I remember this travel in February 2010, my aunt from Norway just arrived for a vacation in Cebu. I just resigned from my office job located at IT Park in Lahug, Cebu because of a health problem.
I realized that working the night shift wasn't really good for me. My job was easy, I was working as a Data Entry Operator processing medical claims in the US. But the salary was not enough. In the end, I was able to save money for only PHP 5,000 and I was able to claim my separation pay for about PHP 3,000. This was also the time I decided to focus on working online, work-at-home.
My aunt brought us to the island of Malapascua. It was recommended by a friend of her sister who was a local there. She knew some people and resorts on where to stay and who we can rent the boat.
My aunt also hired a van for us. Oh well, she paid for everything. Hehe! My cousins and other relatives also prepared their stuff and some food. My mother prepared chicken macaroni salad.
Where is Malapascua Island located?
According to Wikipedia:
Malapascua Island is an island in the Central Visayas, in the center of the Philippine archipelago. Located in a shallow strait off the northern tip of Cebu Island, it is administratively part of the island barangay of Logon, Daanbantayan Municipality, and Cebu Province. Malapascua is a small island, about 2.5 km long and 1 km wide, and has nine hamlets.
Source: here
How to go to Malapascua Island?
From our hometown in Naga, we go to the north of Cebu. This is going to Daan Bantayan, another municipality of Cebu province.
In Daan Bantayan, it's time to find Maya Port, the gateway going to Malapascua Island.
From Maya Port to Malapascua Island takes only 30 minutes.
We got the boat for ourselves. This time, there were not a lot of tourists. Imagine, this was in 2010. We realized that foreigners slowly buying properties here. And in the future, Malapascua island became a scuba diving hub for diving enthusiasts.
Staying at Cocobana Beach Resort
One of the nicest beach resorts on the island of Malapascua. We occupied two rooms. One room was occupied by my cousins but I never stayed with them. The second room was occupied by the adults together with my mom. I was once a mama's girl so I should stay with my mother.
So the rooms have hot showers, cable TV, AC, and a mini-fridge. Since my mom brought her delicious chicken macaroni salad, I had easy access to it. Hahaha! This is the reason I should stay with my mother.
I have to say that I really miss my mom's cooking. She had the best and tastiest chicken macaroni salad. My mom's salad was such a big hit that our relatives and her friends asked her to prepare it for special occasions.
While watching TV, my mom, aunts, and I had the time to eat the chicken macaroni salad. And we were watching Cartoon Network. LOL!
Cocobana Beach Resort has the best beachfront view so my aunt paid for this view.
By the way, I was using an old Nikon digital camera. I wasn't using Photoshop to enhance the photos. What you see is what you get.
Malapascua Island is known for its beautiful sunsets. I have this photo but my camera wasn't able to do it justice.
Getting around the island
Bounty Beach
This is where Cocobana Beach Resort is located. There are several resorts here as well.
The other side of the island
We have to explore by walking although there was an option to take a motorbike. But we were too many so walking around is practical.
By walking around, we were able to see some hotels surrounded by bougainvillea. This is away from the beach. Feels secluded but you have a peaceful sleep here.
This place is owned by a Filipino celebrity. The plan was to make this a restaurant but not sure if the business really started.
Upstairs here is the rest house of the Filipino celebrity. I think travelers can rent there as well for a long-term stay.
This is the beach view of the restaurant.
The restaurant photo was taken from the resthouse.
The Old Bantigue Cove Resort
We walked further and we were able to check the previous Bantigue Cove Resort. Here are some photos of how nice the resort was. This was before the big typhoon in 2014 and I forgot the name of the typhoon. Every year, especially in November or December, the Philippines always got hit by big typhoons.
The resort wasn't able to recover because the typhoon destroyed everything. When I returned in 2015, everything was back to ground zero.
Sidetrip to Kalanggaman Island
I'll create a separate blog post about this because I have had a good experience on the island without any tourists.
Welcome to iTravelRox! Roxanne Tamayo is a Cebuana who is a traveler. Now a mom of 2 kids and a wife. She is a travel blogger and a digital nomad. As a Virtual Assistant, she does a lot of things like content writing, WordPress web design, WP updates and maintenance, graphic design, and photo editing. She is into wedding photography, as well.
If you like iTravelRox's content, please don't forget to upvote and leave a comment. She will share a lot of stories about solo travels, motherhood, family travel, and working as a VA.
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Wow looks like a great place to explore, How long were you there?
!ALIVE
The first time I was there, it was for 3 days only. But after a few years, I got the chance to stay for one week and keep on coming back.
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Dami mo na tlga napuntahan madam. Tagal na nto ah hehe
Haha mga virgin pa yong mga napuntahan ko!
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