We spent three days in Bohol and went back to Cebu. This was our last destination in Philippines. We took a taxi (500 pesos) from the harbor to the South Bus Terminal. We bought a ticket (300 Pesos) to a small village Tan-awan. The village is famous of Whale Shark Watching Point. We arrived at the village in the late afternoon. Aloha Beach Resort Hotel was our accommodation for one night. We paid 1500 pesos for the room. The receptionist sold us a tour to watch whale sharks the next morning. The tour cost 1,000 pesos.
Tan-awan is a busy tourist center from 7:00 am to 2:00 pm The road is full of shuttle buses and a lot of tourists walk around the village. The village looks like abandoned from 2 pm The only attraction of the village is closed. Tourists had gone. The village is an ideal starting point for swimming with sharks. There are several hotels and one restaurant in the Tan-awan.
The next day we got up at 6:00 am. We are the members of a group of 10 people. The local led us to the departure point of Whale Shark Watching. The swim with the sharks took about half an hour. A rowboat with 10-12 tourists went a ca 100 meters into the sea to the place where the sharks were fed. The sharks are fed by local fishermen and live in complete symbiosis with human. When we reached the feeding point, we jumped into the water and enjoyed swimming with whale sharks. Everyone must have a life jacket, mask and snorkel tube. Swimming with whale sharks within striking distance is an amazing attraction that will remain in my memory for the rest of my live. Whale sharks are not afraid of people and often heading toward people and changed direction at very last moment. Whale sharks are huge, about 10 meters and 10 tons. Sharks are completely harmless. They eat plankton. Please enjoy the video of Whale Shark Watching.
Due to various protests of protecting nature organizations (sponsored by corporations and the 1% of the rich) it is very possible that Whale Shark Watching may be closed soon.
Moalboal is our very last destination. We spent there four days to chill out before going home. Our accommodation is Pacita’s Beach Resort hotel. The cottage with bathroom and a fan cost 1,200 pesos. The cottage was located in a beautiful garden and it is only 70 meters to the beach. Pacita’s Beach Resort is a great place to stay in Moalboal. I recommend it.
Moalboal is a tourist resort. There are restaurants, pubs, clubs. I recommend Greek restaurant. The food is not Philippine but delicious.
The Moalboal beach is not very attractive, but snorkeling provide an unforgettable experience. Green turtles. The turtles are big: 1.5 meters and 100 kg. The giants move very slowly and seem to pay no attention to snorkeling people. Observation of these huge reptiles is a magnificent experience and only watching the whale sharks is better. Turtles feed near Moalboal beach every day. It is ease to find them.
Sardine run are another unique attraction of Moalboal. Huge sardine run feed about 100 meters from the shore every morning. The best time to see them is 8:00- 8:30 am The place is marked by group of snorkeling people. The site is located not so far from the beach but some people may feel discomfort because of the deep water. It is a fantastic experience to watch sardine run. It looks like a carpet in the see. They are usually a few meters below the sea surface. Millions of fish, one next to the other, move as one huge creature. Once I managed to swim into a shoal of fish which, in a panic, escape from a potential threat, touching my body. You don’t need to dive to watch the sardine run in Moalboal. Snorkeling is the best option to enjoy the attraction. I highly recommend it.
We spent in Cebu a few hours before leaving the Philippines. It is noisy, dirty and crowded city. Avoid Cebu and other big cities in Philippines.
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