The heat of the summer is already here in the Philippines. To cope with the hot weather, people usually engage in fun activities by the pool, falls, or simply by the beach to unwind and cool down. Today, I had a blast with my bestfriends in an Island hopping adventure here in Mactan, Lapu-lapu City, Cebu, Philippines.
Island hopping adventure means travelling to different islands using a boat and staying a while to dive and swim in each of them. We were so lucky that one of my bestfriends,
, found an affordable travel package tour with a very amazing inclusion. The travel package that we had availed was worth P250 (Philippine peso per person or less than $5).
It’s like travelling on an affordable yacht while drinking soda instead of a champagne. It is really a great find, isn’t it?Before starting the island hopping adventure, we were first oriented on what islands nearby that we are going to visit. In this adventure, we will be visiting 3 beautiful islands. The tour guide was very accommodating and the navigators were kind and approachable.
The first island that we had visited is the “Gilutungan Island”. The island has the oldest marine-life protected area in the Cebu province. It has the best marine species collection in Cebu. Before we arrived, the first thing that has crossed my mind was getting myself my own life jacket. There were many life jacket but it is not enough for everyone. They must have assumed that someone should know how to swim in our group and that could not be me.
Diving right into a deep sea may sound intimidating for someone who doesn’t know how to swim. But, looking at the beautiful waters, it seems like it is calling me to bask in. The water is so clear that you can see the rocks and weeds below.
There are some beautiful islets too that are rich and green. I wonder if we could go camping on any of them for some night – I hope so!
The second island that we had visited was the “Sulpa Island”. Unlike the “Gilutungan Island”, this island has an ideally shallow water and rough coral sand. It is very ideal for those who doesn’t know how to swim like me since I didn’t have to wear my life jacket here and I am not really tall. I’m just only 163 cm tall.
And because the water is shallow, my friends decided to pick up some sea urchin then, we ate it after. It was first time to eat sea urchin. I would totally agree that it really did not look appetizing but, it tasted really good unexpectedly. It is a little sweet and very refreshing.
On the last part of the trip, the last island that we had visited was personally my favorite. The island is called “Olango Island”. We were lucky enough to stop at the so called fish sanctuary that is about 35 meters deep. Everyone is allowed to feed the fish there, moreover we had also swim with them. It could really be an awesome diving and snorkeling spot.
The scorching heat of the sun may leave sunburns on us but the memories of us together will be kept for a lifetime. Spending some cool time with your friends, away from the bustling crowd and pollution from the city, is very invigorating. Indeed, working hard is necessary but sparing some short but worthwhile experience like this should be a reward.
So now, are you up for some summer adventure?