Entry #14 Philippines - July 15 - July 29, 2019
Greetings from the Philippines!
The Philippines are made up of over 7,000 islands; 2,000 of which are inhabited. Despite having nearly 2 weeks to explore the Philippines, we spent most of our time on just one, teeny, tiny speck of paradise called Malapascua.
We arrived in the big city of Cebu, but we didn’t linger because we were so excited to get to Malapascua.
We couldn’t have been happier to make ourselves at home here.
There are no cars on the island; only motorbikes - and plenty of roosters that co-ordinate a resounding 4 am daily alarm. The motorbike taxi ride to our place was an exercise in extreme balance.
And it was so much fun making discoveries on the beach.
Our wonderful hotel, Slams Garden Resort, was Jamie and Jess vision of the ideal island home, not only because our restaurant would play cartoons as they scarfed downed chocolate banana pancakes for breakfast, and because they could swim in the pool from morning till night, rain or shine, but most of all… because we were in the company of other families!
Kids! In few other places in the past 5 months have we found any place more populated by other English speaking travelling families. The best part about being in a small place is not feeling the pressure to stray too far from home base. Our schedule was clear, our itinerary was empty, and the kids could indulge in playtime with their friends.
There were art activities, dance parties, video game battles, tag team races on the beach, group snorkel adventures, and even a kids table when we’d congregate for dinner, even if dinner was a smoky BBQ at the village market.
Not to mention how much better it is to clean up the beach as a team!
At our favourite beach, the kids made friends with a pup - who could not escape the clutches of their love and affection.
The main motivation to visit this lesser known spot was to come in search of a very unique species of shark; thresher sharks.
Malapascua is the only place on the planet that divers have a chance to spot these nocturnal beauties. Catching them in action meant getting up at 4:30 am, and watching the sunrise from the dive boat before heading down to 30 metres below.
We waited on the edge of a coral wall, anxious and still until the ghostly silhouettes of these other-worldly, wide-eyed sea creatures would make an appearance. Threshers reside at much greater depths, but their morning routine includes ascending to this spot which happens to be a cleaning station for the sharks. It was a spectacular and eerie thrill to witness these rare creatures gliding through the blue.
It also happened to be the first time we were able to dive together in a decade!
During daylight hours we both took turns going to other beautiful dive sites in the area. Discovering secrets of the deep is an addictive passion. The diversity of weird and wonderful things underwater is completely mindblowing. From miniscule technocoloured sea slugs called nudibranchs, to brilliant colour changing marvels like the cuttle fish. Not to mention the excitement of being engulfed by darkness after swooping into an underwater cave, only to turn on a flashlight and see a vibrant explosion of neon colour hiding in every nook and cranny.
A person must be 10 years old to go through the course that certifies open water divers. Jamie would hold his breath, sit on the bottom of the pool with his mask, and watch as other adults went through the practical drills of the course. He was heartbroken to be too young to join in. However, he fished his wish one day when a dive master let him use all the diving gear which allowed Jamie to scuba dive in the pool!
He was instantly hooked! Jamie has always been a fish - and discovering the joy of being able to breath underwater only made him realize his inner Aquaman all the more.
The kids were plenty entertained by the underwater world when we went on a snorkelling trip. We got to see a Japanese ship wreck from WWI, swim with harmless jellies, and visit a colourful coral garden.
It was a sad day when we sailed away from Malapascua’s torquoise waters.
This was an especially emotional goodbye because it was going to be the last time our toes would touch the sand on this trip. But we found a little treat to lift our spirits when we arrived in Manila…
A taste of home at Tim Hortons!
We only had 1.5 days in Manila, and getting around was tough because the traffic in this city is mind boggling. For example, getting to the airport could take 20 minutes, or 2 hours… depending on the time of day and luck. We didn’t get to go too far beyond our neighbourhood (called Makati), but it was a great opportunity to get a sense of what this sprawling metropolis had to offer.
We also had to make a stop at the salon.
Even if we didn’t get to visit all the sites and saw only a tiny fraction of the country, we had plenty of exposure to the kindness and friendliness of the Filipino people. It had been a wonderful visit.
