Part 1 : SARDINES RUN in Moalboal 

 

          My favourite time of the day is when the sun will begin to emerge in the east showing its glowing glory, splashing its darling hues and gradually erasing the darkness which enveloped the earth several hours before. On one particular day in June and during my favourite time of the day I was in the city of Toledo. I was grateful for that beautiful sunrise. It made me feel good for it offered a promise of hope that the day will be fine. BUT…

          Then something struck my thoughts. It was j like a spark of lightning striking in the core of my mind! The idea on how  nature is being abused nowadays aroused my thoughts.

          Let me share to you this piece of writing that may help everyone realize that the Earth we live in was created perfectly but is now very fragile. It is  suffering from an illnes caused mostly by us, humans. There is a dire need to be saved this planet from extreme destruction that has started to happen.

          There are a lot of factors that destroy our Planet Earth. And if this blue marble can’t endure any longer the cruel things people have done and keep on doing, we are just making our place an epitome of a tomb. Can we not make this Earth a  better place by making it healthy again?  Can we not repair the damage that has been done? Or can we save it from the extreme climate changes? Or can we protect and help out our Mommy Earth? Can we stop being greedy with power and instead look at the bigger perspective especially that the future of the coming generation is at stake? 

          Living in this world is a give and take relationship. Whatever we invest in this planet is what we reap and this planet will continue to evolve until the end our days. Nature does not need people but people need nature. We need this planet so let’s stop abusing  its  resources.

          Ok…? WELL, enough of talking about the complications of living in this earth! I just want my ideas to be accepted and eventually to lodge for a while on the subconscious, and then without knowing somebody or several bodies are on their way saving and protecting our very own abode. Who knows?

          Anyway Let’s go to MOALBOAL which is really the topic of this post! Seeing Moalboal was a soothing balm that calmed down my apprehensions of the future of Mother Earth

          After that introduction about sunrise-turned-to-anxiety about-the-environment while in Toledo (you should have heard of the news especially if you’re in Cebu),, we proceeded to MOALBOAL! We hitched a ride with James and Arms. (Thanks for that cool ride.)  I slept most of the time not realizing the comeliness of the surroundings. When I began to attend and promised to myself not to sleep anymore, I noticed  the mountainous lush of green wedges topped with calm blue skies. I adored the great effulgence of the setting sun. I was mesmerized by nature’s display of freshness that I forgot to take some pictures.

Now planning to go to Moalboal? May these tips help you.

• Tip No. 1 (Based on my research) Go to South Bus Terminal if you plan to take a bus in going to Moalboal. (My trip was via Toledo) The fare is estimated to be 150.00 Php more or less. The travel time is approximately 2 to 3 hours. Plan to take your bus trip early to avoid heavy traffic, save time and have a chance to maximize your trip.

          Anyway, after almost two hours of driving from Toledo via Aloguinsan and Pinamungajan, we arrived in Moalboal and stopped over in Gaisano Grand Moalboal where had a snack at McDonald’s! (YES! MCDO!) Not all towns  in Cebu have that kind of establishment. It thus means that Moalboal has progressed due to the natural beauty spots that have attracted local and foreign tourists, generating higher income for the town.  As you can see, tourists go for nature, to relax and bond with nature. See, this one important reasons why we must protect the environment.

          After Mcdo we headed directly to BAS DAKO to look for resorts where we can stay overnight.

• Tip No. 2 Entering Bas Dako, if you have your own vehicle, there’s a 5.00 Php fee per person. I think it is for the road use. You must save the ticket  in case you wander out.

          All the resorts in Bas Dako had no vacancy! We were frustrated so we left the place and went to Panagsama Beach. Panagsama Beach was also full and in some resorts the vacant rooms were not within our budget. We searched and searched for about an hour and AT LAST we found Pacita’s Beach Resort.

          Pacita’s Beach Resort in Moalboal offers var  Pacita’s ious cottages spread over an area of tropical gardens. And the awesome thing is that it is  spacious and has accommodating and friendly staff.

Booking/Reservations Estimated Price: 700.00 Php – 1,800.00 Php. 

