Kota Beach Resort

So, we reached Bantayan Island and had no reservations whatsoever, but with some tips from the motorbike driver "Kulot" - who rented us his motorbike, we found Kota Beach Resort.  Although this was after 4-5 resorts that refused us because they were full,  we were so glad to have found a resort with a beach front - this is all we need and we knew we were in the right place, after all - the purpose was to find any white beach in Cebu we can set our foot on.  The rooms were facing the beach and most of them occupied by long staying guests, some of them stay for months. The rates are affordable - it's between P800 - P3000 depending on the location of the room.  The resort was very basic no other facilities besides the restaurant and reception - the beach is the only thing they have at best and the rooms - although, facing the beach those were made to disappoint, it was already run down and the fittings were just as old and tired - Seriously needs some renovation.

beach front cottages

I've been to Bantayan Island a couple of times before, I have an Uncle (my Dad's brother) lives there and my bestfriend Leila's Dad - grew up in Madredejos (one of the three municipality on Bantayan Island).  However, I have no clue which side of the island has the best beach, as usually when you travel with locals in the area they just drag you all over the place and you have no idea where you were, how you got there, after all you did that day.  So, finding a beach front view rooms and white beach was a feat for Loquito and I, somehow it was like threading in unchartered territory.  It was raining when we arrived but we managed to swim in the dark in between the interval rains.  It did felt creepy at some point swimming in the water that you cant even see whats in there, except you just struggle to keep afloat and ensure not to touch your feet underwater.  The beach front didn't have lights on, and we were only relying on the reflections of the lights from the resorts restaurant a couple of meters away and the light post from a resort next to ours.  There were other people swimming, so it was not that scary staying in the water. Actually it was easier to stay in the water than out of it, the wind was a bit of a chill and it was was more scary to you get out of the water.  The beach was really nice and swimming made us feel better, despite the darkness and after a long day of driving, boat ride and then motorbike in the rain it was a treat.  It does sound like a long day does it? I would like to say "it was Fun" but i have difficulties extracting the words from my head since there was a point when I was wet shivering cold on the motorbike under the rain.

Local fishermen

After swimming, we had dinner at the resorts restaurant. Ding Dong Restaurant! I don't know who would name a resorts restaurant Ding Dong but it was it's name.  We couldn't help giggling - not with excitement but with pure sarcasm.  The menu was a big selection, however, a lot of the ones we wanted to order were not available but, they still kept it in the menu (after all these years - I guess!).  "Sigh". After a long struggle with the Menu I ended up ordering vegetable fried rice, i thought it would be the safest choice since Filipinos are really fond of rice - so you can't go wrong with any rice courses and Loquito looked at me as if my choice was from the menu outer space.  When the food came after about an hour of waiting, my food was unbelievably a poor choice.  I ended up eating what Loquito ordered and hardly touched my fried rice and I swear - I will never order fried rice again.

Loquito found his white beach and the perfect blue sky

The night was short due to the rain, and then it was pouring hard and harder and then some very loud thunder, it felt like the walls would break - we didn't have a choice but to sleep.  We woke up with a really nice weather the following day.  The sun was up and it was really hot.  After breakfast at Ding Dong Resto (this time breakfast was inclusive of the room rate) although it was just toasted slice bread, a powdered juice mix, coffee or tea, butter and jam - it didnt matter, we were more excited with the beach than food.  We took a walk on the beach and went all the way to the last resort in the area and notice all of the ones that refused us but we were so happy to realized that our resort has better beach.  There were very few people on the beach, and it felt like we had our own private white beach.  I knew most people were hiding from the sun and we just did the opposite.  We found a spot with very fine sand, so we laid our towels, swam for a while and then lay there to soak up some sun - as if I needed more colour, seriously I couldn't be more darker from all the beaches we been already.

not sure if those two are out on a romantic cruise

Bantayan Island is a great place for honeymooners and beach bums I guess, there was little trouble that disturbs your peace.  The beach is amazing, the sand is white and very fine like sugar and no crowded place.  It's like a little peace of heaven, however with a bad weather there is a possibility that you will be stuck on the island, because the ferry company doesn't operate when the wind is strong, the sea could be really rough.

Night Diving at Palm Beach, Marigondon

As a child, I remembered Marigondon as a weekend refuge from the city life for me and my big family. This is where we usually spend Saturdays, Sundays and all the public holidays specially when the tide is high. We all love the sea so much that we would stay in the water from the time we arrive til its time to go. I would get prune hands it would hurt all night but as a child, it never mattered then.

nudibranch - looking so fragile

However now that I'm crazy about scuba diving, this is how I spend most of my time in Marigondon lately. I didnt realized until now that it has a very vibrant marine life. No matter how many times I dove in this place, there is always something new to see or discover every time. Recently a friend of mine has been asking me to buddy with him for night diving almost every day. And like day time scuba diving there is always something new that we discover. Only that it is more interesting. Night diving is always a different experience, most creatures that you encounter during night time you may not see them during the day, ie. cuttlefish, brittle star, etc. But most of all, we usually feel more adrenalin as it can be a scary thing diving in darkness. I remember my first night diving experience, I almost peed in my wet suit when I was staring at the wall that feels like there is something that will appear ready to eat me alive anytime.

frogfish - so ugly looking yet so beautiful!!!

In one of our dives, we saw a white nudibranch with yellow highlights, which I havent seen before and a frogfish which I thought doesn't exist in this area but with a stroke of luck we saw it a couple of times now. I wish that the local government would protect this area from boat anchors and dynamite fishing, so we can all enjoy this gift of nature. God I love this place and night diving here makes it my top spot in Cebu and Mactan Island. This has become my favorite diving site in the area now, however you have to watch out for the tides, the current can be nasty when its going low. The best time is when the tide is going high or during high tide.

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Stop! Dynamite Fishing

Since I was young I've heard about dynamite fishing being practiced in our small island - Mactan.  I never really saw this happening however I've heard from my parents and others.  My mom used to tell me that the fishes sold in the market were caught using dynamite fishing.  I never really know what this means before but since I started diving many years ago, I realized how this method has damaged our reefs.

Dynamite fishing or blast fishing is a destructive way of catching fishes.  The fishermen uses a bottle full of kerosine or gasoline and insert a cloth which serves as a wick and then they light it and throw it in the sea and then it explodes underwater.  Unfortunately the blast kills everything in its way including the corals.  There are some fishermen that aren't lucky and blast their hands in the process.  I know a few.  The fishermen also does not realize that this method leaves them very little fishes for human consumption and most dead fishes are turned into pieces and are left underwater for other species to feed on and yet, kills the natural habitat of fishes to breed.  This is very sad.  Although the government is trying their best to stop this way of fishing, but it is very hard to crack the system.

I thought it has been stopped since the construction of many international resorts on the island has somehow prevented local fishermen to do this around the reefs, however just recently while I was diving I heard blast underwater.  It did sound very near us but we never saw it.  Sound travel fast underwater, it may be very far from us however it sounded so near.  The dive master confirmed that it was dynamite fishing.  I thought to myself, no wonder there are no great reefs around the area and fishes has declined in numbers.  I wish the government will do something to rid this practice, so we have a sustainable environment and nice reefs for us divers to enjoy.