The Unplanned Island Hopping, Mactan

Summer maybe over but hey aren't we blessed with sunshine all year round?  There maybe rainy days but there's still sunny days in between.  It's never too late to pack your bag, grab your sunnies and head to the beach.

Working in a call center requires more sleeping under high noon. Fortunately, I had my head start when I went to Palawan and Bohol last March.  I totally understood how my friend felt when he kept bugging me for an out of town trip to the beach to start his summer.  A little glimpse of the sun rays makes a happy cell, not that we are not happy working at night, maybe happier.

We had good plans, a day trip to Alcoy or an overnight stay in Tabuelan just to cool off from the raging heat. Unfortunately our schedules never matched. Either I was not available or he had commitments or our friends were busy on something. We just couldn't agree on the date or time.

One Sunday I woke up to his call.  He desperately needed to go somewhere.  We were both off from work. It was still 7:00 in the morning and without coffee my mind was wandering. "Nope, I don't have plans today" I said. "Pack your bag and we'll go somewhere" he replied.  "I need to be in the city tomorrow for work so overnight stay is not an option" I hesitated. "Don't you think its already late for a day trip outside the city?" I added. I could feel his disappointment on the other line. "Let's go to Mactan for an island hopping instead. We can drop by the grocery to buy lunch and we can be back late afternoon" I suggested.

Sometimes the best activities are the unplanned.  There's fun with spontaneity.

 
And this is what I love about my hometown, you can have business and pleasure at the same time. Mactan Island is just an hour drive from the city. Although beach resorts with white sand beaches maybe expensive as they are rated 5 stars, an island hopping is a good alternative. There are inexpensive resorts and public beaches but they get crowded during weekends and holidays.

Without any reservations, no contacts, nothing, we went to the port beside Mövenpick.  Porters greeted us. We agreed at 3200 for the boat. Which we found out later, we were robbed.  Part of spontaneity and lack of haggling skills.  We talked to the captain and he said he'd go as low as 1500 for off peak and 2500 during summer.  The boat can accommodate 15 people. You may contact Jhon Carlo at +63-930-756-8447.  The terminal fee is Php-5 and docking fee is Php-61.

There's not much activity to do aside from swimming, snorkeling, getting tan and maybe meditating. The photo above was just for pictorial purposes. We got booze and food, most of the time we were just goofing around.

I wanted to learn free diving.  I was hoping I could hold my breath longer under the water and I got this star fish.

On our stops we just stayed on the boat.  The islands are privately owned.  They collect entrance fees.

Then we went to the fish sanctuary.  We were allowed to feed the fish.  It was cool feeding them. I wish I was able to record it.  Too bad I don't have an underwater camera.

And by sun down we went home. Another Sunday well spent with good friends