Malapascua Island

We took a taxi from Juan Osmena (near Mango Street) to the North bus Terminal. There were a lot of buses in the area and we decided to take the ordinary bus. The conductor said that it only takes 3.5-4 hours (160.00pesos/pax) to reach the area. It was a slow ride which took about 6 hours because the bus was roaming around Cebu to get more passengers. In connection, the road to Maya is really dusty because they are trying to pave new good roads.

Reaching Maya was kind of new to me. The seaport is not so good. It’s very rocky and that you have to be really careful when going down to take the Bangka (80.00pesos/pax). The ride took for about 20-30minutes.

We jumped off the boat with an overwhelming welcome coming from the locals. They were asking us if we have reservations and what kind of hotel we’re looking for, blablabla. They are very helpful because they know everything about the island. Then one the guys recommended a cheap but neat hotel which is located at the back of the Thresher Shark Divers for only 700/night (fan, clean private bathroom, one bed good for two and veranda). Thus, we decided to stay there for three nights. I was kind of surprise because it was semestral break, I thought that there will be a lot of tourist and that we can’t get a hotel, but there were just a few traveler compared to Canigao Island.

The next morning we had our breakfast at the Blue Waters Resort with budget meals. At night, we had a dinner with one of the most expensive restaurant in the island which is at the Sunsplash Resort, but hey, they have a really good food! The other restaurants were totally dead, literally.

For the next day, we walked through the entire island. The weather was excellent. Then we found small villages while walking. Some were doing nothing and some were doing their business.  There were also some spots in the island with good and smooth sand where we can cool down and swim. Then back to the Bounty Beach waiting for sunset… it was beautiful!

For the last day, we rented a snorkeling gear (100/gear).  We spent our time snorkeling in Bounty Beach. It was fun! Even if the beach was too shallow, we still saw small and big fishes. At first it was kind of scary because I’m not good in swimming so I had to ask Lyngve to swim with me with the risk of our valuables being stolen. But I think our stuffs were safe.

For our last day in the island, we had to find the seaport so we can get back to Cebu City. The seaport is located near the Barks Restaurant. Take note that the last departure of the Bangka is until 2:00pm.

So who in the world said that Malapascua is the next Boracay? I don’t think so… in reality it’s different.


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