July 2025
As summer drew to a close, I wanted to take one last trip, so I headed to the island of Cebu in the Philippines. From Cebu City, I went southwest to Moalbaol and made a friend.
The scuba diving was really great, the best I have done yet. I did three dives, my first was to the Sardine Run. We could just walk in off the beach, and I saw perhaps millions of fish. It was also a lot more fun to dive with a GoPro and take pictures while diving
Dwarf Lionfish.
Diving off of spider boats.
The second dive was about a 15-minute ride off the coast, to the little island of Pescador.
Could go into a pretty cool cave 30 meters down, which was also my deepest dive yet.
Eel
Saw two sea turtles, which are one of my favorite animals to see while diving. It was also really nice that the camera did not die this time. The last time I saw a sea turtle, I got one bad picture before the camera died. This time worked out well.
Local volleyball game. Coincidentally, the lady who helped me at the dive shop was playing.
A chill hangout place that also had archery.
I shot him between the eyes with Cupid’s arrow because I love animals.
Went canyoneering in Kawason Falls and rode a 1km zipline Superman style.
Canyoneering in Kawasan was super fun. Everybody gets their own guide, which is helpful in some places, and they set you up well for photos.
Jungle 711.
This is a cock fighting rooster. Saw lots of them in the Philippines.
Made a few friends there. This is Billy the goat.
Around the little city of Moalboal.
The Tuk-Tuks are different in the Philippines from Thailand; many of them are just attached to a bike.
Jollibee is a very popular fast food place in the Philippines known for chicken, burgers, and spaghetti. I also thought it was kinda funny that the Jollibee sign was the highest point in the city, even higher than the cross.
Some of my food. I forgot the names, but it was all delicious.
The Philippines was controlled by the Spanish for over 300 years, then the USA for about 50 years, with a brief time of Japanese occupation during WW2. It has been an independent country for about 75 years. This is an old Spanish fort.
Magellan’s Cross, where the Portuguese explorer, sailing under the Spanish flag, landed in 1521. Spain was a very catholic country, and now the Philippines is a very catholic country.
There are a lot of guns in the Philippines, with all the banks having multiple armed guards. I got in trouble for taking this picture. You are not even supposed to be on a phone in the bank for security reasons. It was also the first Asia country I have been in where I did not feel totally safe.
Toaist temple in Cebu. Taoism originated in China, with balance (yin-yang) being a central idea.
The Temple of Leah was built in 2012 by a Filipino man looking to honor his wife and family. It was unexpected to see this Greek-style architecture in East Asia. It is literally a Greek-style temple dedicated to a wealthy Filipino lady with a very eclectic collection of artifacts from around the world. It also serves as a popular event venue and provides a nice view of Cebu City.
Goodbye, Philippines, I will come back for more nature activities.