Unforgettable Bohol

Hello again everyone! Here is another adventure I  had with my sister when she was on vacation. After the day trip to Pinto Art Museum, we took another plane ride, this time to Bohol for a local vacation.

We took a Cebu Pacific flight on a Tuesday and came back to Manila on a Saturday, so we spent several days there. We booked a condo at Malinawon Resort through airbnb, and we were set to go.

We just wanted to chill on the first on second days, so we just relaxed at the resort we were in, or took walks at Alona Beach in the afternoon, ate and returned to the condo.

One of the things we did while we were in Bohol was to join a tour and we visited the touristy places. We joined a group organized by Seashine Travel and Tours, if I remember correctly, and they have an office in Alona Beach in Panglao.

We filled a van, and our group consisted of Filipinos, Swiss, Americans and other nationalities. One of the places we visited was called butterfly garden, but instead of butterflies, there were a lot of pythons. My sister took a picture but I did not. Transportation fee was PHP450 per person, exclusive of the entrance fees of the places we visited.

Another place we visited was the Tarsier sanctuary, so I got see the smallest primate in the world. They are nocturnal animals, so of course they were sleeping when we were there. Entrance to this place was PHP40, I think.

We were pointing at a sleeping tarsier. Visitors are asked to be as quiet as possible so as not to disturb the sleeping cuties. We were picked up from our accomodation, and the tour takes a whole day, by the way.

After the tarsier sanctuary, we drove all the way to Carmen to see the famous Chocolate Hills. We had to climb this hill in order to see the hills down below.

Entrance to this place is PHP50 per person. It was a steep climb, but it was beautiful on top. I got to see the hills, which I only got to see in textbooks and postcards before.

Chocolate Hills was named as such because, during the summer months, the hills turn brown and look like chocolates from a distance. They were still green when we visited, but still looked nice.

A lady from our group kindly took a picture of us together.

One of the staff even very kindly taught us how to pose and took our picture, which was very nice of her.

I grew up reading and learning about this places, and this time I finally got to see them with my own eyes. I had the same experience as when I saw the Banaue Rice Terraces for the first time.

This was taken at the area where the office is. The whole area is dotted with these hills.

After we left Chocolate Hills, we started going back to visit the rest of the places that were in the itinerary. We stayed in Carmen for about half an hour, which was enough to take loads of pictures.

We stopped by the place where they call it the man-made forest, and this is a place where mahogany trees were planted. Reforestation is indeed possible if people work together.

Both sides of the road were planted with trees so the trees formed a canopy. This picture I took even reflected the sun, which created this effect.

In a few years time, these trees will be even bigger and taller, and I hope all mountains and hills that have been deforested will undergo reforestation as well.

After that was lunch time, which was included in the Loboc River Cruise. Payment was PHP500 per person, and the lunch was buffet. The food was quite nice, and we were all famished!

We were joined by other groups so that the boat is filled to capacity. The boat remains docked while everyone almost finishes eating, and then it starts to go up river.

I'm not sure why the color of the river is like that. But the blue skies, the nice company, and the fresh air was very nice.

The Swiss couple we sat with loved the jackfruit dish cooked in coconut milk. They also loved the pansit, and they told us that that they came from Cebu a few days before, and they were loving the hospitality of the Filipino people.

Towards the end of the river we came to a group of locals who performed a musical presentation. They sang while they played their ukeleles, and they were very good.

After lunch, we went to a place where we can do zip line, but my sister was scared so we did not do it. We just watched those who did. It looked fun. Next time I will surely try it. :-)

After that we came to the Sevilla hanging bamboo bridge. Entrance to this place was PHP20 each, and you just cross the bridge.

The bridge is made of bamboo woven together, suspended by some cables. So if you cross, the whole thing moves, and it is quite scary at first but you get used to it.

It used to be just one, but since tourists started visiting, they made another one so that there is one for each way. It was quite a fun experience.

There are souvenirs to be bought on the other side of the river, and we bought cocoa tablets to bring home.

By this time it was already late afternoon, and we stopped by the Baclayon church, which is one of the oldest churches in Asia, we were told.

There was a museum inside, but we did not go. By this time, all our bums were sore from sitting in the van, ha ha.

We bought ice cream from a vendor though, and we ate it looking at this view opposite the church. We then drove back to Panglao, where we were staying, and it was a day well spent.

Stay tuned for the the next adventures and for more travel articles, you can go to this page.