Malapascua Island is off the northern tip of Cebu Island. To get there you have to take a bus to a town called Maya and then get a boat. The 5 hour bus ride was an experience. Our driver was a certifiable nut case who was hell bent on starting and stopping the bus as quickly as possible. It did not take long before you could smell the unhappy brakes. When we arrived in Maya, there was no one around. The price board said 50 pesos a ticket ($1.25, not bad), or special trip 1200 pesos. Just then a Swedish couple turned up, and the boat drivers started to sell. Oh you need special trip, there are no more passengers. We need 26 passengers before we go. We aren't allowed to drop people off on Bounty Beach (the main beach with all the resorts). Red flags for scam were going up all over the place. We eventually agreed on 800 for the boat. Out of nowhere a few Philippinos turned up and jumped on, one with a motorbike. Our polite enquiries as to their fares were greeted with "they own the boat"(hmmmmmmm). We don't mind paying a little extra for a trip, this is a poor country after all, but come on guys!
Having arrived and found nice accommodation, it was time to relax on the beach. And what a beach it is. The sand is a brilliant white colour, and the water is mind bogglingly clean, clear and blue!
The main reason Malapascua comes onto the radar is the quality of the diving here, especially the chance to see a deep water shark with an enormous tail called the Thresher shark. We were unprepared for the hard core dive groups that seemed everywhere. All doing at least 3 dives a day, some 4. Eye opening. Us amateurs had to do an advanced deep water dive (30m down) just to go out shark spotting, but came away without seeing one. They are very shy and there were at least 40 divers there. Any wonder most people didn't see one.
We also did some great diving at Gato island. We saw our own sharks, 2m White Tipped Reef Sharks. Magnificent! We also saw a cuttlefish (very cool), funky shrimps, deadly Scorpion fish, poisonous Lion fish and all sorts of soft and hard coral. Tash also saw a very highly venomous sea snake swim past her face (which I bloody missed, dammit).
All too soon reality hits and its time to head home. After a year on the road, with so many varied experiences, its with mixed feelings that we make our way back to Australia. Its going to be nice to see family and friends again, and enjoy a few home comforts. But eventually we have to head back into home life again........... before the next adventure begins!
