After a couple of months of settling into my new home in Manila I made my first trip outside the city last week visiting Cebu City and Moalboal, both on the island of Cebu, about an hours flight from Manila.
My main interest was to experience the famous “sardine run” at Moalboal which turned out to be the most amazing sight I have seen in nature.
Lacking an underwater camera I don’t have a single image of this surreal sight but if you google or search on youtube there will be plenty of content to choose from.
Moalboal is a small tourist town on the opposite side of Cebu island from Cebu City, a scenic three hour drive through gritty industrial towns followed by lush green rolling hills, palm trees and quaint filipino villages.
The town of Moalboal proper is completely forgettable, but the smaller town of Moalboal, just ten minutes away and 100 peso by tricycle is another matter. Consisting of a handful of cafe, bar, restaurant and dive shop lined streets cascading down a hill to Panagasama Beach this is a beach goers heaven.
The long stretch of beach consists of a shallow coral section extending a hundred metres from shore followed by a sheer drop-off into the deep blue.
The beach is famous for its “sardine run” and for the huge sea turtles that come in from the deep each morning to feed on seaweed in the shallows.
For the lazy traveller in search of adventure Moalboal is an ideal destination. Far from needing to hike for days through the jungle to find a secret, secluded beach where the magic happens, in Moalboal all you need to do is rent a snorkel, mask and flippers (P200/$5AUD per day) and swim out 50 metres or so. The sardines are easily located by heading to the nearest cluster of snorkelers.
Once on site all you need to do is float face down and watch the amazing passing parade.
I have literally never seen a sight like this in nature in my life. I can best describe it as a cloud of millions of sardines just beneath the surface of perhaps 50 metres in width, the same in depth, and a few hundred metres in length. This cloud of fish seethes and roils up and down the beach making the most amazing shapes, the sun glinting off their silver and electric blue striped sides.
At times, spooked by something the cloud will explode upward at an astonishing speed and then, just as quickly it will suck back down into formation as if by some giant vacuum.
At one point the sea of fish parted to form a perfect circle and a sunbeam shining down through the circle perfectly illuminated a giant sea turtle that had floated up from the deep and was swimming along serenely beneath me. This was truly and unforgettable sight.
While I was there the town was quiet and I had the fish mostly to myself adding to the surreal nature of the experience.
Moalboal was badly effected by the super typhoon Odette which made landfall on Cebu island in early December 2021. The town had no power, water or internet for many weeks after the storm passed and there are a number of buildings along the waterfront that are damaged beyond repair and are lying abandonded.
Still, despite the adversity, the people of Moalboal are as happy and as welcoming as everyone else I have met in the Philippines and are simply getting on with life with a thousand kilowatt smile on their faces.
I plan to return and maybe spend some time there in the new year, waterproof camera in hand.
A room with a view
Part of the same building above, an abandonded resort, a mural and a wall are all that remain.
Chill Bar minus part of its thatched roof.
Side view of Chill.
For the time being these building make an ideal photography set in search of a model.
Waterfront views.
Sun breaks through the clouds. Negros Island is in the background.