And that takes us to our final destination… Japan. We touched down in Osaka and immediately took a bus ride to Kyoto. It is unbelievable to think that this is the last country in our 6 month tour! We only have 3 weeks left and we plan to make the most of every last bit of it.
We arrived in the big city of Cebu, but we didn’t linger because we were so excited to get to Malapascua.
Can you blame us? This is the scene that awaited us as our small ferry floated up to the north shore of the little island.
We couldn’t have been happier to make ourselves at home here.
There are no cars on the island; only motorbikes - and plenty of roosters that co-ordinate a resounding 4 am daily alarm. The motorbike taxi ride to our place was an exercise in extreme balance.
And it was so much fun making discoveries on the beach.
Our wonderful hotel, Slams Garden Resort, was Jamie and Jess vision of the ideal island home, not only because our restaurant would play cartoons as they scarfed downed chocolate banana pancakes for breakfast, and because they could swim in the pool from morning till night, rain or shine, but most of all… because we were in the company of other families!
Kids! In few other places in the past 5 months have we found any place more populated by other English speaking travelling families. The best part about being in a small place is not feeling the pressure to stray too far from home base. Our schedule was clear, our itinerary was empty, and the kids could indulge in playtime with their friends.
There were art activities, dance parties, video game battles, tag team races on the beach, group snorkel adventures, and even a kids table when we’d congregate for dinner, even if dinner was a smoky BBQ at the village market.
Not to mention how much better it is to clean up the beach as a team!
At our favourite beach, the kids made friends with a pup - who could not escape the clutches of their love and affection.
The main motivation to visit this lesser known spot was to come in search of a very unique species of shark; thresher sharks.
Malapascua is the only place on the planet that divers have a chance to spot these nocturnal beauties. Catching them in action meant getting up at 4:30 am, and watching the sunrise from the dive boat before heading down to 30 metres below.
It also happened to be the first time we were able to dive together in a decade!
During daylight hours we both took turns going to other beautiful dive sites in the area. Discovering secrets of the deep is an addictive passion. The diversity of weird and wonderful things underwater is completely mindblowing. From miniscule technocoloured sea slugs called nudibranchs, to brilliant colour changing marvels like the cuttle fish. Not to mention the excitement of being engulfed by darkness after swooping into an underwater cave, only to turn on a flashlight and see a vibrant explosion of neon colour hiding in every nook and cranny.
A person must be 10 years old to go through the course that certifies open water divers. Jamie would hold his breath, sit on the bottom of the pool with his mask, and watch as other adults went through the practical drills of the course. He was heartbroken to be too young to join in. However, he fished his wish one day when a dive master let him use all the diving gear which allowed Jamie to scuba dive in the pool!
He was instantly hooked! Jamie has always been a fish - and discovering the joy of being able to breath underwater only made him realize his inner Aquaman all the more.
The kids were plenty entertained by the underwater world when we went on a snorkelling trip. We got to see a Japanese ship wreck from WWI, swim with harmless jellies, and visit a colourful coral garden.
It was a sad day when we sailed away from Malapascua’s torquoise waters.
This was an especially emotional goodbye because it was going to be the last time our toes would touch the sand on this trip. But we found a little treat to lift our spirits when we arrived in Manila…
A taste of home at Tim Hortons!
We only had 1.5 days in Manila, and getting around was tough because the traffic in this city is mind boggling. For example, getting to the airport could take 20 minutes, or 2 hours… depending on the time of day and luck. We didn’t get to go too far beyond our neighbourhood (called Makati), but it was a great opportunity to get a sense of what this sprawling metropolis had to offer.
We also had to make a stop at the salon.
Even if we didn’t get to visit all the sites and saw only a tiny fraction of the country, we had plenty of exposure to the kindness and friendliness of the Filipino people. It had been a wonderful visit.
And that takes us to our final destination… Japan. We touched down in Osaka and immediately took a bus ride to Kyoto. It is unbelievable to think that this is the last country in our 6 month tour! We only have 3 weeks left and we plan to make the most of every last bit of it.
So happy to hear you guys had fun in my motherland! :)
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