Sunshine greeted us as we made our way out for a stroll along the beach. It was almost surreal, it had been days since we had last seen the sun, it seemed like all it ever did was rain in the Philippines. To see it in full sunshine was a glimpse at what it could be like at its best. We wandered down the white beach with the sea gently lapping the shore. Dive boats and island hopping tours were departing for the day. At the south end we hit a rocky outcrop and turned around walking all the way to the northern end of the beach, ogling the more luxurious resorts like the Henan as we passed by.
After our walk we enjoyed breakfast of pancakes and bacon, and then met up with our driver for the day named Victor. He had a great sense of humor and was soon cracking jokes. He explained that his English was still under construction as it had been damaged during the last earthquake, and he was the largest member of his tarsier family.
Later on, jokes aside, he told us more about his actual earthquake experience, how he had been working as a driver at the time and could not contact his family, a wife and two kids. He had rushed home and found it completely destroyed but fortunately his family was unharmed having managed to flee the dwelling in the nick of time. The family had to camp out under a plastic tarp and struggled to get food, tourism dried up and Victor battled to provide for his family and rebuild their lives. In spite of it all he kept his sense of humor and positivity. The account drove home how resilient the Filipino people are to misfortune and an inspiration to those of us who have to deal with only first world problems.
The island of Panglao, just off Bohol, is predominantly orientated towards tourism and is a relatively quiet place without a major town. An international airport on the island is nearing completion which may bring big changes in future. We left the island via one of the two bridges and drove through Tagbiliran on our way into the interior of Bohol. The town gave way to rolling hills and emerald green rice paddies filling the valleys. We stopped for photos and took in the peaceful surroundings.
After about an hour's drive and a short walk to the summit, we reached the chocolate hills viewpoint. The sky had turned overcast during the course of the morning and it looked likely that it would rain soon. A small information board explained a bit about the origin of the chocolate hills, which were actually verdant green at this time of year and turned brown during the dry season. The terrain of Bohol had been undersea many thousands of years ago and was covered with coral. Then the land rose from the sea and started to erode due to rainfall which formed channels and leaving behind the small round hills. The tops of the chocolate hills are covered only with grass without any trees. The resulting hill landscape is truly unique. We vied for space along with other tourists to take pictures of the hills, it was overcrowded. It was difficult to capture the scale of the area and the shear number of hills without including some random grinning selfie stick wielding travelers all snapping away for that killer profile pic. One or two really adventurous souls ignored the signposts and climbed over railings to get away from the crowd and get the perfect shot. The rain rolled in just as we made our way down from the viewpoint.
The next stop was the tarsier conservation area. Armed with umbrellas we strode out into the jungle path and didn't actually know what to look for. Fortunately some tarsier attendants were standing pointing out where the little critters were perched, huddled under palm leaves to keep the rain off. The tarsiers were all asleep but occasionally would open their disproportionately large eyes for a moment before falling asleep again. Tarsiers are nocturnal and primarily eat insects. Tiny hands and a long tail stood out from the bundle of fur and gripped the branch. There were about 6 tarsiers along the route, each no larger than a coffee cup. Tarsiers are extremely sensitive to their habitat, don't deal well with captivity, and are endangered. Fortunately the conservation area is having some success with increasing the population of tarsiers on Bohol. After we had finished the small circuit through the jungle and seen enough tarsiers, we spent a few minutes in the souvenir shop before rejoining Victor.
A short distance along the road Victor showed us the man made mahogany forest. There isn't much here except for the trees but its a tranquil place to stop.
Next up was the Loboc river cruise. We got on board one of the floating restaurants, basically a covered floating platform, and took our place at our allocated table. The buffet was already set up for lunch and we had an appetite and didn't waste any time helping ourselves. The selection was rather interesting, there were tiny little salty dried fish, a salad with a some unidentifiable ingredients but which looked tasty enough, rice, pork tocino, chicken, a stew which looked like it had meat but actually turned out to be a vegetable similar to artichoke. The meal was accompanied with a refreshing iced tea. The cruise made its way lazily up river and a Filipino performer started up playing a selection of popular and Christmas music. The town slipped away gradually and the river banks gave way to steep slopes covered with dense jungle vegetation. We snapped away happily with our cameras enjoying the good weather and relaxing cruise. At some point the boat stopped at platform next to the river and a group of ladies of mixed ages was singing and dancing to traditional music, everyone on the boat enjoyed the performance and tipped them before the cruise set off again. We enjoyed a desert of fruit and candied bananas. High above us we saw someone shoot across the gorge riding a zip line and decided that we wanted to do that later. The cruise turned around at a small waterfall and made its way back slowly to the start passing other floating restaurants.
