Alas! I am back just in time for all of you out there planning a trip to Bohol this summer.
Note : Another picture heavy post.:)
As I stated on my first post about Bohol, this second one is entirely dedicated to the tour we had in Bohol. You may get an idea if Bohol is the vacation spot for you. But I bet everyone will love this place! There’s so much to do!
Morning of Day Two marked the start of our tour. We were picked up by a van at the Cherry’s @ Home. I was surprised as I thought, since there’s just 3 of us, they will have us picked up by a car. Off we went to our first stop and one of the highlights of Bohol, Chocolate Hills.
Chocolates Hills.
As we arrive at the spot, the sun was really shining. I looked up as I saw hundreds of steps with also hundreds of tourists climbing it. I guess this is it! Let’s start the climbing!
before going up to Chocolate Hills
By the way, pardon my “paraphernalia” as I am oozing with vainness those times. Haha!
stairs going up the Chocolate Hills site
As we climb up, we are getting more thrilled to see the majestic view of those hills. Finally, when we got up, endless picture taking followed. Below are some photos that I truly liked.
Chocolate Hills
another shot of Chocolate Greenish Hills!
Chocolate Hills are named as such because they turn brown during the summer and hot days, but they are colored as above when it is colder. This trip was in December last year so it is really cold and thus those hills are greenish. But I don’t really mind.. I love green! Mama and me couldn’t get enough photos. Luckily, I had a patient bf who would not mind me asking for photo after photo.
Grotto going down
Man-made Forest.
While going down to the next tourist spot, our tour guide stopped at what sort of look like Baguio. Really thought of the roads going to Camp John Hay. Our tour guide said, the road with alot of trees would be called the Man-Made Forest. It was really amazing to think that people could make such realistic forest. Greenpeace will surely love it!
Hooray! Man-made forest stop over.
at the Man-made Forest.
Tarsiers.
The next highlight of this trip would be seeing the tarsiers.I am really excited to see the tarsier as it really amazes me looking at this mammal.
*Note: There is no entrance fee, but accepting donations.
at the entrance
Facts I learned:
- They are not really suicidal. I asked our tarsier guide if tarsiers are suicidal, and he said they are not really suicidal. They could experience stress as many tourists flock to see them, and as normal, they can be disturbed, cause themselves harm and thus ending their lives. Our guide explained that they do not kill themselves normally.
- Tarsiers are the smallest primate in the world. Indeed, when I saw them, they were really small. It’s as small as my palm!
- Tarsiers are light sensitive. Thus, it was really prohibited to use flash while taking a photo of them. I do understand as they are nocturnal.
- Tarsiers have features of five different animals put together. They have the eyes of an owl, ears of a bat, head like a monkey, limbs like a frog and tail like a rat.
It started drizzling as we went around the area. Good thing, the caretakers made them shelters which is a roof on a tree they are always at.
the closest we could get
oldest Tarsier in the area, accdg to guide
tarsier striking a pose
yey!tarsier looked already!
biggest tarsier in Bohol!
Butterfly Garden.
Another enjoyable trip was at the butterfly garden. I would like to apologize for lack of facts for this one as there were too many! Info overload, really.
*Note: Tour guides here are funny. Minimum entrance fee.
I never had expected to see alot of different species of butterflies. They have magnificent colors and shapes that make each one unique. We were informed of how they are born, from the cocoon stage. They also oriented us here of different butterfly characteristics.
is this really on my hand?!
Facts I learned:
- Male butterflies have more majestic colors that change to attract the females.
- There are also butterflies of the third sex. Or what they call the gay butterfly. They have mixed shape and color.
male butterflies that change colors
pretty butterflies
lovely butterflies
this is what they call the “gay butterfly”
I love my butterfly headband!
can i pass as a butterfly?!
Here’s our pic with the funny tour guide at Butterfly Garden.
Philippine Python and Mini-Zoo.
Aside from the tarsiers, there are also some amazing animals to be seen here in Bohol. One of them is the big python.
albino python
Do I look scared beside the python?!Though, it look cute being swirled, I cannot possibly be much nearer.
I like this image taken by Vince.hehe
The escape artist!
There are a lot of other animals in the area but I just had to pick the python as it is the main attraction as well as this cute monkey trying to escape all those times. Haha!
Baclayon Church.
We also made a stop over at this historical church. I had some creative photos on the inside which made it also one of the most memorable.
Baclayon Church
Baclayon Church
*Note: They do not allow sexy outfits, too revealing or showing alot of skin inside the church.
Notice to the public about proper outfit inside the church.
I was surprised that my leggings is also prohibited! Though, i understand as it it tight fitting and can be very shapely. They had some cloth sheets on a table that visitors can wrap around their body.
garments to wrap around the body
majestic view of the Baclayon Church altar
Me wrapped in a green garment
so nice to have a photo taken at Baclayon church
Hanging Bridge.
Our stop over at the hanging bridge is a short one. This is actually a souvenir site where you had to cross the hanging bridge in order to reach the vendors at the other site. We had a nice fresh buko break here.
at the hanging bridge
the fresh buko.yum!yum!
Blood Compact.
Our last stop was the Blood compact site. It was a little monument where the view behind was really magnificent. There is also a souvenir shop beside it where you can have your last minute shopping in case you were not able to buy from the previous sites.
at the Blood Compact Site
nice view at the Blood Compact Site area
We did not went to the Loboc River Cruise as I have colleagues who advised that their time there was too short considering the amount they paid for the cruise. However, it’s all up to you to try. We just decided to buy the fee for souvenirs.
Alona Beach.
This is not part of the tour but we were lucky to have the beach just walking distance from our accommodation.
Early morning of our third and last day,we headed straight to the white sand beach to experience the other wonder Bohol has to offer. I noticed that there were alot of foreigners, flocking towards the beach to do surfing and scuba diving as well.
what a nice view!
Mama and me at the white sand beach of Bohol
the Boholano divers boat
After that fun trip at the beach, we went back to Cherry’s to avail our free breakfast.
Continental breakfast
That breakfast marks the end of our Bohol vacation as we prepared to get back to Manila for our flight. *By the way, our delayed flight. ( I never thought I will be lucky to experience a delayed flight!Haha. My patience was definitely tested).
Before I end my Bohol entry,here are some souvenir shops and establishments you may find useful:
Hat shop beside the Blood Compact
the souvenir shop
another shop to find alot of souvenirs
The above shops our so convenient as they are just few meters from our hotel. The prices they have would also match that of the tourist souvenir shops so we had an easy time buying there.
my live saver!
The BPI Panglao branch is really a life saver as I did not bring a lot of money and I just withdraw from here when I need to buy something. This is located just walking distance away from our hotel as well. This is at the heart of the little community.
Bohol was so fun that we could stay longer there and we’d had a lot to do still. It was truly a worth-it trip that I could recommend to anyone planning a vacation. 🙂
A Fairy Flying High 