Moalboal Summer!

April 9-10, 2011

Location: Basdako, Moalboal, Cebu (“Bas” meaning Sand; “Dako” meaning Big)

This trip is just proof that I really am good in preparing eleventh-hour events. lol.

Unfortunately I don’t have lots of pics to show on this one… Anyhow, this trip was indeed a full birthday bash for our girl, April. This was really a good one… Her family plus her friends (us), in one; just the way she wanted.

It was very hard to find a cheap accommodation for us since there were 21 of us, plus given the time. Was lucky enough to book 2 rooms. The rest of us slept in the tents along the beach… and no, they don’t charge for tents on the beach. 🙂

After a week of calling here and there, we finally landed to Moalboal. Ester’s P3K room for 15 people was already occupied, but she was gracious enough to arrange our reservation to her friend’s resort just right next to hers.

Ester’s Resort: contact Ester herself at 09275785983

Ester is very accommodating. She would ask her tenants if they need anything when she goes to the market. If it’s your first time to Ester’s resort, just follow the road to Barefoot white beach. They’re just right next to each other. Once you enter that road for Basdako, you will see signs so you have less chances of getting lost. Plus the people are friendly, just ask around!

The rooms were @ P2500, ideal for 5, and they were okay… Sorry no pictures. 😦 Extra bed good for 1 person is at a hundred pesos.  Max of 7 persons in each room. Both rooms have bathrooms inside. Water was scarce when we got there because it was peak season, but the caretakers provided us with water whenever we ran out of it.

moalboal basdako map

Moalboal is in the southwest part of Cebu…  a 3-hour travel from the city. If you go by bus, Ceres fare would be less than a hundred pesos. Stop by the market and take a  tricycle to take you to Basdako. If you have a car, they have a wide parking space as well. From the City, the best way is to proceed to Carcar, and take a right when you reach its Rotunda.

we stayed here.. to the right is of this Esters

The place was great. Ester’s had a ping-pong table free to use, and a videok machine near the ping-pong and grill house.

pingpong and videok at Esters

the grill house

We got there past 3PM because we encountered a lot of delays in the city for the food preparation.

The best thing about this place (aside from the white sand of course), is the sunset on the beach! Sunset in the west is always nice! 😀

my friends and the westside Sunset: Josie and Katlong, RJ and Renren

nicz and ren at the beach

Pictures I grabbed from  my friends. Oohh. I badly need a good camera. =/

After dinner was a surprise program for the celebrant… 2 song numbers and 2 dance numbers. And we rocked them all with Pearly Shell! LOL what a shame.. but yeah we did that for fun, and most of all for the celebrant. lol.

After that was a late night of games! Oh well, being the coordinator,  I could only laugh while judging.

The games were: Sack Race, Group Cheer Competition, Charades, Criss Cross

crisscross!

How to play Crisscross (I got this game from this site)

Put 4 teams in 4 corners forming a square. The goal of each team is to cross the other side as fast as they can, given the tasks.  For example:   duck walk. The first to get to the other side, duck walking gets the point! The catch is when all 4 players meet at the middle causing traffic. It is a lot of fun! 😀

Star gazing on this beach is perfect! I highly recommend bringing a tent and a mat so you can laze on the beach while watching the stars. And a guitar perhaps? 😉 Other goers made a bonfire. I love it that they don’t prohibit bonfires, unlike other beach resorts i’ve gone to.

our boat to marine sanctuary. P800 good for 10.

In the morning was snorkel time! Yes, that’s another thing you can do – rent a boat to take you to the marine sanctuary and snorkel for an hour. (Or Pescador island if you’re up for some diving) We were only amateurs so we went to the marine sanctuary. Moalboal is not just known for it’s white sand beach, but is also for it’s diving spots. You won’t miss seeing foreigners in this place for that reason.

These boats stay at the southern part of the beach waiting for customers. When choosing a boat, make sure you get a large one, faster and more spacious. Small and large boats charge the same: P800 good for 10 people, or P1500 good for 20. These boats have snorkel gears and life jackets too, free to use, but are only limited to 10 or 13. You will have to pay another P100 per boat, when you get to the sanctuary. Aside from your SPF lotion, don’t forget your underwater camera! Sea turtles, sea snakes, colorful fishes, await you in the sanctuary. On summer time though, March – September, you will get more itches because these months are the breeding season of stinging cells from corals and jellyfishes.

marine sanctuary - moalboal corals

marine sanctuary - moalboal corals

Avoid staying in groups when snorkeling, or you will only see less creatures. The pictures above are taken right where our boat is.

Also in these months, May – September, there’s more sand on the southern part than in the northern. That’s because the sands are affected by the direction of the wind on these months. This applies to other beaches in Cebu. So do check google maps to see your preferred resort’s location. Ester’s resort is in the north, but the sand was not that bad.

Northern part March - September : less sand than Southern

Southern part March - September: more sandy than Northern

Waiting to get on to the boats.. I couldn’t find a picture with a better view and without obstructions but this is more like it. On the side are other resorts and a volleyball court.

After the snorkel fun was a hot Tinola!! oh my.. yum! 🙂

Other resorts are I’ve tried contacting but were either fully booked or too expensive:

Barefoot White Sand – Ideal for a group less than 5. Additional rates were too expensive for us.

Club Serena – a little more expensive, but looks classy

Ravenala – we passed by this resort on our way to the boats; just a few walk from Ester’s. The place looked good specially at night! It looked like it had a cool ambiance – native, yet sophisticated… We will definitely try this on the next visit!),

HK Resort – I heard good reviews about the place it was already fully booked when I called.

Sea Turtle House – 09183561122 (i might have spoken to the owner who sounded like korean. he gave us a great deal! but there were just too many of us, budget was still tight)

There are also lots of diving resorts in the place.

I’d definitely go back to this place.. it will be my 3rd time by then.. Well, see you next time Moalboal, you are definitely part of our to-visit places in our alone-together trips. But for now, our first one will be Dumaguete… hhmm.. sOon:)

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