As planned on our 3rd day we went Island hopping to see the dolphins, swim in the fish sanctuary in Balicasag Island and Explored the Virgin Island. We board our rented Banca(boat) at 6AM in the morning and left immediately. Our Resort (Casa Nino) packed our breakfast and ate it while the banca is moving towards the Dolphins. Its cold and slippery I would advice you to bring Sarong or wear T-shirt first while wearing your swimwear underneath.
DOLPHIN WATCHING
Dolphins play early in the morning, that's the reason why we left at 6AM. And we were not disappointed, we saw dolphins playing, chasing and racing against each other. It's not the first time for me to see dolphins but every time I see them it excites me still. Its hard to chase them though because there are lots of boats trying to chase them as well, which scares them. But surely you will see them because as our tour guide/bankero said that place is their playground and sometimes if your lucky what you will see are the small dolphins that jumps.
Dolphins play early in the morning, that's the reason why we left at 6AM. And we were not disappointed, we saw dolphins playing, chasing and racing against each other. It's not the first time for me to see dolphins but every time I see them it excites me still. Its hard to chase them though because there are lots of boats trying to chase them as well, which scares them. But surely you will see them because as our tour guide/bankero said that place is their playground and sometimes if your lucky what you will see are the small dolphins that jumps.
SNORKELING IN BALICASAG ISLAND
Right after seeing the dolphins we started our 15 minutes ride towards Balicasag Island. Along the way you will see the Sequijor Island. After minutes we reached Balicasag Island, you have to wear your slippers or aqua shoes if you have right after you go down the boat because the sand has small and medium shells that might hurt you .Our bankero arranged our ride towards the actual fish sanctuary. You have to rent a small paddle boat because the government doesn't allow motor boat in that area for that may damage and crash the corals. The rate is php150 per head, your bankero will be your tour guide and life guard at the same time. Before you leave they will offer you to rent underwater camera case for php150 but since we already have 1 we saved money, snorkling googles for php100-150 each but it was already included in our sea tour package, aqua shoes 150each pair and life jacket for 100php. Believe me you don't have to rent aqua shoes because even in low tide the water is still high, you don't have to worry about the corals hurting you. If you want, you can skip the renting of life jacket as well to save money because you will float effortlessly in sea water anyway. We immediately board our rented small paddle boat and went to the sanctuary. Its about 800meters from beach shore. This sanctuary is breathtaking, I've never seen so many fish before. You will see Nemo, Dorie and their friends and other fish that your not familiar with, from the smallest to as big as 15 inches fish. But be carefull because there's a deep area, our tour guide strictly prohibited us from swimming in that area anyway you will notice it because you won't see corals anymore. From a far you will see different school of fish swimming in that deep area which is so cool. Only divers are allowed to swim there for safety reasons. In my trip here in Bohol this is the most unforgettable thing we've done. So far this is the best snorkeling site I've ever seen.
Right after seeing the dolphins we started our 15 minutes ride towards Balicasag Island. Along the way you will see the Sequijor Island. After minutes we reached Balicasag Island, you have to wear your slippers or aqua shoes if you have right after you go down the boat because the sand has small and medium shells that might hurt you .Our bankero arranged our ride towards the actual fish sanctuary. You have to rent a small paddle boat because the government doesn't allow motor boat in that area for that may damage and crash the corals. The rate is php150 per head, your bankero will be your tour guide and life guard at the same time. Before you leave they will offer you to rent underwater camera case for php150 but since we already have 1 we saved money, snorkling googles for php100-150 each but it was already included in our sea tour package, aqua shoes 150each pair and life jacket for 100php. Believe me you don't have to rent aqua shoes because even in low tide the water is still high, you don't have to worry about the corals hurting you. If you want, you can skip the renting of life jacket as well to save money because you will float effortlessly in sea water anyway. We immediately board our rented small paddle boat and went to the sanctuary. Its about 800meters from beach shore. This sanctuary is breathtaking, I've never seen so many fish before. You will see Nemo, Dorie and their friends and other fish that your not familiar with, from the smallest to as big as 15 inches fish. But be carefull because there's a deep area, our tour guide strictly prohibited us from swimming in that area anyway you will notice it because you won't see corals anymore. From a far you will see different school of fish swimming in that deep area which is so cool. Only divers are allowed to swim there for safety reasons. In my trip here in Bohol this is the most unforgettable thing we've done. So far this is the best snorkeling site I've ever seen.
