In love with Bohol

      

First  photo: Bohol Map   Second Photo: Virgin Island, Bohol

I have only been in Bohol once in 2011. Yes it was such a long long time ago and even now, just thinking about how beautiful the place is, makes my heart glow with warmth. I spent my vacation here with my then boyfriend, now husband, Jun. It’s our first vacation alone, I mean just the two of us, after giving birth with my first child. Thus, it felt really good because for 4 days, we were able to focus on each other and enjoy each other’s company. We did miss our baby of course, but sometimes having a child makes one forget about his/her partner. It’s really important to have an alone time with your man/woman. You’ve got to keep that fire burnin’ people! 🙂

Hehe kidding aside, I am only familiar with Bohol because of Chocolate Hills. Frankly, I didn’t think it was enough of a spot for me to visit the place. I only learned that Bohol is more than the toblerone-looking hills from my officemates then. I was searching for a place to go to for Jun’s bday when an officemate said I should try Bohol. I researched the place then I learned that it’s got so many good spots. And it’s also actually a haven for beach goers. Yep! It is. I was sold. I decided to go for Bohol.

PHOTOS AT THE AIRPORT / PLANE

     

    

   

Well, all I can tell you is that I have no regret choosing Bohol. There are so many things you can do here. So many places to visit. We went there on September for hubby’s bday. Again it was 2011. I wish I can tell you more about Bohol in it’s state right now but I’m only reliving the memories. I don’t know why I feel that that vacation was a poignant one, maybe because it’s like it’s just me and hubby exploring the world  🙂 I always reminisce the moments when we were there 🙂 So I guess you could say I’m a little bit bias when I say that Bohol is one of the most beautiful place I have been to. Napakaromantic ata ng place na to para sa akin hehehe.

Okay okay I’ll stop talking about me and hubby and start talking more about Bohol. Okay na po ako sa aking pagdadrama hehe.

We stayed in Paragayo Hotel in Panglao. Though not beachfront, the place is a good choice because you are very near everything. It’s about 5 to 7-minute walk to Alona White Beach where all the nightlife is happening. And it’s also few walks away from a mini-grocery. Across is a quite expensive kainan, but if you go around, you’ll see some carinderias where you can eat murang food. But we liked ung kainan sa harap namin though we were shelling out 400-500++ for every meal(that’s for 2 naman). That’s expensive even though in one of our meal, we had an average-sized na squid dun at minsan umorder rin kami ng halohalong seafood kaso ang onti ng serving. I know u would say tama lang ang price but the place is just a little above a canteen, just a little bit fancier and I really thought un ung vibe ng place kaya dapat di ganun kamahal. Anyway, I was advised before by my officemates that I should expect pricey food, everything is expensive daw sa Bohol.

PHOTOS OF PARAGAYO HOTEL

   

   

PHOTOS OF THE RESTAURANT IN FRONT OF PARAGAYO (Beside this is the mini-grocery)

     

Anyway, at Paragayo, the style is very native and they have super lush and well-maintained  garden. Trees and plants are everywhere and the cottages are cute. It’s a quaint and charming place, I would recommend this. The price was at P1,300 for a room with most basic amenities (If I’m not mistaken) so pwede na rin. What I didn’t like here is the running water. A little bit salty. Oh well, I asked around and was informed that most resorts have mixed salty and fresh water. I guess fresh water is very expensive there. I remember reading that only the most expensive hotels have fresh water for regular use.

As I have said, Bohol is an expensive place but we managed to get a good deal for our transport from airport, the hotel, our countryside and our island hopping tour. But even with all my haggling, the trip was so costly because we opted for private tours. Because we’re only 2, we were unable to share the cost unlike what others do wherein they would look for tourists who wants to share the cost of the tours. I think all-in-all, we spent 15,000 or 7,500 per head including the plane fare. That’s for 4d3n.