Although it wasn't part of our original itinerary, Victor had no problem taking us to the zip line activity. We paid for a return trip, and hurried up to the start point and were soon out of breath. This zip line worked on the principle that you rode head first, super man style. In no time at all Nicki was in the harness and I stayed behind to take pictures and movies. Wish a quick push Nicki was sailing through the air straight over the gorge below and quickly reached the other side, and headed to the return station. I just managed to get down to the lower station in to see her hurtling back with a big grin on her face. Next it was my turn but it started raining so the zip line paused to wait for the rain to pass. It rained for some time and some of the people in the queue gave up and left, but we waited and eventually got a chance. The ride was a an absolute thrill, not so much scary as amazing, the views looking down on the the gorge were awesome. The part that was a bit scary was the sudden sharp brake that kicked in as I arrived on the other side of the gorge. My return trip was delayed by even more rain but the return trip was just as exhilarating.
After the zipline Victor drove us to a butterfly park which was adjacent to a python park, so you could see both attractions but we opted for the just the butterflies as it was getting late. The tour guide showed us some butterfly larvae munching on some leaves, then the pupae hanging in a specially constructed box where a butterfly had recently emerged. Next on the tour was the butterfly enclosure where we could see a couple of large and really beautiful butterflies. Some of the butterflies are found only on Bohol. At the end of the tour the guide showed us how we would look with butterfly wings, and took some photos with a butterfly in the foreground on a pane of glass and Nicki standing behind.
Afterwards we made a brief stop at a pier or wharf to admire the sunset and the Baclayan church which was damaged in the earthquake. Reconstruction started in 2013 and the church only re-opened this year.
Last on our tour was the blood compact memorial. This is to commemorate the peace treaty between Spanish explorer Miguel Legazpi and Datu Sikatuna the chieftain of Bohol. They drank a cup of each other's blood, or a least a drop mixed with wine, to seal the deal.
Victor dropped us off at the Lost Horizon hotel on Alona beach and we said our goodbyes and thanks for a wonderful day of sightseeing. We wrapped up our day with a delicious dinner at the beautiful Saffron restaurant in the Amorita resort. Kinilaw for starters, white marlin and chicken inisal with roast veggies, and ice cold San Migs to wash it all down, perfection.
After our walk we enjoyed breakfast of pancakes and bacon, and then met up with our driver for the day named Victor. He had a great sense of humor and was soon cracking jokes. He explained that his English was still under construction as it had been damaged during the last earthquake, and he was the largest member of his tarsier family.
Later on, jokes aside, he told us more about his actual earthquake experience, how he had been working as a driver at the time and could not contact his family, a wife and two kids. He had rushed home and found it completely destroyed but fortunately his family was unharmed having managed to flee the dwelling in the nick of time. The family had to camp out under a plastic tarp and struggled to get food, tourism dried up and Victor battled to provide for his family and rebuild their lives. In spite of it all he kept his sense of humor and positivity. The account drove home how resilient the Filipino people are to misfortune and an inspiration to those of us who have to deal with only first world problems.
The island of Panglao, just off Bohol, is predominantly orientated towards tourism and is a relatively quiet place without a major town. An international airport on the island is nearing completion which may bring big changes in future. We left the island via one of the two bridges and drove through Tagbiliran on our way into the interior of Bohol. The town gave way to rolling hills and emerald green rice paddies filling the valleys. We stopped for photos and took in the peaceful surroundings.
After about an hour's drive and a short walk to the summit, we reached the chocolate hills viewpoint. The sky had turned overcast during the course of the morning and it looked likely that it would rain soon. A small information board explained a bit about the origin of the chocolate hills, which were actually verdant green at this time of year and turned brown during the dry season. The terrain of Bohol had been undersea many thousands of years ago and was covered with coral. Then the land rose from the sea and started to erode due to rainfall which formed channels and leaving behind the small round hills. The tops of the chocolate hills are covered only with grass without any trees. The resulting hill landscape is truly unique. We vied for space along with other tourists to take pictures of the hills, it was overcrowded. It was difficult to capture the scale of the area and the shear number of hills without including some random grinning selfie stick wielding travelers all snapping away for that killer profile pic. One or two really adventurous souls ignored the signposts and climbed over railings to get away from the crowd and get the perfect shot. The rain rolled in just as we made our way down from the viewpoint.
