I have just spent the last 10 days completely out of touch with the world, other than Malapascua Island. It is located at the northern tip of one of the most developed provinces of the Philippines, yet appears to inhabit a wold apart. It took me 2 days to get there from Siquijor, or 'Sicky-Hole' as they say!! That was a long boat trip back to the busy city of Cebu. 1 night was enough.....dropped off my passport to get my visa sorted, oh and have a well needed massage...and facial!!

The next day I couldn't face a 5hr cramped bumpy bus journey to the Maya, the ferry port to Malapascua. Instead, I blew half my days budget on an air-conditioned taxi, which still took 3hrs. From there it was all a bit chaotic. I'd read in my lonely planet, and serveral peoples comments on trip advisor, to be careful about being ripped off by the boatmen!! Basically you have to sit for as long as it takes for the boat to fill up before they'll head to Malapascua...once again I found myself walking the plank, balancing me and my backpack! The tide was very low, so we all had to get into a much smaller boat part of the way...I was inches away from tumbling overboard in the process! Of course, as with everything in the Philippines, there is always some extra payments invoved...nothing is straight forward!!

Malapascua is pretty stunning. It takes only 3 hrs to walk around, oh and there are no banks :/ Staying at Blue Corals turned out to be a great choice, as it juts out into the sea, giving amazing views over Bounty Beach. On my first night I sat and watched the sunset with a cold beer. I'll just stay for 3 days....so I thought!!!

The whole point in coming to Malapascua is to dive...or atleast snorkel!! It's probably most famous for the Thesher Sharks. I chose to diver with Thresher Shark Divers because they had pretty decent looking equipment, unlike some places I've been. Unfortunately, the Shark Dive is a deep one! Basically my open-water qualification wasn't enough. So, I had to study a bit before taking my deep adventure dive to qualify me. It's a killer having to be there prompt at 5am...lucky I'd packed a torch..there were no lights on for me to get there from where I was staying!

The sharks go deeper and deeper throughout the morning, hense the early start. We were lucky to see devil rays and a few sharks. But I had to concentrate on doing my skills before I was allowed to use my camera :( They are pretty spectacular, but obviously because no one is allowed to use a flash, it's very hard to get a decent shot. My footage isn't the best. So hopefully soon a couple of the guys who did get some good shots on the dive will be sending me pics soon!!

I decided to stay on in Malapascua and complete my Advanced Qualification with a bit of studying and 4 specific dives...one of them being navigation :/ can you imagine 'me' of all people using a compass...even worse, under the sea!! Anyway I somehow passed, and stayed to do a whole bunch of different dives sights...15 dives infact, and a big dent in the budget!! It's very easy to get carried away, and ofcourse you make new friends and get to hang out with other diving junkies. One of my highlights is doing a night dive...seeing seahorses for the first time, even though I was told they're just common seahorses, no big deal, I still think they're very cool!! :)

On my 9th day I squeezed 1 last early morning shark dive in before heading back to Cebu. To save pennys I opted for the hot sweaty squashed 5hr bumpy bus trip. I actually loved it...sticking my head out the window so I could breathe air and not sweat!! It was great just driving through random villages seeing how and where people live. Despite the obvious poverty, people seem so happy, layed back and friendly.

After a peaceful Island experience, it kind of hits you with a 'bang' arriving back to the city...crazy traffic, noise and pollution...yep I'm back in Cebu :/ My passport was dropped off this morn...so I've decided to catch up on my blog, stock up on supplies, and just take it easy. I have a massage, reflexology, facial, eyebrow thread, pedicure and manicure booked in later...Well for ten quid..who wouldn't!!!

Haven't quite decided where I'm heading tomorrow...who knows!!!