Wanderworld

After our Skywalk Adventure capped off by a late dinner at Zubuchon, we retreated to bed to be able to catch the early morning schedule of the ferry to Bantayan Island. Bantayan Island is roughly 5 hours away from Cebu City. As I always say, the beautiful places always turn out to be the hardest to get to — it’s part of the adventure anyway. 😉

To get to Bantayan, you have to take the Ceres bus to Hagnaya port, which takes about three to four hours of travel, and then board a ferry or a RoRo (roll-on roll off) from Hagnaya port to the island, which takes about two hours.

The ferry ride was rather rough; the waves were really strong and you can feel the ferry rock through each wave despite its huge size. When we reached the island, we were immediately greeted with various offers from habal-habal and multi-cab drivers. Most of them though offered to take us to Anika Resort; not sure if it’s because it’s currently the most popular resort in the island or if they have a commission if they bring tourists there (maybe both).

We initially planned to stay at Kota Beach resort because my office mate loved its famous sandbar; we didn’t feel the need to book ahead though since it was off-peak season. However, our multicab driver discouraged us from staying there. He said that during off-peak season, that part of the island where Kota Beach is located is not as pretty and is prone to huge waves. He offered to take us there first so we could decide for ourselves and he offered to take us to Anika Resort afterward if we didn’t like Kota.

When we got to Kota Beach, its beachfront turned out to be under renovation, with a lot of dirt getting cleaned up. The waves were huge too as the driver pointed out. So we decided to head to Anika instead.

Anika Resort

Staying in Anika Resort turned out to be a good call as we loved its facilities and the overall look of the place. The beachfront was amazing too and almost deserted, though the beach itself was somehow pale, according to my standards, at least. 😀

The sand was white, fine and soft though and can easily rival any of those in the famous beaches in the country. I especially loved the sunbeds at the beachfront as they added an elegant vibe to the place.

When we got there, the cheapest rooms were already fully booked so we had no choice but to stretch our budget to book the cheapest available. Almost all the rooms in the resort seem to be newly built. Ours is equipped with air conditioning and a modest-sized bathroom with hot and cold shower plus a nice, huge veranda with a table and chairs.

I guess the not-so-good thing about the resort is its rates. It’s not considered a budget or cheap place but more like a mid-range/boutique resort. The food in their restaurant is pricey too, so we ate at the main part of the island (we asked pedicab drivers to take us to good eating places there).

We spent the day beach bumming at the resort. It was somehow gloomy and low tide at the time though (we had to walk a few meters so the water was at least waist level).

After a while, we decided to proceed with the island hopping, which our multicab driver offered us as he took us to the resort. The boatman fetched us at the beachfront and took us to Virgin Island which is a famous site for snorkeling.

That Fateful Snorkeling Affair in Virgin Island

Our boatman stopped in the middle of the sea and told us that it’s where we’re supposed to snorkel. The island hopping fee included the rent for the snorkel and life vest.

It was around 4pm; it looked like it was about to rain during that time and the waves were really angry. We still got off the boat and tried to snorkel, though it proved to be very difficult and tiring because of the waves. We could hardly see anything too.

After struggling for some time, we decided to go back to the boat because it was hopeless fighting against the waves. Just as we were about to get on the boat, we all felt like a biting/stinging sensation, so all of us scrambled to the boat.

Unfortunately, I was the last one to get on board and by the time I got on the boat, the stinging sensation was just too much too bear.

As it turned out, we were all luckily (read: sarcastic) stung by a jellyfish. Based on the blogs I read after our trip, jellyfish is common in the island especially during off-peak season. It was my first time ever to be stung and I didn’t know it was that painful. In just minutes, red spots started to appear all over my legs and arms and a few on my stomach too. We only felt a bit of relief when we put sunblock all over our bodies, upon the instruction of our boatman.

After that, we asked us the boatman to take us back to the resort. We just passed by another island we were supposed to visit so we could at least see it; we had no energy to explore it anymore during the time.

Despite the mishap, we still tried and managed to enjoy ourselves by swimming at the resort. Jellyfish incident and rather pricey rates withstanding, we still loved our stay in Anika Resort. 🙂

Next post: Cebu City tour 🙂