What not to miss on Malapascua Island, Philippines
Written by Bessie on Saturday, January 02, 2010 in Philippines
Feelin' normal
Feelin' normal
Here are my tips of things not to miss:
- Get in the water. There are a number of dive shops on the island, one of which was visited by National Geographic a few years back. Thresher sharks and ship wrecks seem to be the main attraction. We're more of the snorkeling types and saw a number of live coral beds around the island in all shades of blues. Our highlights were clown fish peeking in and out of anemone, schools of black and white stripe fish, and a sea snake.
- Mingle with the locals. All over the island we encountered people excited to see us. We befriended kids on the beach and mixed pretty easily at the weekend discos and cockfights.
- Explore. Take the walk around the island to the light house and check out the coves and beaches. It's picturesque.
- Calangaman Island Day Trip. Less then a 2 hour boat ride from the island you can take a tour to this national reserve. It's an idyllic patch of sand and palms with little more than basic bathrooms and grilling areas, but it's definitely worth spending a few hours there. Here's a litte video of the island:
- Don't miss the sunsets. They're hard to miss, and Bounty Beach is a nice spot to catch the sunset, but also curve around the west side of the island. There's a bar along the walk to the lighthouse that gave the best views.
- Enjoy the cuisine. Fresh fish with garlic rice seems to be the local specialty. A little restaurant called Mang Mang is a little in from Bounty Beach and offers cheap and tastey local dishes & Asian specialties. They even advertised kimchi. Angelina's is a delicious spot owned by Italians that serves up delicious pizzas, pastas, and capri salads.
Comments on "What not to miss on Malapascua Island, Philippines"
Wonderful summary and video. Thanks for sharing the beauty and peace! Great trip! So where is the volcano everyone talked about on USA TV?!!!
We'd definitely go back!
The Philippines is a big enough group of islands that we weren't really that close to it. Mayon Volcano is a few hundred miles north of where we were.
Ah the Philippine Islands, some of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.
Glad that you had a chance for a tropical getaway....second best to being home for the holidays but a nice treat just the same. You have to wonder what criteria a hermit crab uses in shell selection. :) Hope you were able to regroup and reinvigorate to return to the classroom eager to see the smiling youthful faces awaiting your return.
We feel refreshed and more like ourselves, but there's no denying we're ready to be about done here. Just a few more months to go!
hey just checking in i saw your video of el salvador vs panama a while and back and wonder where you guys at. returning to el salvador anytime soon?
Well, when we finish up with our teaching, we'll probably go around SE Asia for a bit. After that, who knows? There are no plans for El Salvador right now, but we like to keep our options open for anything.
Thanks for sharing. I loved the pictures and narrative. Kids are really the same around the world. Their little voices sound the same in any language-happy, sad, excited, crying, playful. We experienced the same snow and beach phenomena here with 10 inches in KC and beaches in PV days later.
by Susan at January 05, 2010 09:38 AM