Getting to Moalboal was pretty straight forward. Leaving behind the sea of skyscrapers in Hong Kong, we flew to Cebu city. From there we took a taxi to the south bus station and then a 3.5 hour coach to Moalboal. Once you get off the coach, you are bombarded by tricycle and motorbike taxi drivers all asking where you are headed whilst they suss out how much luggage you have and how many of you there are. In our case the motor cyclists quickly left us to it seeing we wouldn’t travel with them. We paid 150 pesos for the short drive from the main road down to the water front wondering if we had been taken on the price but (it’s not expensive but considering how cheap everything else is you wonder). Luckily after reading a few other blogs and asking our guest house, it turns out that is the fixed price.
As it had taken us all day to get here, we arrived just in time for sunset and dinner. Before dinner we booked our moped for the next day and took the advice to leave first thing to get to the waterfall before the hoards. All set for our first adventure we headed out to watch the end of the day from the waterfront. Here I had the pleasant surprise of finding out that the Philippines have their own version of mango biche! In the stall overlooking the water they sell coconuts, shakes and mango! You can choose between yellow or green and if you go for green, they give you salt to dip it in! No lemon or pepitoria, but you take what you can get, and I loved it. The sunset was gorgeous, frustratingly I had left my phone in our room, but in a way, it meant that I just took it in instead of trying to capture it. Across the water lies Negros Island (where we are headed to next), so we watched as the sun majestically sunk firstly behind the clouds hovering low in the sky, and then behind Negros. I think I have grown to love sunsets and clouds more since we started travelling. I often find myself watching in awe at the beauty of them. The different colours, tones and shades the sun turns the sky as it retreats for the night or the clouds ever changing throughout the day. Sometimes light and fluffy, other times their shapes so prominent with crisp outlines contrasting the white and blue tints to the clouds. What is the need for these things to be to beautiful? Surely it’s just for our pleasure as it can’t think of a biological reason for why they need to be so pretty?
Bright and early we were up and ready. We sat eating breakfast from a spot where we could see the moped rental shop and just as we were finishing up they opened their shutters. We had selected a Honda as it was the only brand name we recognised then carefully chose our colourful helmets for the day. As Tim tested out the different switches, a young boy of maybe 5 came over and offered us his biscuit before checking out the moped with what looked like a trained eye. When Tim was struggling to open the boot hatch, he silently pointed to the key hole and key Tim was holding that opened it. I imagined that he must watch his father do the same and laughed at this little cutie being our mechanic. Given the all clear by the little guy (and the rental lady) we set off for our trip to the waterfall.
I was in charge of directions so with one arm I clung to Tim and with the other I held up my phone, switching between MapsMe and the camera app to video the beautiful scenery and unsuccessfully capture shots of us on the moped. Alas my arms are too short and the result was mainly our faces and nothing else. For the first time in my life, I wished for a selfie stick! We drove through luscious greenery, drowned rice paddies and the sea that at certain points along the shore was buzzing with locals. We tooted at other mopeds and puppies that had wandered into the road and overtook tuktuks weighed down with more Philippinos than I think would be safely allowed! All the while I kept an eye on the map, telling Tim when to turn and where until we reached the sign for Kawasan. Here we turned in to the little church where you pay a minimal 50 pesos to park your moped safely and set off eagerly for the final walk up to the waterfall.
About 5 minutes into the scenic walk, you come across a stop point and pay your 45 pesos per person to go on which is incredible cheap considering this is the main attraction! As we walked we were pleased it didn’t seem overly busy yet, so getting up and out early had paid off. The path itself is very pretty with the river flowing gently on your left and trees all around you creating almost a canopy along your route. Slightly closer to the waterfall itself you start to hear more buzz and then you reach it, Kawasan Falls. I had felt that having been to Iguazu Falls had spoilt me for any waterfalls to come and yet, here I was being blown away again but for different reasons. Whilst Iguazu is unparalleled in impressive strength and volume of water flow (I’m thinking specifically of Garganta Del Diablo here), Kawasan, with its crystal clear, turquoise blue water is absolutely gorgeous.
There are three levels to the Falls so we were eager to explore them all before the crowds arrived. When I say crowds, I mean mainly locals as whilst there are some western tourists, they are heavily outnumbered by Philippinos. This surprised me as it’s exactly the kind of place I can imagine attracting hoards of tourists but at the same time, I was glad that the Philippinos get to enjoy it themselves. The one negative I would say is that area surrounding the waterfall has been somewhat filled with tables and chairs with big parasols to shade from the sun. These are generally a mixture of reds and oranges and holes in the material have patched up with random materials. Maybe this is due to it being more of a local spot than a big tourist attraction as I’m sure there would be more strict rules on the decor and overall appearance if so.
Along with swimming in the different levels of the falls, the main attraction is canyoneering. At each of the levels you find guides taking people to different spots to jump from. We briefly considered it but decided we preferred to enjoy it by ourselves without the jumping! The top level was the most full of canyoneers, even sliding down a natural slide which I felt was a bit too rough for me to go down in just a bikini. They had the right idea wearing longer layers of swimwear! It was close to the top layer that we found a perfect little spot totally devoid of other visitors, save those walking between the top and middle layers. There was a ledge that divided a pool of water from the top layer and then the flow of the middle. During rainy or wet seasons I’m sure this overflows beautifully creating another layer to the waterfall but I quite liked it as it was as it felt safer to explore without the risk of going over!
