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Moalboal

March 13-16, 2017

We took an uber to the bus station, found the right bus and headed to Moalboal. It took well over an hour to get out of the city and then the scenery became pretty. Hills, greenery, palm trees, rice fields and villages dotted the highway. Upon arrival, there were tricycles waiting and no one would budge from the price of 150 ($5) pesos which we thought steep as the bus was only 130. Later we discovered it is the going rate as it is quite a trek and the road to Moalboal Beach resort is pretty sketchy.

The next day we were up early, enjoyed breakfast and asked one of the girls to get us a tricycle. Jessely picked us up and took us to Panagsama beach and gave us a few tips on where to go. It’s no longer a “beach” as the 1984 typhoon took all the sand away but it’s known for great snorkelling. We thought we’d have to hire a boat to Pescador island to see the sardine run but 3 years ago they moved to Pasagsama. Lucky us! After renting fins from the dive shop (we’d brought our own mask and snorkel) we jumped in and were swimming with the sardines. Amazing! More than 3 hours later we’d seen 5 or 6 turtles (including one VERY large male) and more species of fish than I’d ever seen in one place.

After picking up our stuff from the dive shop we went to find some lunch. Calamari is the thing to eat on the beach. There we chatted with a nice couple who own a place on Negros. We may just end up going there as it sounds awesome.

We headed back for the water for more snorkelling. By the time were done, we were exhausted. Jessely picked us up within 10 minutes of texting him. What a GREAT day!

It was so great we did it again the next day. We walked further down the road as some said on that end of the beach you see more turtles. The dives shops wanted 3 times the price for fin rentals though so we went back and rented them from Ocean divers. We played with a couple of turtles and saw lots of fish so we were happy. I even helped some Dutch snorkelers by taking THEIR picture with the turtle. We’re even sociable in the water. Even wearing a shirt and shorts we got sunburned. The bus ride could be fun with a burnt bum.

If you’re ever in Moalboal, find a tricycle driver named Jessely. He picked us up and drove us where ever we wanted, when ever and his price was always fair.