Bohol to Moalboal, Kawasan Canyoneering

Today we had a relatively epic amount of travel. Very little other than being ferried around was going to be achieved. Our itinerary was as follows; taxi, ferry, taxi, bus, tricycle, dinner, bed. Searching on the internet we had a few different options open to us for the journey, however different websites had conflicting information; some said that the port at Loon was open, others said it was destroyed in an earthquake in 2013. Therefore we went with the safe option, to literally retrace our steps back to Cebu then take a bus down to Moalboal. Although lengthy, and passing back through Cebu wasn’t our idea of fun, at least we knew it still existed. 

In a very nice gesture the Hotel gave us a free lift down to the ferry terminal. The money we saved in doing this we then paid to the ferry staff for a ‘baggage fee’ which I have a suspicion is just a scam as some other tourists were still in possession of their bags upon boarding. The ferry was fine, the subsequent cab ride to the bus station fine, however the bus waiting area/tent/terminal wasn’t fine. There was a kind of queueing system, basically musical chairs, however this broke down when a bus actually arrived with everyone simply flocking to the departure doors. Amelia wasn’t feeling in top shape either so really not an ideal situation. However after an hour or so of waiting we got on a bus, then waited a further half hour/45 minutes for it to actually leave, in which time a man had come on asking for 50pesos for baggage, which nobody gave him (probable , and numerous food vendors plied their wares, as varied as pizza to milkshakes. Once we eventually set off the journey was actually fine. We picked up various people along the way at seemingly random locations (definitely not designated bus stops). A few hours later (4-5 maybe) we arrived in Moalboal (still don’t know how to pronounce this) and nipped on a tricycle over to Okeanos Hotel, next to Pangasama Beach, our home for the next 3 nights. 

The hotel is clean, tidy, with aircon and a lovely little balcony, perfect for some pre-breakfast exercise, and just a 5 minute walk to the beach where there are bars, restaurants, dive shops and a very beautiful outlook, if not a beautiful beach (quite rocky, more a diving/snorkelling place with a reef just off the beach). We just headed over to said beach to see the sunset (5:30) and get a bite to eat before heading to bed. It was a long day. 

Up bright and breezy at 7 this morning we got breakfast at a restaurant/hostel down the road before catching our (very) prompt bus to Kawasan Falls. Today we were doing a canyoneering adventure with Kawasan Canyoneering, something we’ve both been highly recommended and pretty much ‘the’ thing to do in Moalboal. We were in a group of 11, consisting of us, two Brazilians, two Germans, a family from Malaysia/Norway, and a Canadian, which turned out to be a great group, the bravest member of which turned out to be an 11 year old girl. After suiting up with life jackets and helmets we were given a choice, hike for 45 minutes down to the canyon, or take a kilometre long zipline. The group unanimously chose the zipline. Although apprehensive at first I actually really enjoyed being strapped face down into a sling and thrown down the wire. A good start. 

After a bit of a trek we got down to the canyon itself, which ended up at the famous (very overtouristy) Kawasan Falls after 4 or so hours. Canyoneering is basically being thrown/pushed/kicked or jumping down waterfalls. It was brilliant, definitely high on the recommendation list for Moalboal. The first waterfall we sort of slid down, then jumped from a 2m rock, then climbed up to a 7m rock and jumped off, then was thrown like a baby into a pool and under a rocky outcrop, and numerous jumps and slides later we could smell barbecue, which signalled the half way point of the trip. Hereafter was much the same, with a 20 minute walk to the big one, a 10m running jump. One of the group attempted a backflip and looked as if he was concussed for the rest of the trip (not advisable), and Amelia was garrotted by her helmet, but other than that we all emerged unscathed. Before arriving at Kawasan Falls we had a final 12 metre jump, which was a bit scary, but I managed to get up there and do it. Maybe overcoming my fear of heights? Hopefully. 

Kawasan Falls itself was basically a concreted restaurant/bar area around a pool with a relatively high waterfall coming down. Tourists everywhere, vendors all over the place, not somewhere I would recommend coming to without doing the Canyoneering tour, at all. After a half hour walk from the falls we got back to the road, managed to fit 8 people on a trike, and arrived back at Kawasan Canyoneering HQ for a (very) late lunch. We all exchanged details with each other to share videos and photos and headed back. What we thought was a half day trip is turned out to be an incredibly full on entire days excursion. So much fun. 

Back at the hotel we lay down for a bit, then did some exercise on the balcony, then went for a pizza overlooking the sea. A beautiful day.