Salt water on my skin, sand beneath my feet, the wind toying with my hair, waves greeting my ears. It had been a long while since I had experienced these– five years to be exact! The last beach I visited was in Baler, Quezon, where the ocean let me not only enjoy its gentle waters but also learn some valuable life lessons. After that, I was just stuck in cities and their landlocked dreams the whole time. I was not supposed to go to Cebu, actually; I wasn’t part of the plan, but due to some twist of events, I was the one who ended up being on an airplane bound for Mactan City and eventually Bantayan Island and not the original participant of the scheduled trip.
I toured Mactan City a bit, but it was on Bantayan, an island about 500km south of Manila, where I spent most of my time in Cebu. Clear blue waters, fine sand, limestone rock features, sandbars, and an underground cave that doubles as a natural pool were just some of the sites that I got the opportunity to enjoy . It was my first time to visit Visayas, and I hope that this wouldn’t be my last time to explore other locations in the south of the country.
Have a peek at some of these captured views of Bantayan Island and its neighboring islands.
Flying over Bantayan, an island about 4.5hrs south off the capital City of Cebu. Got here from Mactan using the Cessna Grand Caravan EX plane of Air Juan.
en route to Hilantagaan and Virgin Is.
At the Omagieca Obo-ob Mangrove Farm. Mangroves along coastal areas are important as they act as a barrier against storm surge. When super typhoon Yolanda, for example, hit central PH in 2013, the side of Bantayan Is. that had a lot of mangroves was significantly protected from devastation compared to those areas that no longer did have them.
one of the five dogs I met at Ogtong beach. He was super friendly!
Kelvin Hemholtz clouds! I think…
anglesinasphere 
kanindot gyod sa Sugbo.