Our next destination was Malapascua, a tiny island off the coast of the bigger island of Cebu. It turned into our longest travel day yet—we were up at 5 AM for a taxi to the airport, where our flight to Cebu was delayed by four hours. During the wait, Grace started feeling really rough, and a rash she had developed after snorkeling on our boat trip seemed to be getting worse. When we finally landed in Cebu at midday, we decided to stop at a pharmacy since Malapascua, being a small island, wouldn’t have many medical supplies.
What should have been a simple errand turned into a frustrating ordeal—because it was a Saturday, none of the actual pharmacists were working in the pharmacies. We trudged around the city with our heavy backpacks, searching for one that could help. When we eventually found a pharmacist, she took one look at Grace and suggested she see a doctor because her symptoms matched monkeypox—terrifying.
Cue another wild goose chase. It took visits to three different clinics before we finally found one that was open. After an examination and a blood test, the doctor confirmed it was just a rash, along with a bacterial infection. She prescribed antihistamines and antibiotics, and we were finally on our way.
After some Googling, we now suspect Grace’s rash was caused by something called “sea lice” While snorkeling here, we often feel an itchy, prickling sensation—like brushing against nettles—which usually fades quickly and is just plankton irritating the skin. But on our last snorkel, it was much worse and lasted longer. It turns out it was probably “sea lice” which aren’t actually lice but jellyfish larvae, which can cause nasty skin reactions. Grace’s body seems to have reacted badly to them. But at least it’s not monkey pox!
With medication in hand, we caught a bus from Cebu City to Maya, the port for Malapascua. It was supposed to take four hours, but thanks to rush hour traffic (which in the Philippines is no joke), we were still in the city two hours later.
Five long hours later, we finally arrived—only to discover we had missed the last ferry. Despite our bus driver speeding along like a maniac. So, we had no choice but to stay the night in a hotel and catch the early ferry the next morning. We were the last ones on the bus and driver asked us where we were staying and kindly drove us right next to the hotel and took our bags in for us. So at least it was a 5* experience even if it took a long time!
Unfortunately, our bad luck wasn’t over yet. The ferry ride should have been about an hour, but 30 minutes in, a massive storm rolled in—dark skies, heavy rain, thunder, lightning, the works. By the time we reached Malapascua, the island was practically flooding, and we had to wade through murky, muddy water to get to our hostel. The rain was so intense that even pulling Grace’s phone out for a few seconds to check directions caused water damage.
Our accommodation was a bamboo hut high in the air so we were safe from the flooding at least even if I did constantly feel like I was about to fall through the floor!
Needless to say, sightseeing was off the table, but at least we got a lot of planning and booking done for our next few countries. Thankfully, the next day brought sunshine. Grace was up early for scuba diving, where she got to see thresher sharks and some amazing octopuses. I, on the other hand, had the much less exciting task of booking hostels and planning our next stops.
At least I got to do it in the sunshine—I went to a nice café and ordered a tuna sandwich, which turned out to be more of a mayonnaise sandwich. There were about three flakes of tuna in the whole thing. When I asked the waitress why there was no tuna, she pointed at a single flake and said, “Yes, is here,” as if I was blind for not spotting it. I gave up and just ate it.
In the afternoon, I had a stroll around the island and saw the cockerels that had woken me up that morning, apparently cock fighting is still a big thing in the Philippines.
Grace returned, and we spent the evening on the beach, chatting over drinks. Malapascua is beautiful, but unless you’re diving, there’s not a whole lot to do. We did however try a mango float, the best way I can describe it is a cross between a cheesecake and a tiramisu without coffee and with added mango, very tasty!
Next up is Moalboal—hopefully, it’ll be a bit more exciting to write about (and to experience!). I’ll tell you all about it soon. Love, Alice x