The province of Cebu is said to be the Gateway to a Thousand Journeys. And right in the center of this so-called gateway is the Queen City of the South, Cebu City. And the title is not without weight; Cebu City is the oldest city in the Philippines and the first capital of the country. This is where the Spaniards first settled after landing at the nearby Mactan Island, making it the fount of Christianity in the Far East.
The whole of Cebu—its mainland and 167 islands—is divided into nine cities and forty four municipalities; thirteen of these, including Cebu City, are consolidated as Metro Cebu. With a combined population of almost three million people, it is the second most populous area in the country.
Cebu City and the whole of Cebu is one of the most visited tourist regions in the country. The city and the countryside is teeming with historic colonial architecture, its coastlines are replete with fine white sand beaches, and its interior can surprise the curious traveler with waterfalls, canyons, and mountains to discover. And besides that, they pride themselves for having the best roasted pig or lechon in the whole archipelago.
A trip to Cebu can be overwhelming for the first time visitor. The city itself already presents a lot of places to see, but extend your horizon further, and you’d find a lot more areas to explore on far-off towns and islands. A travel guide can definitely help in planning the perfect Cebu trip for you.
It’s quite tricky locating the place via jeepney, but we managed to find it in one go. But for the not-so-adventurous ones out there, I recommend taking a cab instead as we have to walk, ask and literally use our nose to locate the famous danggit market.
The sky was the same grey hue that blanketed the city’s 
Like most places in the Philippines, the island got its name from the Spanish conquerors of yore. It was said that a group of Spaniards once got marooned in the island during Christmas Eve. Irked by the accident, they dubbed the island as Mala Pascua, which translated means Bad Easter. Even though the real name of the island is Logon, the name stuck like a seven-year bad luck.
Malapascua is famous for two things; white sand beaches and thresher sharks. From above, one can see that the whole island is completely surrounded by a strip of white sandy shoreline. The more popular of these is the Bounty Beach on the south side where numerous resorts and restaurants have made their stakes along the banks.
Foreign tourists often flock the island not for the beach though but for the sharks, thresher sharks. These long-tailed super predators are regularly sighted along Monad Shoal which is about twenty minutes away by boat from Malapascua. Local dive shops are often busy with activities during the day, catering to more adventurous explorers wanting to experience swimming with these graceful predators.
To be honest, I enjoyed swimming more along the beach at 
The sky started warming up as I reached the far end of the beach. A hut at a rock outcrop indicated the happy hour for beer chuggers; for photographers though, the golden hour is our happy hour. I crossed over to Logon Beach and immediately found my hour.
Small wooden boats lazily bob along the serene shore of the cove as waves softly slap the cream-colored sand of the beach. A few fisherfolks on their way seawards looking for dinner were framed by puffs of yellowish clouds and the silhouette of the far-off Chocolate Island.
The clouds parted and the sun broke. The sky and waters of Malapascua were painted in warm yellows and tinge of oranges. God rays poured down into the horizon, the locals seemingly unaware of the majesty of the scene rolling before my very eyes. I suppose these are nothing but everyday occurrence to the people of Malapascua, I envy the people of this island.
Evening descended and a cool blue darkness enveloped the island. The restaurants fronting the beach switched on their lights and transformed the shoreline of the island into an outdoor bar. Torches were staked and soft music wafted in and out of the coconuts lining the beach. 
I have seen a similar scene in 
The night soon got darker and I proceeded homeward. Along the way I spotted a couple of hammocks swinging just as lazily as the hammock I abandoned a few hour before I took a walk along the shores of Malapascua. I thought to myself, what’s a couple minutes more of lounging around before going back to the resort. Hurrying is a foreign word and relaxation is the common word at 
Bounty Beach Malapascua Island 
On a tight budget, we brought canned food with us during the trip and were satisfied to have those as lunch and dinner. But it was our last night on the island and we wanted something grander than corned beef hash. Passing through the numerous restaurants fronting Bounty Beach, we were attracted by the warm fuzzy lights of Ocean Vida’s restaurant like helpless moths to a fiery flame.
It was raining intermittently the past few days and we were so lucky for having clear skies the day we chose to tour around the island. There was a slight sea breeze with a few wisps of clouds sailing just above the horizon. A perfect day to go around.
Our boat calmly chugged along across the blue-green waters surrounding Malapascua, our boatman pointing out interesting houses and resorts dotting the shoreline. Twenty minutes later and we were oohhing and aahhing at the fine stretch of white sand covering the shore of a cove. Our first destination of the day; Bantigue Cove.
Dark coral stones lush with island shrubs and trees towers over a side of the beach. The green cover provides a nice shade to the otherwise blinding heat of the sun. The long stretch of sand at Bantigue is very very fine and very very white. I almost wished we had stayed to a resort closer to this paradise.
The water sparkles towards the blue horizon. I can see a few dark spots farther away from the shore, indications of marine life. After doing the requisite above water photos, I ran and dove down; snorkel and mask on my face, underwater camera in my hand.
Bands of light shimmered below the green water and snaked across the undulating white sand below the island. Small fishes roved across the streaming sunlight and starfishes lazily lay their five arms across patches of green areas. Schools of small Striped Catfishes moved across the algae-ridden parts of the seabed, taking strength in numbers. Everything was paradise except for the plastics that litter the shallower parts of the bed.
I wish we could have spent an hour or two more at this spot but we have to move. Our second destination was the shipwreck. Above the water one can see the Lighthouse near Guimbitayan. One can opt to access the tower for a panoramic 360-degree view of Malapascua. 
But I’m really not that interested in that, what I want to see is what’s below our boat. So I don my mask, turned on my camera and jumped. Air bubbles exploded around me as I plunged into the depths of the clear blue waters. A basketball-sized jellyfish flapped its body and greeted me, I said a brief hi in return and promptly swam away from the massive creature.
The ribs of the sunken World War II Japanese ship came into view. Said to be a transport vessel, it was shipping in a supply of cement for gun batteries in the island when it was bombed. The ship was a good twent to thirty feet below from the surface. And like a spine of a fossilized dinosaur, it simply lay across the seabed, a giant now encased in organic sea life. Corals have now attached themselves into its rusting metal body and fishes made the nooks of its belly as their homes.
The wreck used to be larger than what we were seeing now. Our boatman relates how the locals have salvaged parts of the ship for scraps ‘til only the skeletons of the once mighty ship are left. Still, there are still parts of the vessel that stretches almost to the surface, seemingly reaching for the air that it once breathed.
Snorkeling around the wreck whetted by appetite for more underwater action and I got my wish on our next and last stop, a coral garden near an islet. Circling a group of rock outcrops known to the locals as Dakit Dakit Islands. Our boat anchored down in the middle of the sea and without ado, I dove down.
Soft corals waved at me from below and fished stared and quickly scrammed as I started my descent. It is a garden down below with flower-like blooms, veined ferns, hardened shrubs and massive tables of corals covering the ground. The ever present brains pop in and out across the land while colorful fishes in all shapes and sizes glide along. 
I bid adieu to a platoon of Sergeant Majors swimming above a table of corals and broke the surface. I saw our boat anchored quite a distance away and waved to be rescued from paradise. Although I still wanted to see more, the current was just too strong for my unathletic limbs. It’s goodbye paradise; for now. 
