Bohol is the perfect place for anyone who lusts over travelling; the historical sites, old churches, breathtaking landscapes, exotic animals, underground caves, blue green rivers and of course, pristine white sand beaches.
I went there earlier this month for a 3-day and 2-night stay with my brother.
There was so much confusion at the airport that we just wanted to go back to the hotel and rest for a while. . We stayed at Panglao Regents Park and after settling in, we took a walk to the famous Alona Beach. It's your typical white sand beach, the shore is quite thin but nevertheless, the sea was beautiful.
We headed back to the hotel right after dinner. We had to turn in early for our busy itinerary the next day.
Alona Beach, Panglao.
Poolside, Panglao Regents Park.
Sun bathing by the pool. life is tough.
Our 2nd day in Bohol started at 8am for the country side tour. It was a long drive from Panglao to the famous sites in Bohol but the scenery was amazing; the bridge that connects Panglao to the main island of Bohol is almost romantic, the small streets are typical of quaint provinces and we went through hectares of cornfields and sceneries of endless green.
Python in captivity
Matcha chocolate hills!
Butterfly garden. such beautiful creatures :)
man made forest. thousands of tall slender mahogany trees.
Hanging bridge
We had our lunch in the floating restaurant on Loboc river. It was an amazing experience, a little less than an hour cruising through the clear river surrounded by tall coconut trees- you just know you really are in a tropical country.
Rolling on the river.
presentation by the locals
It's a tarsier! tiny lazy beings.
Baclayon Church. If you could see behind me, on one of the pillars of the Church structure, is the face of a priest named Padre Pio. Many consider it to be a milagro.
Baclayon Church is the oldest church in Bohol
One of the doors of the Church, above it is supposedly the image of Mother Mary.
Next stop is the Blood Compact Site.
Hinagdanan is an underground cave, it has crystal clear water that makes you want to jump in.
It's a five story bell tower that stands behind the San Agustin Church.
This was the last stop of our country side tour. Our driver dropped us off at our hotel a little before 6pm.
Nervous about the itinerary for our third day in Bohol due to our limited time, our boatman picked us up from our hotel at 6am the following morning.
ready for island hopping and dolphin watching!
waiting for dolphins
30 minutes later, once we arrived at the spot where the dolphins normally swim, a school of them swam up right in front of our boat (right in front of me). they were just so lovely to see.
We then headed to Balicasag island where we could rent a small paddle boat going to the marine sanctuary. On the shallow end, you can hold a piece of bread in your hands under water and fishes (of all sizes, and colors, and shapes!) will go to you and eat off of the bread. There was such a great variety; lime green ones, hot pink, long, thin ones, big and small) it was great watching them.
Since I could swim, I went to the deeper part of the sanctuary, and i saw Nemo! and bigger fishes! and schools of fishes! huge huge colorful corals!
From Balicasag island, we went to Puntod island or more commonly known as Virgin island. IT.WAS. BEAUTIFUL. sure there were a lot of sea grass, but the island was just magnificent.
Letting go of the cute little starfish (that I later realized was already dead haha)
virgin island
tree on the virgin island beach. his tree, from the shore seemed to be a beautiful anomaly - and I just had to go near it.
Something more amazing about this island is that there are so many star fishes! every two steps you take, there's a star fish. shade of peach, brown, orange, red. some are so huge too!
It was such an amazing amazing trip. Bohol is such a rich and beautiful island. I have come to appreciate the laid back culture, the kind people and the beautiful scenery. I'm grateful to have gotten the chance to visit.
I honestly couldn't wait for my next trips. In May, I will be at the Pahiyas festival celebrating the rich culture (of the people of Lucban) and colorful displays with two of my closest college friends. And come June, I will be sipping vietnamese coffee during breakfast. really hope nothing gets in the way of these trips! keeping my fingers crossed :)
Bohol 2012 :D
*contacts*
Island Hopping: Kuya Pedro- 09267896646 - Php1600 (with free use of 2 sets of snorkel masks)
Country Side Tour: Kuya Tirso- 09108656969 - Php 1800 (plus 200 to include part of panglao)
Total expense is less than P17,000.00. I can forward the breakdown through email if it can help anyone :)
