It was day four of our trip and still, it was pouring heavily. Our backpacks were soaked as we made our way down to Oslob.

To get to Oslob,

1. Take a tricyle to Moalboal town – Duration: 10 minutes, approx 80-100 peso
2. Take the Ceres liner bus opposite the sign below towards Bato bus terminal (Bato via Barili) – Duration: 1.5-2 hours
3. At Bato bus terminal, transfer to another Ceres bus and inform the bus conductor to drop you off at Tanawan – Duration: 30 mins

Alternatively, you can opt for a private car but it will be more expensive of course.

Note: If you are riding the air-con bus, make sure you’ve got a jacket with you. It was bloody cold and I was freezing my ass off.

So I made small talk with the bus conductor and told him that we haven’t arranged any accommodation. I got him to drop us off at a resort near the whale-watching site and we ended up at MB Sunrise View Resort. This place is really cheap and just a mere 3-minutes walk from where we do the whale watching activity.

With an attractive rate, we got the room without hesitation. When we went in and saw this, we knew we had a good deal –

A room with 3 beds (2 double and 1 single), big enough for five to stay. What a steal at 1,000 peso!

There is even a nice pool facing the sea! With a slide no less.

It was almost 3 pm and we headed out to explore the area. We had not planned anything for the day and some locals were touting for business. Eventually, we settled for a snorkelling trip at Sumilon island for 1,000 peso (with my bargaining skills, snorkel gear was inclusive) for two.

While it has stopped raining, the skies were still dark and we got the entire boat to ourselves.

This was much better than I’d expected!

The locals mentioned that it was a good time to visit the island. There were only a handful of others and the place was relatively quiet and peaceful. The powdery white sand was soft and water was crystal clear. I can totally imagine staying here for a longer time just to chill and suntan.

At first, both of us thought that it was all a scam. There were no fishes around when we snorkelled! So I swam further out and finally saw some corals and fishes.

Visibility was pretty clear even though it had been raining just hours before and we really enjoyed the whole experience.

No one else was so far out except us and our our guide was being a bummer and constantly reminding us that it was dangerous to be so far away from shore.

When we returned, I saw a staff on the rooftop and this monkey here had to climb out to see the view as well. There is something so mesmerizing about this. It was beautiful, especially in the rain and the atmosphere was slightly depressing yet calming.

This is a really short post because we spent a long time on the roads travelling from one place to another. This was also the last night Paul and I spent together because we were parting ways for an indefinite amount of time thereafter. He would be back to Paris and I would be alone in Cebu for another night before returning home to Singapore.

We got a nice dinner at a pizza place that night, and returned to the resort for our final catch-up over San Miguel beers. We recounted our favourite moments in Singapore and recalled the silly things we had done during the weekends. It was so surreal, this friendship was so genuine and real even though we may not have met in the most conventional way.  I have nothing but love and respect for this friend and only wish the best for him. Here’s to you, Paulie!

Day 1: Swimming with a million sardines

Day 2: Playing tarzan at Kawasan falls

Love,

Olivia L.