cebu province

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from negros i decided to head to cebu island. here there is some famed diving spots and cebu city (the second largest city in the philippines).

my first stop was to the town of moalboal. there is not really any notable beaches there, expect for white beach in the north, but the diving was the reason to go. they have several marine sanctuaries there, one even named saavedra reef. saavedra is my surname, so that was reason enough for me to go. the marine life there was great. i was able to see turtles, sea snakes, even some small sharks at deeper depths. unfortunately the water was a little dirty with small particles, so the pictures didn't come out very clear. at least some came out. i was even able to scare some of the local scuba divers there. they were down at about 25 meters and i dove down with my snorkel and took their picture. i guess they were not expecting to see someone with no tanks down there.

after moalboal i was craving some city life. so off to cebu. it is a good alternative from manila. much cleaner and less humid. plenty of bbq and grilled fish abound. on my first night here i went to the local ymca to work out. i met some of the local college basketball player there (gboy and earl). early in the night, there was a small festival with some bands. there was even a decent sublime cover band there. to re-energize after that they insisted that i eat some balut. for those of you that do not know what it is, it's fertilized, cooked duck embryo. it is served on almost any street at night. all you have to do is listen for the sound of someone walking around saying, "balut, balut, balut". they even showed me the official way to eat it. the egg is given to you hot. you crack the bottom, making a small hole. then drink the liquid. after that you peel the shell all off, exposing the cooked duck embryo. then put some salt and vinegar on it. then put it all in your mouth and chew away. i must say, it was actually kind of good. not scared of it anymore. they gave me some high fives after because they said they've never met a westerner that has eaten balut. then after that they took me out to some good bars and clubs. i must say, i did feel a little power surge from the balut. might have to eat some again when i'm feeling tired. they were very good people.

the next day they took me out to mactan island. they said i could not go to cebu without eating at sutukil (sue-two-kill). they were right. it was about an hour long taxi to get there, but so worth it. in the front of the restaurant there is a fish market. there you can choose from fresh fish, squid, lobster, crab, clams..... then they ask you how you would like it to be cooked. we pretty much had one of everything. we picked a large parrotfish (in hawaii uhu, here called molmol). it was turned into soup, grilled, and turned to ceviche. all of us we completely stuffed, plus there was so much to take home. had to take a long nap after and get a massage so i could walk that night. been fun so far, but it's still early here. i think i'll be in cebu a couple of more days, so this blog might be updated soon.

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Comments

[Franco]

Haha. Did you teach your friends the Shaka sign?

[mikel]

ur blogs
have been fun to read. keep them coming. iluv the islands..visited there twice b4