Malapascua - Moalboal Trip with Carelle Mangaliag: an Introduction

This very enriching vacation/volunteer work I did at Malapascua and Moalboal in Cebu started last Dec. 1, 2010 right after our trip to Dumaguete from Nov.26-30, 2010 (which I will just blog about after this Cebu trip).

me inside PAL's Boeing 747

One day, as I was finishing all my tasks at work before heading to Negros Oriental with my hubby, my friend RR Herrera (yes, the former child star ^_^) called me asking if I know how to dive because their company, Train Station (formerly Motivating Minds), is looking for a diver who can help document the training they will conduct among the locals of Malapascua and Moalboal as well as the staff of the dive resorts they will be staying at (the very accommodating Exotic Dive Resort in Malapascua and the beautiful Club Serena resort in Moalboal). Excess funds from the office of former DOT Secretary Ace Durano (he's amazing!) will be used to cover the plane fare and food while accommodations and dives at Malapascua will be handled by Exotic Dive Resort. In Moalboal, Club Serena will take care of the dives, accommodations and food. All of these things will be provided to the team in exchange for the training that will be provided to the people there which will be based on Neuro-linguistic Programming principles being taught by Carelle Mangaliag and RR Herrera of Train Station.

at the port before boarding the boat for Malapascua

As RR was saying all these things over the phone, I was definitely getting excited. I figured, they must have already asked Jayvee Fernandez (also a friend of ours who dives a lot) and he probably declined that's why RR called me. Though I am not a diver (I just did a fun dive back in 2007 at Anilao, Batangas), the prospect of traveling for 1 week with my amazing friends (Carelle Mangaliag and RR Herrera) excited me so much that I told him I'd be willing to do the work if they can't get anyone else to do it for them on such a short notice. After all, it won't cost me anything and I would definitely gain a lot from the experience.

me and Carelle on a small boat

True enough, nobody else wanted the job. Or perhaps, my travel spell was just working its magic because I did ask the universe to let me travel a lot before the year ends despite the fact that I really don't have the funds for it (yeah, I'm just being responsible since my hubby and I have a lot of mortgages, bills and insurances to pay for every month). So I guess, this was the universe's answer to my plea. Simply amazing!

L-R: Connie, RR, Carelle and Ian

So when I came back to Manila from Dumaguete on the evening of Nov. 30, 2010, I just took a shower, packed for my 1 week Cebu vacay and off I went to the airport again to start yet another amazing adventure with Carelle and RR. The last time I volunteered for them was in January this year when they trained teachers from Dep.Ed. for Kotex Youniversity. It was also held in Cebu but it was only for one night at the Cebu Waterfront Hotel. Still, it's amazing how I almost started this year with Motivating Minds, now called TRAIN STATION, and almost ending it again with the same awesome people. I am truly blessed!

in the middle is Ian, my roommate :-)

~~~oOo~~~

To see everything that I've written so far about this trip, please head to:
Malapascua 2010

To be continued...

***For a complete list, here's an awesome guide on Cebu: Where to Go and What to Do