Day 50: Off to Bantayan Island

Its the 50th day of my ICS Volunteering Journey. It's Day 2 of our MPR and as early as 4:00AM today - we will be traveling to Bantayan Island!

Phillip and Camille. Twin Filipino Volunteers!

Its about 3-4 hours bus ride from the North Bus terminal, Cebu City to Bogo City where we are going to ride a boat to Bantayan Island. I slept for few hours and when the sunrise came, I saw a very beautiful sight of the country side. I love going to the mountains. The sweet breeze of fresh and cool air and the very relax environment is just so soothing to the soul.

Verdant mountains along the road going to Bantayan Island

When we reached Bogo City, we rode a barge that took us around 1-2 hours. The sea is very inviting and I can feel the sweet holiday time we have over the weekend.

L-R: Daniel, Camille and KP. Filipino Volunteers on
their wacky face.

The white beach is stunning and it seems like your living in paradise. The blue waters is very pleasant to the eye and its beauty is just too mesmerizing. 

Welcome to Paradise!

We are staying at Yoonek beach resort and the place is really nice to spending your vacation. This cute signboard will give you a warm welcome!

Mr. Yoonek! Enjoy your stay!

Yes, I am not really that much fun of beaches. Arriving here around 10AM makes me wanna stay forever on the shade. It's just too sunny for me! But, the sun rays highlights the amazing scenery that your eyes shall truly feast on.

An awesome view of the Beach in front of Yoonek

I decided to go for a walk and explore the places nearby. There's an old church but they started renovating it. By the looks of it, it seemed to be an ancient structure that wasn't able to withstand the sands of time. 

Sta. Fe Church, Bantayan Island

I went to the other side of the beach. Every corner of the Island has something prepared for you to discover just like this boat sitting on the beach.

There is always something new to explore around Bantayan!

There are small shops around the place where I was able to buy my swimming shorts at P150.00. They give generous discounts. The prices aren't overpriced and designed for day to day living of the locals.

Souvenirs. Slippers. Swimming shorts. Goggles.

I also looked for the menus of different restaurants to check if they have vegetarian food especially for my host home counterpart. I saw one selling pizza and pasta and it relieved my worries. Although I find the food expensive on those dining businesses, I saw one fried chicken haus where a meal can cost for only 50 pesos.

The restaurant that sells vegetarian pasta and pizza.

When I returned to the resort,some of my co-volunteers were playing volleyball and enjoying the heat of the sun.  It's a very relaxing day!

Beach volleyball? Will you?

Ronnie, our Program Support Volunteer, rented a bicycle and since he was with others enjoying the beach -  I asked to borrow it from him for an hour so I could go further sight seeing.

Bike. Explore. Enjoy. Relax.

I saw a bakery and some heritage sites. It has been a long time since I rode a bike. My father had a mountain back long time ago and I have difficulty riding it because my legs are just to short to reach the pedal.

Swim. Beach. Photo. 

I went back to the resort and saw everyone having so much fun! The sun is almost out and also its almost time for dinner. 

After dinner, we stayed for a while to have some videoke. The restaurant turned into a comedy bar. It was my first time to experience it. Usually, I watch Banana Split ( A TV comedy show) whenever I'm still awake. The experience was fun aside from them believing about the stories we shared when we are asked.

Daniel, my co-volunteer being interrogated before
singing his song.

It's my first time here in Bantayan Island. VSO-ICS never fails to care for their volunteers. This is one way of them saying, "How are you? You've done a great job so far. Rest for a while. Breathe in and Breathe out! We're halfway and We will be doing it together.".