Bohol {Deetour}

My friend Boss Ed invited me to Bohol three weeks ago, saying he’d shoulder my plane fare with his free air miles. As I wasn’t a regular employee yet at my office I had doubts that I’d be able to ask for a leave. But a free trip to Bohol was too good an offer to pass up, so I took a deep breath and asked my acting team leader if she could spare me for three days. Luckily I was able to find a couple of contractors who could handle my load and I was allowed three days vacation. Yippee!

Tagbilaran

I met up with my friends (who call themselves the tarsiers after this trip) at the airport on the morning of October 12 for our flight to Cebu.

After landing in Cebu we rode a cab to Pier 3 where we boarded a small boat that would bring us to Tubigon, Bohol. From Tubigon we rode a tricycle to the v-hire stop.

We rode a van to our next stop, Tagbilaran, where we checked in at Taver’s Pension House. We had lunch there too, before setting off to discover the little town. There was a shop of souvenirs right infront of it, and we bought our pasalubong right then and there.

The town itself was like the “pueblo” in my hometown. We bought some lansones and ate that before heading to Sanduguan Shrine, where some ancestors did the sanduguan ritual.

We also bought some peanut kisses and calamay from some vendors then rode a jeep to Baclayon Church, the oldest Church in Bohol.

After that it was a trip to see Prony, the largest snake in captivity (about 32 inches long).

When darkness fell, it was off to a seaside restaurant for dinner. The lights on the street were exactly like those found on Roxas Boulevard.

We ordered so much seafood and got so bloated we decided to walk to our next stop, this ritzy place with a band and magnificent lights.

We drank the night away and headed back to the pension house around midnight, where we straightaway fell into bed.

Sagbayan Peak

The next morning it was time to pack up our stuff and leave the solace of Taver. We stashed ourselves and our things in a van we hired. Since the van was so big for only five of us I had the back seat all to myself and lay down to catch up on some sleep and cure a killer hangover on the way to Sagbayan Peak.

Our destination had a breathtaking preview of the chocolate hills, as well as a butterfly sanctuary. There were so many pretty butterflies fluttering about. Unfortunately they don’t show up in the pictures.

After some bibingka and ice cream it was back on the bumpy road to Carmen, for a closer view of the Chocolate Hills.

Chocolate Hills

Before ascending the couple hundred or so steps to get to the top to view Chocolate Hills, we saw some Miss Earth Contestants in the vicinity. We coerced our friendliest friend to ask Miss USA if she could post with us, and she amiably agreed to, along with Miss Philippines Fire. I felt like such an ugly dwarf next to those long-legged beauties.

After thanking them we started our trek up the mountainside steps. At the topmost we witnessed Ms. Bosnia and Herzegovia being taped for a sequence. She was such a hottie, but whoa, what an attitude problem!

After posing with the hills in the background we climbed down the steps and wandered among the souvenir shops. I bought a pink Bohol shirt before we clambered back to our van.

Tarsiers

Our next stop was the sleepy town of Loboc – the tarsier place! Some people with a place near the river have raised some tarsiers and showcase them for tourists. They were so little! I didn’t even notice them clinging to the plants at first, until one of the guys pointed out a little one to me. Such cute furry creatures with enormous eyes. Aww.

Loboc River

After the tarsiers next to explore was the Loboc River, where Cesar Montano’s Panaghoy Sa Suba was filmed.

We rode a ferry and ate lunch there while admiring the beauty of nature as we passed between the riverbanks. We came across the Miss Earth contestants in their own ferry on their way back, and they merrily waved, so we reciprocated.

Some children also jumped from the coconut trees along the riverbanks into the river water. After travelling the length of the river we reached the end, where we could see some waterfalls. Then they turned the boat around and headed back where we began.

Loboc Museum

Our head tarsier really wanted to hear the world reknown Loboc children’s choir’s rehearsal. So we headed to the museum where they held it.

But the kids had intrams for the day so we settled for touring the old museum… in the dark, because unfortunately there was a brownout. They slashed P5 off the regular entrance fee due to this inconvenience, though.

