Snorkeling in Cebu!

If you travel out of Manila and to a beach or an island, you have to try out a water activity - even if it's just wading in the warm, crystal clear blue and turquoise waters.

After reading our guide book we saw that our hotel had a dive center, Scotty's Dive Center. We checked it out when it first opened and reserved a banca (a classic white wooden Filipino boat) for the afternoon to head out to Hilutungan Island, about a 20 minute ride from Mactan. The island is a protected marine sanctuary off of Olango Island, where the reefs were once endangered by fishing fleets. What an afternoon! We enjoyed being on the boat, swimming in the warm waters, looking at the coral, and being surrounded by so many fishes!! From a food standpoint, it was fascinating to see some of the fish that I find in the market swimming all around me! The parrot fish had their own unique colors and the pompano were huuge! I'll admit there were a couple times when I had a craving for sashimi for dinner...

Here's a slideshow of pictures taken out on the water:

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