The Rest of It

Well, here goes the rest of the photos of my Cebu trip, Malapascua island specifically. My cousins planned of this trip while I was hidden in the mountains with Alyssa. As Alyssa was preparing for her trip back to Manila, we spirited away in a bus at two in the morning and arrived at 7am in a small downtrodden port where we boarded a fishing boat to get to the island.

Malapascua is a small island at the the north tip of Cebu infested by thresher sharks--a diver's haven. We all got burned in the sun after swimming in deep sea (more of floating in my case in a life jacket), snorkeling to see a creepy-who-knows-what's-in-there Japanese World War II ship, getting splashed with Gatorade-blue waves, avoiding collision with rocks, and of course the best part was holding a staring contest with a stone fish in the coral garden.

After the afternoon sea adventure, some of my cousins wanted to walk by the shores. I insisted on staying in the west shores of the island to see the sunset. They did give way and allowed me to see the sun in it's fiery red state then prodded me that we should move on. I adamantly put my foot on the ground of I-don't-care-if-you-go-to-the-other-side-of-the-island but I must see the sunset: the complete concerto of a fireball vanishing in the horizon.

We spent the night taken aback by the diamond-studded sky and slept early in the morning to wake up early. This time we waded sea water praying that we'll be safe from sea urchins. And since I was afraid that a sea urchin will cripple me for the rest of the day, I built sand towers. And the rest of the day was spent glimpsing other parts of the island, getting at the foot of the lighthouse by riding a motorcycle through very narrow paths. I failed to suppress a scream as the motorcycle went downhill. Enough of talking, here are some of the pictures in random order:

Private resort, but the seas aren't private.

At the foot of the lighthouse

Sea urchin harvest

Oh yeah, I love my cousins for planning this getaway! Didn't expect it in a ministry trip. But what's unexpected is often more appreciated and more rejoiced in.

"The world under the sea declare the glory of God;

the corals proclaim the work of his hands

Day after day sea creatures pour forth praise

Night after night they reveal his knowledge."