I was not so lucky in the middle layer! Here there were a few big boulders sticking out overlooking another level (not too big a drop down), definitely a good photo opportunity I thought. Taking it in turns Tim and I safely posed at the edge of one but on the other side, the boulder had a steady flow going over it and into the pool below. Definitely more picturesque, definitely more risky. I edged forward getting closer to the edge but noticing just how slippery the rock surface had become overtime with the steady flow of water over it. As I took one final step forward, I slipped and instantly was flat on my face in the water, clinging on to the rock shocked that I hadn’t gone over, certain that I would any second. Tim called to me to see if I was ok and asked if I needed help getting up, which I absolutely did, but I couldn’t stop laughing and wanted to make sure he had a photo of this misadventure before coming to get me. Weirdly nothing hurt despite falling so abruptly, but as is always the case, I will pay for it tomorrow I’m sure!
Making our way back down to the first level we realised our mistake, it was absolutely full now. In our rush to see all three tiers before it got busy, we had missed out on our opportunity to the main part almost to ourselves. That said, it was still just as pretty, it just meant that taking photos without lots of b in the background was a real challenge. We stepped around the rocks to try to get better angles of the waterfall less overrun but ultimately we gave up and enjoyed it for what it was, even with the many many people.
Satisfied with our visit, we decided to return to our moped and head on a further half hour to some hot springs we had read about. When we reached them we found out from a sign that they had been closed for a year due to a flash flood, so no hot springs. Tim pointed out the photos I had seen of them were probably carefully angled and taken either first thing or last thing (which was not the time we were there) so regardless it might not have been what I was expecting. Hot spring mission aborted, we jumped back on our moped and drove the hour back to Moalboal for lunch.
We spent the rest of the afternoon snorkelling at White Beach (another 15 minutes moped ride north of Moalboal) and then back in our local beach which is famed for the sardine run! This second snorkel spot was incredible, millions of sardines all moving as one, just a few minutes swim off the shore from where we were staying. Getting into the water was a little bit of a challenge though! Tim warned me of sea urchins and sea anemones just as we were wading in so naturally I was slightly freaked out. We had bought wet shoes for the trip but as we had flippers for the afternoon, our feet had to fend for themselves until we were deep enough to put the flippers on. The water is pretty clear so every now and then you could see the black spikey sea urchin making them easier to avoid, but if you slipped at all and disrupted the water in a panic (as I was doing), then it becomes impossible to see underfoot. Needless to say, I was grateful when I was far in enough to swim and enjoy the wonder of the coral that reminded me of brains or mini intestines in form and eventually the sardines!
The next day we enjoyed our first massage in South East-Asia, lying on the masseuse tables overlooking the water. There were multiple choices of massages and it came down to either a full body massage or a Swedish massage. As it turns out, they are both full body but the Swedish is more relaxing and enjoyable whilst the full body, as I experienced, is much more full on. Being a big fan of spas and massages, this was definitely worth doing however a few points I would mention when selecting a spot in future. Firstly, it’s best to pick a masseuse or masseuse table away from the main hub, otherwise you will find many other masseuses currently not delivering massages sitting chatting next to your bed and your own masseuse joining in chatting over you. Sounds like no big deal but definitely takes away somewhat from the relaxation of the massage. Secondly, and in the same vein, if you are looking to relax, opt for the Swedish massage. A full body can be slightly more forceful and painful at times, enjoyable all the same but again, maybe not the most relaxing. Finally, whilst the setting is picture perfect, worth noting you will, ideally, have your eyes closed for the duration of the massage so other indoor choices may be better, meaning that you won’t have to worry about getting bitten by mosquitos whilst you lie totally exposed to the elements!
Following our massages we had our second, and my favourite snorkel session in Moalboal. Instead of heading straight out to the sardines we stayed closer to the shore, this time getting into the water with a slightly higher tide and at a much sandier point. No sea urchin fear plus the added bonus of swimming with sea turtles! We had swam with turtles in the Galápagos but I don’t think it matters how many times you have done it, it’s still lovely every time. Such gentle little creatures gently swimming along without, it seems to me, a care in the world. Their little faces are my favourite, with their eyes gently surveying you as you approach, deciding whether to stay the course or head off in another direction. Having enjoyed their presence and captured a few special moments with them on our faux-pro, we headed black out to the sardine run. Once again we were amazed by the way they move and the sheer volume of them en mass. You can tell very clearly where the sea bed falls away and it becomes suddenly very deep as the colour of the water changes dramatically. It goes from greeny, turquoisy to a deep blue that shows up the sardines perfectly. There were moments I felt they looked like a hurricane or whirlpool gathering momentum before morphing into an entirely different shape. I can see why this is another of the key attractions here. Absolutely incredible.
Feeling perfectly content with our first taste of the Philippines, we say goodbye to Moalboal and head on to Bais on Negros Island for our next adventure!
Dominique
thequayelife 