DAY 3
As per the Hubby's suggestion, our family woke up at 6am for snorkeling, in the hopes of seeing more sea creatures! π©·
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Can't believe we woke up at dawn for snorkeling! π€π
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The resort's private beach just after sunrise |
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Feeding the fish! π |
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Up close and personal with the wildlife! |
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Had fun snorkeling as a family in the super clear waters! π€Ώ |
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Most common fish are the Sergeant Major Fish! |
The Hubby really knows fish (we have a lot of fish at home *laughs*)! The sea creatures were in abundance and we managed to see many corals, Blue Sea Stars, a Moray Eel, Anemonefish, Sea Urchin, Parrotfish and Butterflyfish (Googled their names obviously, I'm not a fish expert! *laughs*).
The sun gets scorching hot much earlier in Cebu and the animals started to hide by 8.45am. We decided to return to our rooms to wash up before heading to Tides restaurant for breakfast.
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Super hungry and couldn't wait for breakfast! |
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It was Father's Day so the restaurant specially decorated an area to celebrate the Dads! |
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Our spacious table |
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Yummy! |
After breakfast, we changed back into our swimming suits and headed to the pool. The Eldest, the Boy and I went kayaking (complimentary for Ocean Club guests) while the Hubby watched the Littlest. We probably chose the wrong time to kayak as the sun was burning by the time we rowing out to sea! Thank God that I had lathered sunscreen on myself and the kids so we were not completely sunburnt! π
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Kayaking by myself while the kids got the double kayak |
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Had a super fun time kayaking with my kids! |
We met up with the Hubby and Littlest and headed to the Ocean Wing Pool, which was nice and warm!
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Ocean Wing Pool |
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Simple pool that was away from the crowds |
When we got hungry again, we washed up and headed to the nearest Jollibee for lunch (the Eldest decided to stay at the hotel).
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Grabbed some quick bites at the Ocean Club Lounge before heading out |
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The Jollibee opposite Barangay Mactan Fire Station |
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Ordered sausage bun for the Boy and rice for the Hubby and Littlest |
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A bucket of chicken to share |
Honestly, we were disappointed that the food at this outlet did not meet our expectation of what was typical of Jollibee! π
We returned to the hotel and headed to the Ocean Club Lounge for evening canapΓ©s.
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We got a sofa area this time |
Of course it was back into the pool once the sun has set! My family really loves to swim! π€
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The pool was really warm so it was really enjoyable |
We proceeded for dinner at Acqua restaurant after swimming.
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The restaurant was kid-friendly π |
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Pizza and other food that we ordered |
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Paccheri ai frutti di Mare (Italian pasta served with mixed seafood in tomato) |
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Tagliatelline alla Chitarra Vongole (pasta with clams and bottarga) |
The food, especially the pasta, was really good! We enjoyed the meal even more as I'd used my Shangri-la Circle reward points to pay for the meal π€
We spent most of our time at the resort and therefore did not visit attractions such as Anjo World Theme Park or Cebu Ocean Park. The kids didn't care; they love being in the pool all day long!
DAY 4
We decided to let the kids sleep in while the Hubby and I head to the beach at 5.30am for our final morning of snorkeling.
Without the kids, we were able to spot even more sea creatures! On top of the fish that we had seen the day before, we also spotted a Picasso Triggerfish, a Flat Fish and two Reef Stonefish!
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Picasso Triggerfish (left) and Flat Fish (top right) |
We snorkelled for 3 hours and had an amazing time! It was barely 9am when we returned to our rooms and our kids were still sleeping π
After the kids woke up, we headed to Tides for breakfast.
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What I ate |
The hotel gave us complimentary late check out at 2pm so we had time for one last swim at the pool! π₯³
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The younger kids were disappointed that this would be their last swim for this trip |
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Final family photo at the balcony (I'll miss the view so much!) |
We took a Grab at 1.30pm and thankfully got a car almost immediately. There was no traffic jam so we arrived at Mactan Cebu International Airport at 1.55pm.
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Mactan International Airport |
After we checked in our luggage and cleared customs, the family had lunch at a Japanese restaurant in the airport (I gave lunch a miss as I was still full from breakfast)!
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Nippon Ramen |
I wanted to do some last minute shopping but the souvenirs at the shops were too expensive!
Our plane departed Cebu at 3.45pm.
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Boarding our plane |
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Kid-friendly amenities and food |
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Pasta with fish |
Our flight was 3 hour 15 minutes and we arrived in Singapore at around 7pm.
We had a great trip! It was good to be home! π‘
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