Island Hopping in Cebu
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 8 Jeepney Page Bohol
February 5, 2005: Today was an absolutely fun day. It was the day to go "Island Hopping." This is a term used locally to refer to the day trips that can be taken by boat to hop from one island to another to see the sights. Since the Philippines is comprised of over 7200 islands, there are lots of islands to hop.
In Cebu, there are a couple of different Island Hopping trips to choose from. Due to our time limitations, we went on a fairly simple one. The "we" in this included 13 Cebuanos from the System Test area at Lexmark here, Curtis, who is also here for the next week from Lexington and myself (all of us comprise the "Team Higante"). Also along on the trip were 4 boat crew members and two cooks.
The Gang (minus me) as we get ready to depart (note that photos with the times were taken by "Team Higante" members)
For a complete look at slide shows click these two links: Island Hopping 1 Island Hopping 2
Our trip began off of the southeastern coast of Mactan Island and would take us to some of the smaller islands to the south and east of Mactan. The map below, though not totally accurate as far as our trip was concerned, basically shows the islands we either stopped at or saw from the boat.
The island with the green circle is Olango Island. The large island on the left is Mactan Island, which is still a small island off of the coast of Cebu Island. (See the more detailed Cebu Map on page 1 of my journal). Due to the low tide, we were not able to visit Olango Island, which is famous for its Bird Sanctuary. But we did see it and in fact circled it at one time. The islands we visited or circled included: Sulpa Island, Caohagan Island, Gilutungan Island, Nalusuan Island and Olango Island.
We began boarding the boat at about 8:45 AM. The boat we were going on is called a pump boat. A big boat with out-riggers on both sides to keep balanced. The out-riggers are made of bamboo and tied together. See the photos below.
To get to the boat, which was about 150 yards out to sea due to low tide, we had to ride in small 2 passenger out-rigger bancas. These were guided by a long bamboo pole or a small oar. To get an idea of how small, check out me on one of them....
After we arrived on the boat, we climbed up a ladder, from under the bamboo out-riggings. This was a tricky process for me since I was basically stuck on the banca, and the boat was moving with the waves. As I grabbed the ladder, it nabbed my ring finger and pulled my ring off. It fell in the water. Some of the boat pilots went diving for it, but couldn't find it. I told them not to wrroy about, but they still tried. They finally gave up. Maybe in a low tide they will find it.....
Anyway, we finally left. I was glad as I was feeling queasy from the rocking of the boat, despite having taken some Dramamine. After we got going, the breeze felt nice. The sky was somewhat cloudy, so it also was not too hot.
Our first stop was to get cooled off and refreshed. The water was crystal clear. In some places it was an aqua-blue....this a result of the coral reefs below. We all dived off into the water and enjoyed the coolness. It was very salty, but nice nonetheless. Down under we could see starfish and other marine life. In one instance we even "found Nemo!!"
After our cool dip, with all soaking wet, we took up anchor and headed out for an island adventure. Along the way we saw small islets, various boats for pleasure and fishing. We saw small resorts on some of the islets. And, in a couple of places we saw the little buildings on stilts in the water where seaweed cultivation takes place. The marine farmers apparently stay in these huts while the seaweed dries so that their valuable crops don't get stolen by others. Doesn't look too comfy.
Our driver then headed towards a small island call Caohagan. It is a small island, inhabited by maybe 200 or 300 people...overcrowded considering the size of the island. We were met by small motorized banca.
Notice the driver on the left, driving with his foot. The boat on the right is what we were taken to the Caohagan in.
There are numerous pictures in the slide shows of the islanders here. They have no electricity, no running water. They have large water collection basins. The homes are made basically out of bamboo and coconut leaves. They subsist on tourism and fishing. Children run around in many cases with only shirts on. Nevertheless, they are friendly.
We walked across the island in a very short time. Once on the other side there were the souvenir stands with the natives hawking their shells and pearls and other trinkets. I was reminded of the days when I was a tour guide in Arizona and we would come to certain tourist spots and the Navajo Indians would have similar stands. Haggling is common in both places. The folk on this island also offered a succulent array of shell fish, lobsters and even a single lapu-lapu, all ready to be purchased by the hungry tourist. Once purchased, the islanders would through the seafood on a hot wood-burning grill and cook up a tasty meal. We didn't get our food there since we had the same waiting for us on the boat.
The island was a treasure island for me. As I walked along the beach I found seashells of my own to bring home. I saw the wonderful, joyful, yet soiled faces of the children and the weather worn faces of the adults. Though humble in circumstance, the were friendly and kind. Photos were encouraged by most. Speaking of which, here are few from the island. There are many more in the slideshows (links near top of page).
Left: Some of the homes on the beach. Right: Some of the colorful variety of shells that can be found on this island.
Here is a new perspective. As I took the photo on the right, another of the group took a photo of me doing it. So, you can see this shy girl from two angles. I was delighted to see the photo on the left. Me doing what I love to do....
Here are a couple more residents. There are many more like these in the slide show.
Here I am on the left riding the out-rigger back to the boat. There was barely enough room for my two legs to squeeze into the spot, let alone room to sit. The man on the right was the pilot of the outrigger, with Caohagan Island in the background. He was the only one willing to take me. All of the others thought that their boats couldn't handle me. It was truly an adventure!!!
We rode around a few other islands and eventually made our way back to Mactan. This time the tide was high so our pump boat was able to get us up to the coast. I didn't dare walk the gang plank. I went down the ladder and was able to walk by the boat (thus the picture at the top of the page with my tie-dyed shirt next to the boat.
This was a memorable time for all. Almost all of those on the trip with us had never been island hopping. We shared a joyful and enlightening experience together, one that none of us will forget for a long time.