Skydiving with Skydive Greater Cebu Part 1 : Bantayan Island Getaway

It was February 2014 when one of my closest friends had her skydiving experience on her birthday. A year after that, another close friend of mine had his for his birthday too. For real, I was so envious but at the same time so happy for both of them. As they were relaying their experiences, I can still see the excitement not yet fading behind the sparkle of their eyes. I can sense the happiness and the sense of fulfillment emanating as were speaking. I can’t help but be ecstatic too.

 

Skydiving. My long time bucket list entry.

Do you have it on your list too? Or have you experienced it already? Comment down below.

Skydiving is also on my bucket list. I believe every adventure junkie has this on their list too. I swore that one day I’m going to do it. After my friend had his experience last 2015, I promised myself that I’m going to do it the following year. I still have to save up some money. Another year passed, 2016 came in, but my plans got rescheduled due to other travel priorities and opportunities.

 

Book and Just do it!

One day of early January 2017, I was doing nothing and seeking for a thrill. Suddenly a flashback came into my thoughts. My bucket list poked my consciousness. I remembered what I promised to myself years ago. “Yes! I saved up for this. I promised myself to do it. Why did I forget about this?” I said to myself as I snapped my fingers and tapped my head. Then the famous Shia LaBeof’s viral video passed through my head telling me to “Just do it!”.  I then opened my computer, went to Skydive Greater Cebu‘s site and wallah! Booked and Scheduled!

I wanted my skydiving to be on my birthday just like my friends did. It would be a great birthday present to myself. Unfortunately, my birth month falls on the rainy season. Skydiving on those days would be risky as the skies will be ravaging with thunderclouds. Plus, skydiving on gloomy days will deprive you the scenic views while on the air. So I had mine booked last March when it is summer in the Philippines and the skies will mostly be clear.

 

Who’s coming with me?

Booking a skydive in Skydive Greater Cebu entitles each customer a discount on their partner resorts on the island. I initially planned to go solo for this trip, but the huge slash of the accommodation prices was so tempting. Might as well book a room with a larger capacity and invite some of my friends to come with me and share my experiences on the island. I booked a family size room in Santa Fe Beach Club resort since the resort is one of the partner resorts for skydiving. I then invited some of my friends to go with me.

 

Going early to maximize time.

So we met up in Cebu City’s North Bus Terminal at around 1 AM. We took the bus bound for Hagnaya which departed by 2 AM. Everybody hasn’t gotten any sleep yet. So we used our travel time and used it get at least a nap. Surprisingly, instead of the usual 3-4 hours ride to Hagnaya, it only took around 2-3 hours. Probably because the streets were clear and there was no traffic during those hours. So we arrived at around 4:49 AM in Hagnaya Port. We then bought our ferry tickets for the next earliest trip, around 7 AM. We waited for several hours on the port’s passenger area before finally boarding the ferry. Exactly after an hour of ferry ride, we were greeted by the clear waters of Santa Fe port of Bantayan Island.

 

Let the fun begin.

Though there was no hint and promise of heavy rain, but the skies were not clear when we arrived on the island. I feared that the next day’s weather will be the same or worse. From the island’s ferry port, we just walked our way to the resort where we will be checking in. The resort was just a 15-minute walk away from the port. The resort’s usual check-in time is around noon but thankfully the receptionist allowed us to check-in earlier so that we can start our day and cover more activities on the island.

My focus on the island was the skydiving so I really did not make an itinerary. Besides, you don’t need an itinerary in Bantayan Island since the island is small that it can be circumnavigated within a day. Also, the attractions on the island are just a few meters/kilometers away from each other.

We rented bicycles for our transportation instead of chartering motorcycles or tricycle. Bicycle rental costs around 100 – 150 pesos for a day. We biked around the island and visited different attractions for the whole day. Biking was fun indeed. We get to appreciate the island more plus the fun we got. Another thing, biking is also a good exercise. We got to several attractions on the island. Island hopping was one on our options, but the weather and our budget did not permit us so we just stayed on the main island.

 

Check out the places and things we did on the island.

 

The night before the flight.

Biking on the island really was exhausting. We returned to the resort pretty damn tired. One by one we took turns in the shower to shake off the sweats from our bodies. The skies finally gave in and started hissing and sprinkling. We did not bother to go outside the resort anymore to have our dinner as we were too tired and the restaurants are way too distant for our sore legs to pedal. So we had our dinner at the resort’s in-house restaurant. To no surprise, we ordered a lot and finished everything on our plates. Sleep came early to knock me off to my bed. I slept earlier than the rest as I need to get up early and be at the airport the following day by 9 AM. I went down to my bed hoping a good weather the following day.

 

Read the continuation here.