checked in at Purple Snapper, and got our rooms for P2400 for 2pax/night. The resort has a pool and its own restaurant. The place was great but thing is, its not located in front of the beach so you still have to walk for like 3 minutes to get to the beachfront.



resort pool

   


        

                                     Purple Snapper Resort

 

One thing that I noticed about the island is that it is full of foreigners, probably because the island was endorsed in LonelyPlanet and very famous among divers because you can actually dive here to see thresher sharks up close.

When it comes to food, there are a lot of restaurants within the island. You can try Ging-Ging's Restaurant if you're on a budget like us.

I didn't like this place because it took them an hour to serve the food. The food was okay but not great, but as I have said, this is one of the cheapest restaurants in the island.

After lunch, we spent the rest of day at the beach drinking.



oh no were not drunk YET





Mojitos+Lime=Drunk and Happy



 Our resort offers Discover Scuba Diving for P2800. We managed to find another dive shop, just beside Ging-Ging's Restaurant and offered it for P2500. For licensed divers, fun dive is for P1200. I wanted to see thresher sharks but sadly, the activity is strictly for licensed divers only. They have other sites to visit for fun dives to see soft corals and so we scheduled our dive the next day.

 

Day 2 started with our "island hopping". With quotes because I actually thought were going to visit other islands nearby but its more of visiting different sites to snorkel. Rate for island hopping is P250/head with three sites to visit.

We saw a local kid playing with these. These were actually baby sharks that they caught, white tail sharks, if I'm not mistaken.

Our diving was scheduled at about 2:30pm. We just ate brunch at the resort and enjoyed the pool while waiting.



back dive

 I decided to eat before the dive because we were informed that its really tiring, but don't eat too much before the dive because you might puke underwater specially for first timers like us.



Bacon cheeseburger melt burger @purple snapper P295



Diving at Malapascua



corals



ok!

 Diving was fun and it was a different experience. I'm thinking to get a license someday.
You can check what happenned to my dive and check Under the sea at Malapascua Island

After the dive we went for a walk to look for a place to eat for dinner. I heard Angelina's is a good restaurant that serves Italian food. Watcha say? Italian? Its time for pizza and pasta!

Angelina's is quite far from the resort, about a 15 minute walk or so, but was worth it.

tagliatelle asparagi e gamberetti P310

raviola al pamodoro P315

penne al arrabiata P305

calzone P410



super angelina P425

After our sumptuous meal, we rode a "habal-habal" (single motorbike) going back to the resort. You can actually ride these motorbikes for P10.00 and tour around the island.

Since its also my birthday, we decided to drink a bit beside the pool while waiting for midnight. Then, just when the clock is about to hit 12:00am, they surprised me with my birthday cake.



blue berry cheesecake that they bought @Exotic Resort I super loved the cake! I really appreciate it! Love you guys! Mwah.



We woke up early the next day to eat breakfast and to swim at the beach again before we leave. I didn't want to go home yet!

Unfortunately some good things has to come to an end and so after taking some pictures we prepared to leave the island. The boat going back to Maya port will only leave the island with at least 10 passengers so instead of paying P80.00, we paid P1000 for the whole trip so we wouldn't have to wait for other passengers. We also decided to take a van going back to the city. We got the van for P2000 from Maya port to Mactan airport.

The past three days were days spent in paradise. Thanks again Bro for the opportunity to travel:) Oh well, got to get back to work and save for the next trip.See yah!

Baguio's Flower Power

Straight from the beaches of Bicol where I spent my last 3 days over my CamSur Adventure, I hurriedly went back to Manila and met with friends for a road trip off north. Its Febuary and Baguio is the place to be for Panagbenga Festival. Ohhh yeah for the love of flowers and of course, friends.

Panagbenga Festival is a month-long annual flower festival occurring in Baguio, the summer capital of the Philippines.   The term means "season of blooming". The festival, held during the month of February, was created as a tribute to the city's flowers.

off to Baguio

We rented a van for P13,0000 including gas and toll. We left Taguig at about 1:00 PM and reached Baguio at about 8:00 PM. We went directly to SM Baguio to have dinner and then headed to the house that we rented just a few minutes away from SM.

It was a two storey house and we rented the first floor with two rooms and one shared rest room. One room has 3 beds and the other has 2 beds. Another group was resnting the second floor during that time. Everyone are free to use the living room, dining room and the kitchen, complete with kitchen utilities.

Bedroom

After resting for a while in the room, some of us were not ready to call it a day yet, including me.hehehe
So we took a cab to Burnham Park where there is a long stretch of vendors selling  "Ukay-Ukay" or second hand clothes.One side of the road was closed just for this and I heard that they do this every saturday during the Panagbenga Festival and its open until around 1:00 AM.

 

And I must say they are so cheap! They were selling clothes for P10.00-P50.00, cardigans for P25.00 and  jackets for P200.00 up. I bought a leather jacket for P600.00, it was a really a bargain.

bags!

Another thing that I loved is that at the end of the street, there were food vendors waiting because people must be hungry after shopping. We had midnight snacks and headed back to the house.

I didn't sleep anymore because we had to take turns taking a bath and had to leave so early in the morning to find a good spot for the parade.

The parade usually starts near the Victory Liner Bus Terminal so headed there. On our way, we already saw some floats also headed to their starting point. We decided to walk instead so we can also take pictures close to the floats.





Aegis People Support Float

 

I was wearing the leather jacket that I bought last night, and so I borrowed the motorcycle and helmet from a stranger for this picture. Biker chick? ohh yeah.



crowd starting to build up

We were lucky to find a very good spot to watch the parade. It was elevated and we can see everything that has been happening and its not so crowded either.



SM Float





TV5 Float




GMA7 Float




Nestea Float




Parade performers





  Everyone was busy taking pictures or videos. Crowd's favorite were the floats from GMA and ABS-CBN because of the presence of celebrities.




this man was so busy taking a video



It was my first time to go to Panagbenga and I had fun! The floats were so full of color and everybody was in a festive mood. I enjoyed the street foods, the ukay ukay and  the cold weather. The festival according to estimates was a whooping 1.5 million tourists.  Phew!