The Start of an Adventure

For various reasons my boyfriend and I found ourselves at home for an extended period of time with nothing to do - unemployed you might say - so about 7 weekends ago, sick of the English weather and bored out of our minds, he proposed a little jaunt that in the end would see us visiting 2 countries and 4 islands, taking 13 planes and 5 weeks. 

The country was decided on the Saturday, flights booked Sunday, and then Tuesday off we were on a jet plane for 14 hours flying to the island of Cebu in the Philippines.

Island 1 - Cebu, Philippines

The Philippines is a country made up of over 7000 islands, but you've probably only ever really heard of the capital Manila. 

Boy, is the Philippines poor (apart from Manila, which is like another world). Driving through the city from the airport to our rather wonderful hotel, you see shacks and sheds for housing, the families full of smiles cooking in their front garden, doubling as their shop where they sell the stews to passing tourists or other Filipinos. 

And did I feel bad once we had arrived at our little odyssey, a piece of luxury and paradise compared to what those outside see. Every service at our whim and every request catered for. However this was our holiday (probably my only one this year) and I was going to love it.

Jet lagged and disorientated, we chose this slightly sleepy place as our first stop on our epic journey. We stayed where we were the first 2 days, getting to grips with our new lives for the next few weeks.
However it was time to have some fun. Cebu is gaining a name for itself though. The second largest island in the Philippines (and most important to the government after Manila, of course) is home to a number of luxury hotels and malls, and restauranteur extraordinaire Jason Atherton will soon be opening a new "Social" restaurant there. 

Our first stop in Cebu was Oslob, a 2 hour drive away in order to swim with whale sharks (!!!!!). Whale sharks are harmless to humans. They eat teeny tiny fish and have giant mouths. However they are huge (7m long) and have rough skin, which is the only part of them that can hurt us. 

They also look like a really scary shark, so personally I think it is totally understandable to say I was scared when this giant thing swam up underneath me and the adrenaline kicked in and I was able to hoist myself back up on to the boat, using what little arm strength I have. 

This was an experience I'll never forget, and one that most people can probably say they will never do. However, it did feel a little built around tourists as it was absolutely packed, we had to wait about an hour to get in to see the sharks, and we alo later found out that they lure the sharks in with food and then secure off the area so they can't leave. One thing I do have to give credit for is that they are extremely environmentally aware. They care so much to make sure there is not too much litter and the sea life especially (as it is their only income) is well-respected. We were told to not wear suncream, or wash off anything we did have on as it affects the ecosystem for the wildlife. Fair enough. Just make sure you take a t-shirt and shorts if you go. There is not much shade over there...

It was here that we discovered that food in the Philippines is basically girlled meats with a vinegar and soy sauce mix. All food. Every meal. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing but it does make you crave something else once in a while...Called Adobo and Tocino Pork.

That very same day we headed to an area to do "canyoning". Our bus was late so in the end we hopped on the back of two motorcycles (my first time ever - terrifying at first) to take the hours joiurney off to wherever it was we were going. This is basically a natural adventure playgorund where within a gorge-like rock formation, you jump off cliffs, slide, go caving underground, climb, swim and crawl your way to the waterfall at the end. This was so much fun and one of the best things I've ever done, let alone that we did on the trip. We splashed about in the waterfall.

After the canyoning trip, we probably had the best meal of the entire trip. We sat at a little roadside bbq and ate grilled chicken and pork (with soy sauce and vinegar marinade obvs) with tons of rice. We ate it like we hadn't eaten that day. And the whole meal for 3 people cost about £7. 

I wouldn't just stop at any roadside bbq however we did have a guide that knew his way around. We ended up getting home around 10 o'clock, and since we'd been up since 4.30, we were absolutely knackered. 

We were planning a trip to another island close by, Bohol, where you can see the phenomena of what they call the "Chocolate Hills" however, after the best sleep in the world and not looking forward to another 5am start, we decided to just sleep on the beach for our last day in Cebu. It was perfect. 

The hotel had been nurturing marine life in the ocean and we were extremely lucky to see all manner of fish just snorkeling off the shore. Clown fish, fire fish, stone fish, long nosed fish, starfish and all sorts. The Philippines is renowned for its marine life, which I guess is why they take such good care of it as it is what drives tourism in the area.

Our hotel was wonderful. Breakfast included every cuisine you can think of - the amount of delicious congee I ate on the trip!! - freshly made eggs, any style, sushi, noodles, anything you could fancy, they had it. Dinner was much the same with 3 restaurants to choose from and a huge variety of meals.

Shangri-La, Mactan is a wonderful resort and great to stay in if you plan on visiting Bohol. However if want to do a lot of activites in the West of the island (for instance Oslob or go canyoning) then it is perhaps better to stay over there as journey time is always 2-3 hours drive.

After 4 days, off we were (on a tiny plane!) to Boracay!