DINING IN AT BALICASAG ISLAND
There are lots of karinderia in Balicasag Island that will cook food for you for a price. You can buy fresh sea food from there as well. Price may vary but at that time all fishes and prawns are 400 per kilo. What we bought is a fish called Tulingan or skip jack tuna and told them to cook sinigang with it. Right after snorkling we asked them to serve the food its just 10Am but we were so hungry from swimming. The food was great Its my first time to eat skip jack tuna but as the cook said it will be perfect for sinigang. You will eat on a simple table and long chair(bangko) under the trees from there you will see the sky blue beach which makes it perfect. All in all we paid php400.
php200 for half kilo skip jack tuna
php100 for cooking our food and other ingredients
php60 for 4 order of rice (15 php per cup)
php40 1liter sprite soda.
Since its just the 2 of us we were not able to finish the sinigang, so we asked them to wrap our excess food. After eating I want to go back to the fish sanctuary but we have to proceed to our Island tour.
There are lots of karinderia in Balicasag Island that will cook food for you for a price. You can buy fresh sea food from there as well. Price may vary but at that time all fishes and prawns are 400 per kilo. What we bought is a fish called Tulingan or skip jack tuna and told them to cook sinigang with it. Right after snorkling we asked them to serve the food its just 10Am but we were so hungry from swimming. The food was great Its my first time to eat skip jack tuna but as the cook said it will be perfect for sinigang. You will eat on a simple table and long chair(bangko) under the trees from there you will see the sky blue beach which makes it perfect. All in all we paid php400.
php200 for half kilo skip jack tuna
php100 for cooking our food and other ingredients
php60 for 4 order of rice (15 php per cup)
php40 1liter sprite soda.
Since its just the 2 of us we were not able to finish the sinigang, so we asked them to wrap our excess food. After eating I want to go back to the fish sanctuary but we have to proceed to our Island tour.
VIRGIN ISLAND
From Balicasag Island its about 15 minutes, it is already near Panglao Island. This Island is really small you can go around the whole island for 5minutes if your running. The place is surrounded by shallow water and from there you can sit, walk and swim in its fine sand. The Island is surrounded by corals and underwater sea plants so the area you can go to is quite limited but the farthest clear area can reach up to 3 feet. Here you can buy fresh coconut that you can drink while sitting on the beach. Some vendors also sell sea urchin for php20. We tried 1 and surprisingly it doesn't taste as bad as I think, its slimy but it taste like crab. The vendor will slice the sea urchin in half, spray citric acid from calamondin (kalamanasi) inside its shell then they will scrape the yellow meat inside and put it in your hand for you to eat. If its your first time to eat this you'll get goose bumps like us but It was kinda okay, its just new for us. If you want to try this just make sure that the vendor knows what he is doing. Although almost all of them knows how to prep and handle sea urchin, still some of these have strong poison that cannot be eaten even if you put calamondin juice in it you have to make sure that what you eat is safe. It wont hurt if you try to ask and know the knowledge of the vendor first ( like we did, hehe) . After eating we swim for a while, there we saw a jelly fish its kinda big and scary. And since we don't have enough knowledge about sea creatures we just decided to swim near the Island. The water here is crystal clear you can even see fishes swimming beneath you. After an hour we decided to go back to the resort, its just about 10 minutes ride going back to Alona beach.
From Balicasag Island its about 15 minutes, it is already near Panglao Island. This Island is really small you can go around the whole island for 5minutes if your running. The place is surrounded by shallow water and from there you can sit, walk and swim in its fine sand. The Island is surrounded by corals and underwater sea plants so the area you can go to is quite limited but the farthest clear area can reach up to 3 feet. Here you can buy fresh coconut that you can drink while sitting on the beach. Some vendors also sell sea urchin for php20. We tried 1 and surprisingly it doesn't taste as bad as I think, its slimy but it taste like crab. The vendor will slice the sea urchin in half, spray citric acid from calamondin (kalamanasi) inside its shell then they will scrape the yellow meat inside and put it in your hand for you to eat. If its your first time to eat this you'll get goose bumps like us but It was kinda okay, its just new for us. If you want to try this just make sure that the vendor knows what he is doing. Although almost all of them knows how to prep and handle sea urchin, still some of these have strong poison that cannot be eaten even if you put calamondin juice in it you have to make sure that what you eat is safe. It wont hurt if you try to ask and know the knowledge of the vendor first ( like we did, hehe) . After eating we swim for a while, there we saw a jelly fish its kinda big and scary. And since we don't have enough knowledge about sea creatures we just decided to swim near the Island. The water here is crystal clear you can even see fishes swimming beneath you. After an hour we decided to go back to the resort, its just about 10 minutes ride going back to Alona beach.
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