OctoBohol - A Travelogue

Nothing could have been more refreshing to start the month off than having a good way trip to one of the most beautiful islands in the Philippines - Bohol.

Oct 1 - Almost missing our ferry, me and dhad dashed off to Pier 1 (Cebu) to meet all the rest of the gang. We planned to meet up at 5:30AM, but for the first time, neither my alarm clock nor body clock worked for me. The trip from Cebu to Tagbilaran, Bohol was not heaven either because we were seated on the ferry's viewing deck for booking late, but again, it was our fault. So a tip for all you guys planning for a trip, book early. The viewing deck was supposed to provide a good, nice view of the great, wide ocean. Well, it did but the waves were too big that day due to a storm closing in, that soon enough, some of our friends were already wet from the water splash.

Though it started a little rough, the trip slowly became smooth and rewarding once we started touring the island.

Our first stop? The Blood Compact site. This is also known as "sandugo" in native language to mean "one blood". It's where Philippine Datu Sikatuna and Spanish explorer Miguel Lopez de Legaspi compacted a friendship treaty. The next stop was the Baclayon Church, an old church built by the Jesuits in 1602. We had our quiet moment inside the bid dome, as if we were travelled back in time. Its museum was complete with pricess pieces when it was still operational.

The next stops were all on Bohol's pristine forests and mountains. The third stop was to the largest python in captivity. Prony, as the snake is called taken from his captor's name Sopronio, was sleeping when we visited. The tour guide, a fun-almost-too-hard-not-to-notice gay told the history of how the snake became this large. I was not too attentive though so I can't quite recount his words. I was more amazed by how such an animal could grow even bigger. There were other beautiful animals at the site, too. We saw a pair of lemurs and another pair of the endangered and mightly Phillipine eagle. There was an owl, too, a pair of Chinese chicken, a pair of crow and another long-beaked bird.

It was almost noon when we felt our stomachs churn. We were just right on schedule so we decided to try the famous floating resto. The boats are anchored over Loboc river shores until they are full. A musician usually plays a song in all of the boats, and on-board our boat was a guitar man with a local hat, and since we were the majority of the passengers, we did not feel too shy to sing along. It was fun especially when the boat started moving, touring us along the river. At the end of the tour was a small water fall. In sum, it was a great experience.

After lunch, our van driver knew where to drop us next - the Tarsier Sanctuary. Tarsiers are the smallest species of the monkey family. They grow from thumb-size to a maximum size of a big man's fist. They have extremely large and round eyes, because they don't have lids. These amazing animals are nocturnal, and so they are mostly active at night. When we arrived, the owner was feeding one of them with a cricket. He says, one tarsier eats an avarage of twenty crickets a day!

The next stop was a local hanging bridge built from woven bamboo. It looked pretty scary, but when you see all those men crossing through will all their heavy bags, you will feel more relaxed. The walk across was fast and easy, but fun. At the other side was a free show of the famous "Buko King - Bohol version". A buko king is a man capable of peeling of a coconut using only his teeth. There was various local products there too for souvenirs. In fact, anywhere you go, you see these small souvenir shops, but here, they were a bit cheaper.

We were getting excited towards the end of the day because we were about to see the world-famous Chocolate Hills. On our way there, we passed through the Man-Made Forest and it was so beautiful, and I mean really beautiful. The trees go a long way up and they form archways at the top, creating a natural shade of the road.

Finally, we reached the last destination for the day - the chocolate-looking hills. We had to climb a long stairs up another hill to have to a better view of the scene. It was almost rainy when we arrived but nothing stopped us. The climb was worth it because seeing the marvel of the mountains was almost panoramic. It's really a wonder how the hills became how they are now. There were almost 50 of them visible from where we stood, but record says there are over a thousand of them in the area. Such a breathtaking view!

The long day ended with us checking-in in a resort at Panglao, Bohol. We ate a sumptuous grilled or sugba chicken and pork and ate with our hands while looking at the waves just a few feet away.

Oct 2 - Beach Time! We woke up early to watch the sun rise while taking a sip of coffee and strolling the white beaches of Panglao Beach Resort, though some of the guys preferred to over sleep a bit. When the sun was up, we took the dive and enjoyed the beach. It was great because there were still a few other visitors swimming that early, so we almost had that part of the beach for ourselves. The white sand was fine, white and unviolated.

Right after lunch, when our stomachs were unquestionably full again, we finally headed to the port, and via the same ferry, back to Cebu.