bantayan '10

in june of 2010, while it was raining on other parts of the country, particularly in manila, kim and i were very blessed to be enjoying a sunny three-day beach fix at bantayan island in cebu. this trip was still part of our ninth anniversary celebration. we had an early morning flight to cebu city via the philippine airlines. from the mactan airport, we hailed a taxi and headed to the north bus terminal. from there, a three-hour road trip took us to the hagnaya wharf for our first roro experience to sta. fe, bantayan.

vehicles as co-passengers

upon the recommendation of my friends who went to bantayan last year, kim and i stayed at st. bernard resort, which is just a few minutes from the pier by tricikad or a bicycle with a sidecar, more commonly known as pedicab.

touchdown bantayan island <3

our cottage (no. 5), albeit small, is really neat - with air conditioner, toilet and bath en suite and bed and living room area with a cabinet and mini component. the resort also has a tv and reading room, restaurant and mini bird zoo.

st bernard resort

our first day was spent being lazy on the beach.

while waiting for the sunset, we found a tiny fragment of corals shaped like the letter y. we then thought of challenging ourselves to find other shells/rocks/corals to form the sentence 'i love you' and we succeeded!

on our second day, we went island hopping and snorkeling. we were not able to take underwater photos because my underwater camera is still with the service center. i borrowed my roommate's regular point-and-shoot digital camera and my friend's digapac but i was too scared to damage either the camera or the casing. or both, haha. still, thanks to them for lending me their stuff.

approaching virgin island

on our way back to the resort, we made a last stop on an island (its name escaped me now) to camwhore, haha.

to the left

to the right

lovers in cebu <3

<3

back at bantayan island:

a jump shot inspired by the fifa world cup

our third and last day fell on the summer solstice. we woke up around 5 a.m. to wait for the sunrise.

expenses: p10,725 (2 pax)
120 - taxi from makati to naia 2
2,900 - roundtrip airfare via pal (mla-ceb-mla)
400 - terminal fee
200 - taxi from mactan airport to north bus terminal
100 - non-aircon bus to bogo
50 - tricycle from bogo terminal to hagnaya
280 - ferry from hagnaya to sta. fe, bantayan
40 - pedicab from pier to st. bernard resort
3,800 - 3d/2n aircon accommodation with breakfast and island hopping
1,200 - other meals
50 - pedicab from resort to pier
280 - ferry to hagnaya
220 - aircon bus to sm cebu
155 - mcdo lunch
130 - taxi to airport
400 - terminal fee
400 - pasalubong