Tammy & Mark in Moalboal, Cebu

Well, the trip to the Philippines was
just incredible!
We arrived in Manila, caught another
plane to get to Cebu City, and then
took an almost 4 hour car ride
through the city and mountains for
our final destination and home for the
week:
Moalboal!
We got to enjoy some good coffee at
the airport, saw some unusual modes
of transportation......3 wheelers, with
side cars were everywhere and there
was nothing they couldn't carry on
them! One young man had full sheets
of ply-wood loaded on, and was
keeping up with traffic! It was not
unusual to see families of 4 or more
all on one going to market or school.
There were bus type vehicles with
outrageous paint jobs, and Suzuki
4x4s that were perfect dive rigs!
There were lots of men out fishing
everyday, and then selling their wares
in the evening in front of the local
restaurants, where the cooks would
prepare the fish that you bought
however you wanted.

Cute dogs were all around us too!
Not quite as many dogs as Saipan,
but, there were lots!
The people of Moalboal were some of
the friendliest we have ever
encountered, they always had a smile
and a "good morning" or "good
evening" for us.
We got the chance to visit Kawasan
Falls, freshwater falls that were so
beautiful, and refreshing. Mark and I
both stopped and listened at the
sound of the falls, since it has been
so long since we had heard water
running like that!
There is nothing like that on Saipan!
One young man climbed up to the
top, and after much apprehension
and cheering from all of us down
below, did a swan dive off into the
chilly pool below!
We swam in the clean fresh water,
and were treated to a wonderful BBQ
of Pork Satay and Chicken breasts,
Hanging rice baskets, and the most
delicious Pancit Canton noodles ever!
We had cold salad, soda and the
local Beer "San Miguel" too! A great
time was had by us all!
One evening, Mark and I took a taxi
into town to look at the local wares,
and to do some shopping. There
were lots of fruit and vegetable
stands, with some interesting things
that I had never seen before! Let
alone tasted!! There were young
children enjoying the Karaoke
machine in one little corner of the
village, they were singing their little
hearts out! Clothing was very
inexpensive, we purchased some
t-shirts for about p180, or about
$3.50 in US!! What a deal huh?
The weather was a little overcast the
first few days, it was nice and cool for
the boat rides out to the dive sites,
Then it was sunny for our trip to the
Kawasan Waterfalls, so it was just
perfect for us the whole trip!
The dive shop, Savedra, was so
accommodating to us, always willing
to make our trip the best it could have
been, and answering any questions
that we had about the diving the
sights to go see, or the local
restaurants. Many Thanks go out to
Karl and his wonderful staff for our
memorable trip!

Our room at the Sea View was very
comfortable and clean, with friendly
staff, and a beautiful view....we woke
up each morning to the sounds of the
local fishermen putting their nets out
for the daily catch, and had a
beautiful sunset to enjoy each
evening, with a great view of the
water.
The place was brand new, and I think
that we may have been some of the
first to stay there. We had a great
visit. Our thanks go out to Adam, for
the friendly staff and comfy room!

The children in the village were
absolutely adorable, they always had
smiles on their faces, and were
greeting us by name each and every
time we passed by. Some of them
were selling their souvenirs, and of
course we (I) had to give in to their
smiling faces! There were 3 little girls
that captured my heart, they met me
each morning with their wares,
handmade necklaces and
bracelets.....how could I resist their
smiles? There were 2 other little girls
that were so excited for me to take
their picture, and then giggled as I
showed it to them on the screen of my
camera! They were so happy, even
though they lived in such an
impoverished looking area, hmmmm
money really doesn't buy happiness !

There was a village called Car- Car,
that was famous for making shoes,
and the taxi driver was kind enough to
stop and let us take a picture of the
"Big Shoe" and some of the shops full
of all kinds of shoes. That was on our
way to the Local Mall in Cebu City....it
was 4 levels of stores and
restaurants! I was in Heaven, but only
had 2 measly hours to shop, before
we had to catch the taxi to get to the
Airport to come home....next time, we
are taking a whole day just to shop!
They had a Starbucks, and a ton of
large department stores and good
food. We had a great time!

We sure met a lot of nice people from
the PI, Germany, North Carolina and
Australia.
We enjoyed the trip, and cannot wait
to go visit again, I would highly
recommend the diving and by all
means, check out Savedra Dive
Shop.......We will most Definitely go
with them again.

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