The next stop was the tarsier conservation area. Armed with umbrellas we strode out into the jungle path and didn't actually know what to look for. Fortunately some tarsier attendants were standing pointing out where the little critters were perched, huddled under palm leaves to keep the rain off. The tarsiers were all asleep but occasionally would open their disproportionately large eyes for a moment before falling asleep again. Tarsiers are nocturnal and primarily eat insects. Tiny hands and a long tail stood out from the bundle of fur and gripped the branch. There were about 6 tarsiers along the route, each no larger than a coffee cup. Tarsiers are extremely sensitive to their habitat, don't deal well with captivity, and are endangered. Fortunately the conservation area is having some success with increasing the population of tarsiers on Bohol. After we had finished the small circuit through the jungle and seen enough tarsiers, we spent a few minutes in the souvenir shop before rejoining Victor.
A short distance along the road Victor showed us the man made mahogany forest. There isn't much here except for the trees but its a tranquil place to stop.
Next up was the Loboc river cruise. We got on board one of the floating restaurants, basically a covered floating platform, and took our place at our allocated table. The buffet was already set up for lunch and we had an appetite and didn't waste any time helping ourselves. The selection was rather interesting, there were tiny little salty dried fish, a salad with a some unidentifiable ingredients but which looked tasty enough, rice, pork tocino, chicken, a stew which looked like it had meat but actually turned out to be a vegetable similar to artichoke. The meal was accompanied with a refreshing iced tea. The cruise made its way lazily up river and a Filipino performer started up playing a selection of popular and Christmas music. The town slipped away gradually and the river banks gave way to steep slopes covered with dense jungle vegetation. We snapped away happily with our cameras enjoying the good weather and relaxing cruise. At some point the boat stopped at platform next to the river and a group of ladies of mixed ages was singing and dancing to traditional music, everyone on the boat enjoyed the performance and tipped them before the cruise set off again. We enjoyed a desert of fruit and candied bananas. High above us we saw someone shoot across the gorge riding a zip line and decided that we wanted to do that later. The cruise turned around at a small waterfall and made its way back slowly to the start passing other floating restaurants.
Although it wasn't part of our original itinerary, Victor had no problem taking us to the zip line activity. We paid for a return trip, and hurried up to the start point and were soon out of breath. This zip line worked on the principle that you rode head first, super man style. In no time at all Nicki was in the harness and I stayed behind to take pictures and movies. Wish a quick push Nicki was sailing through the air straight over the gorge below and quickly reached the other side, and headed to the return station. I just managed to get down to the lower station in to see her hurtling back with a big grin on her face. Next it was my turn but it started raining so the zip line paused to wait for the rain to pass. It rained for some time and some of the people in the queue gave up and left, but we waited and eventually got a chance. The ride was a an absolute thrill, not so much scary as amazing, the views looking down on the the gorge were awesome. The part that was a bit scary was the sudden sharp brake that kicked in as I arrived on the other side of the gorge. My return trip was delayed by even more rain but the return trip was just as exhilarating.
After the zipline Victor drove us to a butterfly park which was adjacent to a python park, so you could see both attractions but we opted for the just the butterflies as it was getting late. The tour guide showed us some butterfly larvae munching on some leaves, then the pupae hanging in a specially constructed box where a butterfly had recently emerged. Next on the tour was the butterfly enclosure where we could see a couple of large and really beautiful butterflies. Some of the butterflies are found only on Bohol. At the end of the tour the guide showed us how we would look with butterfly wings, and took some photos with a butterfly in the foreground on a pane of glass and Nicki standing behind.
Last on our tour was the blood compact memorial. This is to commemorate the peace treaty between Spanish explorer Miguel Legazpi and Datu Sikatuna the chieftain of Bohol. They drank a cup of each other's blood, or a least a drop mixed with wine, to seal the deal.
Victor dropped us off at the Lost Horizon hotel on Alona beach and we said our goodbyes and thanks for a wonderful day of sightseeing. We wrapped up our day with a delicious dinner at the beautiful Saffron restaurant in the Amorita resort. Kinilaw for starters, white marlin and chicken inisal with roast veggies, and ice cold San Migs to wash it all down, perfection.
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