We had an incredible week of adventure in Moalboal, a beautiful coastal town in the Philippines. We went with our friends Jules and Del (who we previously met up with in Bangkok, Da Nang & Hoi An, and Boracay), and Christopher, our friend from Taiwan who also joined us in Boracay for the Ultimate tournament!
Moalboal was an absolute treat! We stayed at La Casa Maria and Maria was the sweetest, loveliest woman ever! She ushered us in with the warmest smile, and we instantly felt right at home. Casa Maria offers free breakfast with the room, and the breakfasts were so delicious! Pancakes, eggs, ham, toast, coffee, etc! It was so great to wake up every day to a nice meal.
Maria is also a major dog person, and not only did she have an adorable puppy, Gucci (a husky & shih tzu mix!), but she also looked out for the strays and neighborhood doggies!
On our first full day we got to experience the magic of Moalboal: snorkeling just off the beach near our hostel with the famous sardine run. We were surrounded by thousands of shimmering sardines as they moved in synchronized patterns, creating a breathtaking underwater spectacle. It was an unforgettable experience to witness this beautiful sight just meters from the beach.
As we hopped into the water we were also greeted by a gorgeous pink turtle! In Taiwan we have green turtles, so it was so cool to see a pink one! We watched it graze along the coral, and then spent the day swimming among the sardines!
The next day we experienced another magical day just outside Moalboal in Kawasan Falls. Unfortunately, Christopher was feeling sick that day so he stayed behind — and you wouldn’t want to do this while not feeling well! It was a wonderful but long and very high-impact day.
We were lucky to have done it with a really fun group of people! There were 13 of us altogether, all around the same age from all over: New Zealand, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, and Hong Kong. A few of the Swiss and Swedish girls were on vacation from studying in Taipei! It was a really fun day as everyone was very energetic and excited to make the most of the beautiful day.
We were given the choice of whether to zip line down (for an extra cost) or walk “45 minutes” and our group chose to walk and it only ended up being 15 or so minutes. The zip lining didn’t seem worth it either, according to the people that did go. The walk was so beautiful, the vegetation was all so lush and green and we could see the ocean in the distance.
When we got down to the canyon we couldn’t believe our eyes when we saw the water. It was the most unreal color blue!
It was an adrenaline-pumping adventure as we hiked, swam, and jumped off cliffs into crystal-clear water. The stunning natural scenery of the canyons, with their lush greenery and cascading waterfalls, left us in awe. The guides did a great job of instructing us what to do while also not giving us much time to ruminate in fear over the big jumps.
Partway down there was a delicious smell wafting through the canyon. They were cooking up bbq chicken and sausage skewers! It’s such a good idea because it’s a long way to the bottom, and we would have been completely famished if we hadn’t grabbed one.
At the last big waterfall, our guide led our group under it! It was so beautiful and powerful. Apparently, there used to be a 14-meter jump right above this waterfall, but two years ago a big typhoon rerouted some of the water so it’s no longer deep enough.
I lost one of my water shoes swimming under the waterfall, so I has to do the last kilometre+ lopsided! Oops!
It was such an amazing day! We were smiling and laughing the whole way down.
That evening we had the goal to try out one of the karaoke bars on the main strip. Thankfully, Christopher was feeling better so our group had dinner and then went to Blue Mango bar, which was having happy hour BOGO cocktails. We were joined by some of our canyoneering friends: Summer and Caleb from New Zealand, and Scofield from Hong Kong! We had a really fun night dancing to an amazing DJ who was playing only bangers!
I also saw a girl I went to high school with! I went up and chatted with her and we realized I had also seen her weeks ago while in Nha Trang! She’s traveling around SE Asia with her boyfriend, who also recognized me from my hometown. What a freakishly small world!
After dancing our butts off we were ready to hit the karaoke circuit with everyone! We sang the classics: Taylor Swift, Cardi B, and Jessie J and graced Moalboal with our stunning voices. All in all, it was an incredible day and night!
Moalboal was such an enjoyable and adventure-filled time. We had to say goodbye to Christopher as he left back to Taiwan, but it was so fun to spend time with him here and in Boracay. To see our full Moalboal gallery, click here.
Our adventure continues with Jules and Del in Oslob, which you can read about here.