Moalboal - Day 3

We planned to visit the more local Panagsama beach today which was only a 10 minute walk from our accommodation. The beach is famous for its sea turtles and "sardine run" where huge shoals of sardines gather just off the shore. We found a beach cafe and had a late breakfast then headed to a local dive shop to rent snorkeling equipment. We managed to get snorkel, mask and booties for a reasonable 150 Pesos per person.

Our first snorkelling outing was very successful, we saw the famous sardine runs within a few minutes of entering the water! Perhaps I was underestimating the number of fish we'd see, but it was quite incredible, there must have been millions of sardines just 20m off the shore. The sea floor drops away very quickly and this is where they gather. We could also see lots of scuba divers out diving below the fish to get an alternate view.

The current was quite strong in a southerly direction and so our first swim we drifted down the coast - in a controlled manner, and only a short walk back to where we started. In the lower part of the beach, we spotted the first turtle swimming amongst the coral which was great.

For our second swim, we hired fins from the dive shop so we could swim against the current more easily. This also allowed us to "free dive" under the water and swim amongst the fish.

Three swims with the snorkel gear in total and we saw an abundance of sea life - Sardines, turtles, sea snakes, starfish - it was a great day interspersed with sunbathing on the beach.

We returned our snorkelling gear feeling accomplished and grabbed a beer in a cool beach bar just next door - perfect. We returned to the hotel for a shower and change, and also enquired about a Canyoneering trip to Kawasan Falls for the next day. Our host offered to arrange the trip, and we headed out for dinner. Tonight we ate at Kugita Bar & Grill, which looked quite fancy and didn't disappoint. We had tempura shrimp, some maki roll sushi, steamed local fish, green beans and potatoes.

We wandered into town for a few more drinks and enjoyed the relaxed vibe. We were also pondering our next steps on the trip, we'd originally planned 4 nights in Moalboal, but we felt quite content here and wondered whether it might be worth taking a moment to slow down and spend a few more days here. We decided this was a good idea and to stay for an extra 3 nights. Feeling revitalised by this decision, we ended up staying out for a few more drinks to celebrate. We thought we should try to postpone our Canyoneering until the day after tomorrow as it was an early start and we'd had a few too many drinks to be up super early, but were concerned that it was already organised for us! We rolled in quite late and there were no staff around at the hotel. We left a polite note asking to book 3 extra nights and also to postpone the canyoneering trip. Fingers crossed!Read more