Nalusuan Island [My World]

Another islet 40 minutes from the Hilton pier, located between the islands of Bohol and Mactan, is Nalusuan Island. It is the crowning glory of Olango Reef in Cordova, Cebu. Originally a sand bar, Nalusuan Island was reclaimed to allow the construction of the resort which occupies the entire island.

The island measures close to a hectare, it has a 260-meter wharf and a stretch of white sandy beach. Nalusuan Island is a marine sanctuary--a favorite destination of divers, and the protected coral garden and rich marine life are great for snorkeling.

Water sports, rooms and cottages are available at the resort.

Nalusuan Island Resort and Marine Sanctuary

Cordova, Cebu

Posted for My World-Tuesday

Olango Island's floating restaurants [Watery & Outdoor Wednesday]

Olango Island, an island 5 kilometers east of Mactan Island, Cebu, is not only known for its wildlife sanctuary and dive sites but also for its floating restaurants that cater mostly to tourists. These restaurants on stilts offer fresh seafoods--you can choose from live grouper (lapu-lapu), parrot fish, mackerel, blue marlin, squid, abalone, lobster, prawns, crabs, oysters, scallops, clams and other shellfish. You can have it grilled, deep-fried, pan-fried, steamed, mixed with vegetables or eat them raw. For the adventurous, there's puffer fish, jellyfish, stingray, different kinds of seaweeds and other exotic fares. Boats are parked by the restaurants' ladder and we hopped from the boat onto the ladder. The water was not deep so no worries about falling into the water. Our boatman was also kind enough to assist us in case we'd lose our balance. We had a great lunch here. It wasn't cheap but it was a delightful dining experience.

our boatman expertly parked our boat

our neighbors

Olango Island is about 20 minutes by boat from Hilton pier in Mactan.

Posted for Watery Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday

Lunch at Olango Island

I don't know why but being on water makes me hungry. The wind, sun and salty water whet the appetite, I suppose. The anticipation of having fresh sea-foods for lunch on a "floating restaurant" made me more hungry! The outrigger boat brought us to a cluster of "floating restaurants" in Olango Island as part of our island-hopping adventure in Mactan.

From the island of Hilutungan, we bought 3 pieces of rock lobsters from a local fisherman for P1,800. I didn't know those were rock lobsters---when I was a kid, we called them pitik-pitik, although the ones we bought were much bigger than the pitik-pitik of my childhood. But still, I think P1,800 for the 3 crustaceans was way too expensive. We were "tourists", after all.

This was our lunch in one of the "floating restaurants". The sea-foods were not only fresh, they're all alive! We had litob shells soup, steamed lapu-lapu (grouper), grilled squid, chopsuey (mixed vegetables), garlic fried rice and grilled rock lobsters.

Buying sea-foods here was a bit, for a lack of a better word, tricky---they won't give you the price for each item that you choose, like how much for a kilo. They will give you a price based on the whole basket you selected, including cooking charges. There were five of us and our lunch was P6,300. Not cheap. But then, the experience was worth it, plus the food was delicious.

waiting for lunch to be served

"floating" restaurants

Posted for Food Trip Friday and Food Friday