Island-hopping & Sardine Run in the Waters of Moalboal, Cebu

In a way, I think climbing mountains is kinda akin to going island-hopping. Just as no mountain climbing or hiking experience is the same, each island-hopping experience has something unique to offer. So don’t go out there and be like “oh, I think I’ll pass on going out into the water today, because it’s pretty much the same as that time I went island-hopping in so-and-so” because that’s. just. rubbish. (I know someone who has that mentality and I seriously pity him.)

Granted, when we decided to spend the night at Moalboal, going island-hopping was not part of the original agenda. First, because we thought we didn’t have enough time for it, because we have to be back to Cebu City that afternoon. And second, because I read some online accounts saying there isn’t much to do or see when island-hopping in Moalboal UNLESS you’re an accomplished and experienced swimmer who can go diving.

That’s a bit of a stretch because one, we can’t swim, and two, as for diving… I don’t think jumping into the water with a life vest on counts…?

But that night, while we were checking out the brochure of Pescadores Seaview Suites, we saw they were offering an island-hopping adventure, for cheap (Php 500 per person, which is, ok, cheaper than what we were used to!), and it’ll take around 3 hours, max.

The next thing we knew, we were making reservations at the reception and, at a little past 5am the next morning, we were ready to head out.

Good morning, Moalboal!

A boat picked us up directly from the doorstep of the resort we were staying at, and we made that 20-minute boat ride to the other end of the island, where the Tourism Office was. We registered, had a short briefing by the tourism officers, then were sent off with smiles.

The three activities you see below pretty much round up the whole island-hopping adventure. So technically, there aren’t a lot of islands to hop on and off to. The reason this activity is held in the early morning is so that we can spot the turtles, because they’d go off far into the ocean in the middle of the day.

And it was such a beautiful, bright, sun-shiny day, too! The good thing is that, even when we had no plans prior, we still packed clothes for the occasion. Also, the snorkels were provided by the resort.

The first stop: Pescador Island

There’s something… grand, almost, about how the name sounds, at least to my ears.

Pescador. Pescadores.

Kinda reminds me of the Spanish era with how the word rolls off my tongue.

Pescador Island is a small isle off Moalboal, a lone mass of land and rock in the middle of the turquoise waters. Adventure seekers sometimes get off the boat and clamber up the isle, to make that short trek to the other end, and make the dive.

We passed on that, though, and the boatmen kindly brought us to where the real beauty is.

Look. LOOK!

Look at how clear the water is! The moment the boat came to a stop and was secured, and the boatmen gave us the OK to go into the water, we did.

And I squealed.

Well, as much as I am allowed to squeal with snorkels on. But if I wasn’t in the water, I’d have been squealing and shrieking in delight.

Because it was soooo…. majestic.

ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTFUL.

It felt like jumping inside a giant aquarium.

Which, it sorta was.

It was so beautiful it simply steals your breath away. Which is probably not a good thing if you’ve got a snorkel on, and only relying on life vests to keep you afloat.

Words cannot describe how delighted and joyful I felt at that time. It turned out to be Jed’s first time island-hopping and snorkeling, and I gotta say he got an ace for a first experience!

We were allowed to stay there for a long while more, until we decided to get back on board and proceed to the next stop, which is the Sardine Run.

The Sardine Run of Moalboal

If you’re a curious kitty like me, you’d probably have gone through several searches for “sardine run” in Moalboal and saw those photos taken by divers from deep in the water, with the angle showing the schools of sardines up above.

I didn’t know what to expect, since we weren’t going to be diving deep to be able to witness that sight, so I was managing my expectations.

But the real thing still exceeded them. By miles. Or kilometers.

At the risk of sounding ignorant and crude, I only know that sardines are a species of fish, and they usually come in canned form, haha! But boy oh boy.

When the boat stopped, I gingerly stepped down and off the stairs of the boat, AND WHOA. I literally said that in the water when I laid eyes on the thousands, no, millions, of sardines down there.

There were stretches and lengths of sardines as far as the eyes can see. And they, indeed, looked like they were running off somewhere. You’d see one group in one area then another from another, as if running towards each other, then intersecting and merging into one huge, gigantic group, all “running” towards somewhere.

It was so easy to go into a trance while looking at all of… that. Then the next thing you knew, you drifted off and down there it is much deeper, and it looked like there’s an abyss down there. Kinda frightening, if not for the sight of that group of sardines moving as one.

We spotted several divers, and some in scuba diving suits, going down there for another angle. Times like these, we all wished we were better swimmers. Can’t help it, haha!

It was… overwhelming, to say the least. And humbling, too. Because imagine when all those sardines come rushing at you… well, you’d be flattened helplessly in no time, even if you’re a good swimmer, methinks.

The final stop of our island-hopping tour was the Turtle-Watching, and this was close to where the resort was, by the side of the island. I was unable to get any photos of it, but we were able to spot two large turtles, or pawikan in our local language.

Well, we spotted the first one from afar. The second one, one of the boatmen literally pulled us to kinda chase after the turtle, which was already swimming back out to the sea. I was able to catch a glimpse of it (and even turned on my GoPro, only to realize later on that I failed to press the Record button. #StupidMe) as it was rushing away.

Oh, and the boatmen had to pull us, because there was no way we could move fast enough on our own to get a closer look at it.

And it looked soooooooo fast in the water, streaking past us confidently, as if saying “catch me if you can (and I know you can’t)”!

I cannot pick a favorite afterwards. Was it the experience of jumping inside a giant aquarium-like paradise, or was it witnessing the sardine run? Or was it gaping at the fastest-swimming giant turtle? I can’t tell. I can’t pick. I won’t. I don’t want to.

But all in all, this was an exhilarating experience, and I am glad we did it. Just goes to show that sometimes, the things you don’t plan are what gives the most satisfaction.