Philippine Island Hopping

Read Previous Palawans, Bohol or read next Northern Luzon

3 - 15 February 2008

Siquijor Island, near Bohol, is another recommended dive spot with opportunities for snorkeling. We reached it on a 1 ½ hour boat ride from Tagbilaron. We shared a tricycle from the dock with a French couple who were going to Norwegian Dream resort. I had tried without success to reserve a room at a resort near Sandugan, at the north end of the island. There were a few more hotels near Sandugan, so we instructed the tricycle driver, Romeo, to carry on. We tried all the hotels at the north but they were all full. Discouraged, we returned to Norwegian Dream and booked in. The resort was quite nice but the beach was very rocky and the reef was not close.

Our room at Royal Cliff

Rocky Beach at Royal Beach

Our tricycle driver Romeo suggested another resort, Royal Cliff Resort near San Juan, on the opposite side of the island with a cabin available the next morning. As its name suggests, Rocky Cliff, with just six rooms, is on top of a 10 M cliff with sets of concrete steps leading down to a tiny beach. Sunbathing, enjoying the view or relaxing was on chairs set out on several pleasant patios at the top of the cliff rather than on a sandy beach. Guests tend to return year after year and stay for extended periods, attracted to the excellent meals and quiet ambience provided by the German owner and his chef trained Filipipna wife who own the resort. We discovered very good snorkeling on a reef just 10 M from shore. Ray saw a banded sea snake, only dangerous if you step on it, and turtles do swim nearby. We spent our time swimming, walking along the beach at low tide, and walking to the market in the small town of San Juan.

Boat to Apo Island

Apo Island Resort

Six of the guests took a day trip by boat to Apo Island, a tiny island off the coast of Negros Island. There are very few hotels on the island and when I had inquired earlier, they were fully booked. Instead we took advantage of our day visit. The island lived up to its reputation of having some of the best diving and snorkeling around. We all spent our time at the Fish Sanctuary, reputed to be one of the best in the Philippines. A highlight for us was discovering a Green Sea Turtle feeding on the corals just a meter or two above where we were swimming. We followed it carefully for quite a while and had the thrill of watching it surface for air just a few feet from us. Another guest from Royal Cliff, Heidi, who is from Vancouver Island, has stayed at Royal Cliff each of six years but this was her first visit to Apo Island. She vowed to return again, this time to dive.

Our last days on Siquijor were progressively rainy but still allowed time for swimming. Therefore we were not surprised that when it came time for us to leave on the boat to Dumaguete on Negros Island, we ran into rain. Dumaguete is a University Town with a busy shopping area. We had hoped to hike into the mountains nearby to visit Twin Lakes but this was not an activity for a rainy day. We left after just one night.

Panagsama Beach

Molly's Place Restaurant

Our trip to Moalboal on Cebu Island was accomplished in the rain but it had stopped by the time we reached Panagsama Beach, a dive resort about 3.5 km from the fishing village of Moalboal. The beach was washed away by a typhoon several years ago, leaving a rocky bottom, but the reef, just 30 m offshore, is easily reached by swimmers. We managed one good snorkel off the reef before the weather deteriorated further. At least we had a pleasant cabin in which to wait out the weather. At Mollie's Place we had a traditional wooden cabin with a large covered balcony and attached bathroom. The pipes bringing water from Moalboal to the beach had broken so we had to make do with a bucket shower and toilet but we didn’t mind. The temperature was still warm despite the rain and the price was reduced for the circumstances.

We checked the weather forecast on the Internet and it was bad all over. A low pressure system was stalled over the Philippines causing rain everywhere. There was no better place to move to. The divers did not seem to mind the weather. They went out on the boats regardless, less affected by the surface weather. We spent our days reading, going for walks whenever it cleared, and the last few days when it cleared for part of the day, swam to the reef to snorkel. We even managed another turtle encounter and Ray had another banded snake sighting.