In Sumilon, the most difficult decision you have to make is what to have for breakfast, lunch, or dinner: chicken, beef, shrimp, squid, or pork. Sometimes the decision-making process really requires some deep thought: Should you get a massage in the afternoon or dive in this marine sanctuary instead, or should you dive in the morning and get a massage in the afternoon? Should you read at the payag-payag by the pier, a bamboo-made bed with a wide blue view of Cebu and Bohol in the distance, or get a tan on the beach? Mango shake on the side and finger tucked in a book to mark a page you may or may not return to, you contemplate a dip in the infinity pool or a hike around the island’s perimeter, all the while thinking how life’s decisions should always be this difficult to make so as not to remove the challenges out of living.
Sumilon is an island in Oslob, Cebu, like a green yolk surrounded by blue. It is a three-hour drive from Mactan International Airport, with a 20-minute ferry ride to the island. A historical side trip to Argao is interesting if not that informative,dazed as you would be from a profound lack of sleep after catching the 5 am flight to Cebu. Not to worry, you can always waste time sleeping in one of the six spacious rooms, where you can effectively shut out the sun at will. Of course, the sun is just one of many things you can shut out when in Sumilon. Obligations, civilization, the world — you can effectively turn them all off while you decide to do, well, absolutely and wonderfully nothing.