Hinagdanan Cave

Then it was back to our van and we rushed off to Dauis to explore the Hinagdanan Cave. It was an underground cave, the first I’ve ever been in.

It had stalactites and stalagmites and a pool of water inside. It was dark so we couldn’t take pictures. Darn.

Panglao Island

It was getting dark so off we were to our last stop for the day: Panglao Island! We checked in at Isis Bungalows, where we had a reservation for a big room with two queen-size beds for all of us.

We were gonna take a dip in the ocean because it was so damn humid in Bohol (I was sweating even though I was in a sleeveless halter blouse), but we got carried away with chatting over dinner at the seaside and decided to sleep early instead, as our dolphin-watching activity the next day would start early.

I didn’t hear my alarm go off the next morning, but I felt my fellow tarsier shaking my leg to wake me up. It was 5am… time to visit the dolphins.

After changing in our swimwear we crept outside to where our boat was waiting. We clambered aboard and steered for the middle of the ocean, where other tourists in their own boats were also peering into the blue depths for any signs of a dorsal fin.

There were actually plenty of fins… but that’s all we pretty much saw, fins and backs. I guess I was a bit disappointed when the shy guys did not jump out of the water and perform tricks. But then again, what did I expect, a Disneyland act?

After an hour or so they all disappeared. I guess dolphins are morning only creatures. So we left and made a beeline for another island’s shore.

Halfway there we saw another group of fins, and excitedly headed for them. Unlike the shy ones earlier, this batch actually made my dream come true by jumping out of the water several times.

It was so thrilling that I wanted to jump into the water and feel their snouts with my hands. I even strapped my life vest on to do just that but the others didn’t think it was such a great idea.

After the dolphin show we landed on a virgin island. It had such fine white sand and plenty of seashells. We picked some up and were supposed to bring them home if they hadn’t gotten crushed during the trip.

After surveying the tiny strip of land, we said we were hungry and hurried off to find a not-so-virgin island that sold food for our brunch.

Once again we stuffed our faces with seafood, after which we decided to test the waters, despite the time – high noon which translates to killer sunburn for the unequipped – us, who forgot to bring sunblock.

Head tarsier had brought along his goggles and made us try them on. Immediately I fell in love with the underwater scene – hundreds of colorful fishes swimming in the weeds. I couldn’t get enough of it.

That’s when I got the brilliant idea of strapping on our life vests and snorkeling in the deeper seas where Bohol’s famous corals were. Our boatmen happened to have some snorkeling equipment for rent, so I strapped on one and was the first one to jump off the boat and paddle off towards the corals.

There were thousands of beautiful fish there. I even found a for real “Nemo” or clown fish, and he even had his anemone home. Even though I tried to shoo him away from the anemone, he stayed near it, and just stared at me till I felt guilty for intruding and moved on to look at other fish.

After about an hour of the scene I began to feel my back stinging from the sunburn and I realized it was time to get out of the water. We climbed back onto the boat, our bodies as heavy as lead and burned brown from the sun. Forgetting that sunblock was a huge mistake!

We headed back to Isis Bungalows where we washed ourselves off in the salty-as-the-sea tap water and grabbed a bite to eat and a bit of shut eye before our van came to pick us up and bring us to the pier.

Heading Home

The first pier we went to, the boat to Cebu was booked solid and we wondered, for a moment, if we could ever go back home.

Fortunately there was another pier and there we were able to book some seats – or should I say some beds. We would sleep away our last night aboard a boat.

So we rented some sheets and covered ourselves up in our shawls and towels because the aircon was turned up high and blew straight towards us. I couldn’t sleep properly due to the intense cold.

Our conclusion? Even when you’re going to the beach, you have to pack a jacket, a thick blanket and some socks. Why? Coz… you never know!

The boat arrived in Cebu at around 2am but since its next trip was still at around 7am, we could sleep in till then. We woke up and got off the boat at 6am, then road a couple of taxis to the airport. Then it was back to Manila on a plane.