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A vacation in the Philippines (part 3) |
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Written by Wendy Wood - View Profile
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Wednesday, 31 October 2007 |
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Editor's note: this is the third blog by Lake Tahoe local Wendy Wood about her travels in the Philippines. Click on the links below to read her other submissions:
#1: Vacationing in the Philippines
#2: The Philippines, a diver’s paradise
Malapascua Island is a small island located at the Northern tip of Cebu Island and is notable for its white sand beaches, great food and low-key approach to tourism. There are no cars on the island and only a few motorbikes as most of the locals and tourists get around by meandering foot paths. The entire island can be crossed by foot in 45 minutes and there are plenty of helpful locals who speak English to guide you along.
 We flew from Manila to Cebu City (Mactan International Airport), a one-hour flight, and then hired a car for a three-hour drive through the center of Cebu Island. Then Malapascua Exotic Island Dive & Beach Resort retrieved us at Maya for a one-hour boat ride to the Island.
Upon arrival, the proprietors Zoe (English) and her dive master husband Tim (Canadian) Latimer welcomed us to their island retreat. We were briefed on dive procedures, notified that our Open Water certificates would need to be upgraded to Advanced certificates to dive the majority of sites recommended in the area.
 Divers at Malapascua are entertained with three wreck dives, one the Dona Marilyn is a 400 person passenger ferry that sunk during a typhoon in 1984, with only a few survivors. The eerie underwater lighting and overgrowth of soft coral combined with various distant dynamite blasts created a surreal exploration of the wreck. The location of the wreck is at just over 100 feet below the surface, whereas the other wrecks have been planted for coral growth and marine life enhancement and are at shallower locations.
 The marine sanctuary of Gato Island, a 40-minute boat trip from Malapascua, offers an underwater cave that begins at one side of the island then meanders through some darkness to the opposite side. Varieties of bat fish and angels greet you as you exit into sunlight after approximately five minutes of darkness. Sea snakes also find their home at Gato Island as do nudibranchs, scorpion fish, lionfish, frogfish, anemones and many other forms of soft coral and sea life.
The Philippine archipelago is home to 80% of all underwater life known to man, but what you see during your trip depends on how much dynamite fishing, preservation and population pressures have affected the area you visit or just your luck for that given day.
 Malapascua also boasts one of the few locations that the elusive and usually very deep ocean residing Thresher Shark can be viewed. After several days of rising at 4:30 a.m. to capture the “cleaning” of the sharks by cleaner fish at sunrise and not seeing the sharks, I decided the video I purchased would suffice. The Thresher shark is spectacularly beautiful with a long crescent tapered tail and bright silvery color; their large cellulose eyes give a soft impression to their imposing image. They are not known to attack humans, at least not at Monad Shoal.
Coming from a week at the Atlantis Dive Resort (Puerto Gallera, Sabang Beach) where we felt comfortable as reasonably experienced Open Water Divers (no greater depth than 60 feett), Malapascua provided the next step of Advanced open water diving taught by an instructor who really cared and with loads of worldwide diving experience. Scuba diving has become such a promotional advantage to many resorts in areas where the dive instructors are new to the sport themselves that finding someone in charge with integrity provides a boost of confidence.
The diving at Malapascua is more “aggressive” than Puerta Gallera, it is a magnificent destination for those seeking reasonable isolation who still appreciate access to an espresso machine, excellent massage therapists, several excellent local restaurants and very comfortable accommodations. The locals also have “disco” night for all ages on Saturday night at the local basketball court and cock fighting on Sundays, and the tourists are always welcomed to join. Coming from an area where teenagers shun parents and any activity with parents, it was refreshing to see the Saturday night all-ages barbecue and party — try promoting that activity at home.
Malapascua Exotic Island Dive & Beach Resort can be reached at
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or through their Web site at www.malpascua.net.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 31 October 2007 )
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