Weekend in the Philippines

We just returned from a very relaxing weekend on the tiny island of Malapascua in the Philippines just north of Cebu. It was just what I needed, a weekend of complete laziness. The island is best known for diving, but since Mark and I don't dive, we just relaxed, and explored the island (and I got a massage every day from the best masseuse ever!)

Malapascua is a very simple and peaceful island with about 1,000 people and about 1 dozen resorts. It would only take about 2-3 hours to walk around the whole island if there was a an easy road to follow (which there isn't). The islanders live very simple lives in tiny little huts that seem like a strong wind would blow them over, no electricity and often, no doors. The roads are mostly sand and dirt, no cars, just motorbikes, regular bikes or walk! However, everyone seems happy and friendly. The children all loved coming out and saying "hi" repeatedly and giggling when we said hi back and often they'd ask "picture me?" and seemed to love the attention us tourists gave them.

Being such a small island, this is the closest thing to a store. I almost felt guilty staying in such a luxurious looking resort, but I understand our tourists dollars are helping give money back to the locals so it's not too bad.


Getting there requires a 2 1/2 hour plane trip from Hong Kong to Cebu (a fairly big island right in the middle of the Philippine islands), then a 3 hour drive through Cebu, then a 45 minute boat ride to the island. But once you're there, it's worth the travel for the peace and quiet it offers. Our resort was really nice. Here's Mark on the balcony of our super deluxe room.

One thing that made me sad was the huge amount of stray dogs all over the island. The islanders have pet dogs, but there are also dozens of strays everywhere you look. This one I'm petting is the resort's pet and he was very sweet and cuddly.

Here's 6 more lying under a boat that I assume were strays.

The 1st day on the island we rented a motorbike from a local for the equivalant of $3 US an hour. No paperwork, he didn't even ask our name, just took the money and said "try not to crash". I guess on an island, what could happen? We couldn't steal it and all the roads are dirt so going fast is not an option. The 2nd day, we hiked all over the island and managed to get lost. We ended up on top of a hill walking through nettles, when we came across an old woman with a machete who pointed us in the right direction. In any other part of the world, this would have been scary, but not in Malapascua.