In our case, our room is 1,800.00 Php good for 3 persons so we so we paid 600.00 Php each.

• Tip No. 3 Before your trip, make a reservation first to the hotel/resort you’re going to stay to avoid hassles.

         After checking in the resort, I strolled over the place and it was the perfect time to witness the sunset viewing the placid Tañon Strait and the composed Island of Negros. What a majestic day for me today, for I  experienced the rising sun in Toledo and the setting sun in Moalboal while listening to the soothing sound of the sea accompanied by the acoustic band of Pacita’s Beach Resort.

          The sky slowly showed its orange, red and violet hues and one of my new found friends (a friend of Kuya Rain and Ate Jai) , James, who also watched the sunset, told me that he saw dolphins  playing, chasing, spinning and swimming near a fisherman’s boat.  I was like “whaaat”? It was my first time to experience something like this, just sitting around and enjoying the movements of the dolphins! Again I wasn’t able to capture the sight because i didn’t have telephoto lens. According to James those were spinner dolphins.

          SAD TO SAY I WAS NOT ABLE TO SEE THEM SPINNING.  Nevertheless I was in bliss seeing those creatures in their natural habitat and not captured by humans to play tricks. 🙂

• Tip No. 4 Enjoy every moment because there is no such thing as the same experience. Every experience is different. So don’t get bored seeing the sunrise and the sunset. Celebrate every experience.

         The light started to vanish and darkness began to dominate. It’s night time and time to sleep.

          I woke up excitedly at 7 o’clock in the morning for it was the day I had been waiting for. Scuba diving time!!! With the sardines.!!!

         Four of us were to go scuba diving,  Me, Ate Jown, Kuya Rain and Ate Jai. We rented air tanks at Nelson Diving Shop. We walked for about 150 meters while carrying our heavy gears. Note : This is one of the responsibilities of a diver , carrying heavy gears, but I do not complain because the experience underwater is beyond compare, absolutely can’t be traded. Anyway while walking, we saw a number of dive shops showing their own unique facade designs. It was such an amazing sight, and looking at them was like being in haven paradise for divers. We just couldn’t walk away without taking pictures.

Shoutout to Kuya Val and Ate Cristy for lending their gears, Huge thanks for these! I owe u a loooooooot!

• Tip No. 5 The rent of tanks is 200.00 Php and supposedly there’s 20.00 Php  for environmental fee but no one came and asked for the fee. So if you plan to dive just have your 20.00 Php ready.

          Then the diving started. As I stepped on the waters of Moalboal I immediately noticed lots of corals and fishes. The corals were blooming healthily and juvenile fishes were swimming happily and freely.

          And as we finally submerged into the depths, we saw numerous corals and fishes. We continued swimming. Suddenly it became dark, later did I realize that a school of sardines was hovering above us. And as we swam farther we saw another school of sardines. Then we decided to go back. The two groups of sardines finally united. There were thousands of them. They moved so swiftly and they were very sensitive. lf they could sense some bubbles (coming from our breathing) they would change their formation. And then a group of Trevallies came provoking the sardines to move swiftly here and there. They were having their own dance party…I was astonished. It was jaw dropping and breathtaking!!!

 

 

         Just look at the video and be awed.  🙂

          The sardines run (as many call it) was really fun as they made different formations. Well, it truly was. It was one of the most amazing sights I HAVE ever laid eyes on!

• Tip No. 6 If you will not go Scuba Diving but want to experience sardine-run in Panagsama Beach, you can rent snorkeling gears from many dive shops found in the area. The sardine run is just about 20-50 meters from the shore line. Always keep safe by wearing a life vest especially if you are not comfortable in deep waters.

SEE THE PICTURES AND TELL ME WHAT THEY FORM.

          Until now I’m still clinging on to the ninth cloud, reminiscing the humble MOALBOAL. Moalboal, you are such a beaut.

Swimming with the sardines — bucketlist checked.

Shoutout to Kuya Rain and Ate Jai for this awesome and unforgettable experience.

Next adventure is HALE MANNA, so stay tuned for the next post. Thanks for reading. 🙂