Cebu is well known for its beautiful beaches because… well, it has plenty of them. With that in mind, it’s hard being an adopted son of Cebu without feeling the desire to visit these beaches. I’ve been told by friends that the northern and the southern beaches are equally amazing, but that the south had more in number.
My first Cebuano beach wasn’t the most well-known of places, definitely not in the level of Malapascua or Bantayan islands in terms of popularity or beauty, but it was a great “appetizer” of sorts.
Backstory
We were invited to the christening of a friend’s baby, which was to be held in one of Cebu’s northernmost towns, San Remigio. To get there, we embarked on a 3-hour bus ride, boarding a Ceres Liner at the Cebu North Bus Terminal in Subangdaku, Mandaue City. The bus fare costs around PhP 200. The reception after the church rites was held at the San Remigio Beach Club, which was where our group stayed the night. It’s a public-owned resort that offers decent air conditioned lodging and a venue to hold activities such as birthday parties and, well, obviously receptions.
The sand on the beach isn’t as fine like in the top tourist destinations (Boracay always comes to mind, right?), but it’s white, it’s coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere! *high five if you get the reference without clicking the link*
My favorite part about it, though, is that during low tide (like when we got out to frolic around the beach), the water recedes several meters away, revealing a huge patch of land that used to be underwater. I mean, obviously this happens in a lot of beaches, but it’s cool every time I get to experience it.
The sea grass is exposed and isolated tidal pools are created as the sea runs away from the shore, trapping aquatic life in them, waiting for the tide to come back. As a child, marine life fascinated the crap out of me, and while this isn’t the first time seeing fishies get trapped in low tide tidal pools, I always nerd out whenever I experience this. Never let the child in you die, folks 🔥.
We found an unlucky pufferfish caught in the sand, so we helped it get in one of the pools. National Geographic taught us to never interfere with nature and the whole Circle of Life thing, but we couldn’t just stand by and watch the little guy die!
Also, the best beach photos are silhouette photos, and the San Remigian sunset (I love making terms up lol) provides this opportunity. I mean, sunset, hazy sky, receding shoreline, that’s the recipe for a rad photo.
Yessir, this “appetizer” surely got me hungry for more of what Cebu’s other beaches has to offer. I will definitely conquer them all. One at a time. I dont know how long it will take but that is the goal!
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