So, we were at the airport na looking for a ride to hotel (airport shuttle is not included in the rate for Paragayo), but cost for the van ride from airport to hotel is too hefty, dito kailangan talagang magaling kang mang haggle. Upon reaching the exit, one driver was offering his van for P 700.00. Huwaw naman! Ganu ba kalayo yun? Napakamot tuloy ako nun ng ulo and asked Jun what we should do. May lumapit naman na isang van P600.00 na lang ang singil. We were looking around for other options but Jun got irritated sa nakakaharrass na style ng pang aalok ng mga Drivers and he just said that we were waiting for someone to pick us up. Ayun nilubayan kami. Then Jun started walking towards the vans and tryc na nakapila  a little farther than the vans sa tapat ng airport. Kinuyog na naman kami. But this time the price got lower. Sa vans 300-400 na lang. Sa tryc nmn 200. They asked where we were going and I said Paragayo. Boom! Someone offered 200, a van at aircon can pa. Syempre go na kami nun! More than 300% ang ibinaba (tama ba ang math ko? hehe). Nakwento nya na the reason that the vans in front of the airport are expensive is because they’re accredited with Local Government Tourism etc etc…  It’s the same with Santa Ana, Cagayan and Palawan. Someday, the Local Government  will, by itself, kill the country’s tourism because of it’s ridiculously high pricing sa mga tours etc…

Anyway, the van owner offered his services for the countryside tour for 2,000. I wish I was able to retain his # kasi he was very nice. Sakto lang ng personality for a guide. Not too pushy with the time and hindi rin super exag with his stories. Tama lang yun kasi isa lang ang dapat na OA sa grupo at ako un hahaha joke.

So the next day, off we go to our trip. The land tour includes Bohol Bee Farm, Baclayon Church, Man-Made Forest,  Loboc River Cruise, Blood Compact Shrine, Ship Haus, Tarsier Watching,  Chocolate Hills and Souvenir Shopping. We started at 8am and finished at almost 6pm. Personally, my fave of all the activities is Tarsier Watching. The chocolate hills are beautiful but it was so hot for me to appreciate the place. At ang taas taas ng aakyatin. I really thought na it would be a little more mapuno since bundok sya pero it was not shady at all sa viewing deck. Call me stupid pero hills nga eh. D ba dapat parang gubat? Hehe sabagay, sa viewing deck lang ata ganun. But the tarsier watching was very very nice and the tarsiers were soooooo cute!!! I wanted to touch them and enclose them in my hand. Napakaliit. At ang amo napakainnocent ng dating. Hay sayang, it’s super bawal to touch them. I heard they are suicidal. Inuuntog daw ang ulo sa puno pag napicture-an or hinuli or naalis sa natural habitat nila. I feel so bad for them. They’re so fragile 😦 kaya it’s just right that Bohol Government should take care of these tarsiers. They are treasures 🙂 I soooo loooove them 🙂 I had lots of pictures katabi ang mga kapatid ko hahaha 😉

PHOTOS OF COUNTRYSIDE TOURS

Blood Compact Site

   

   

Butterfly Sanctuary

   

    

   

   

Manmade Forest

   

Baclayon Church

  

Loboc River Cruise

     

   

   

   

 

Chocolate Hills

   

   

   

   

   

     

The rest of the places we went to are okay. I like the butterflies (nag-ala tinkerbell nga ako sa pictures hehehe) in bee farm but I don’t like bees too much hehe. Loboc River is ok but the food could be better. Pls try to improve sa lunch at mejo parang di ganun kasarap para sa price nya na 400 and the selections are few. The Baclayon Church is well, simply old. But Jun loves to go to  old places kaya he enjoyed visiting this church. Though I’m not into old structures and buildings, some people find beauty in these places and its history, that’s why it’s really unfortunate what happened to the church when the 7.2 earthquake unleashed it’s power and damaged this structure severely. I know that there was restoration done and I really hope that the Bohol local government will be able to restore the Church to even a little of it’s former state.

It’s a sad news but there’s no reason for us not to enjoy the good stuff.  So let’s go to my favorite. The BEACH!

The most famous in Bohol (and most accessible too!) is the Alona Beach. Alona itself is beautiful. The sand is really white but there are areas na fine ang sand and areas that’s difficult to walk on  because of the corals being dragged into the shore from the sea masakit and nakakatusok sa paa. Sayang nga because the sand is so white. I wish the government or the hotels could work  together to purchase a machine to grind or capture the corals, rocks and especially the garbage in the shore. It’s too bad if the place will not be taken cared of sayang ang ganda nya. Pico de Loro in Batangas has the machine and though their sand is not white, super soft naman because of the sand groomer  (un ata ung awag sa ganitong machine) Sabagay, it’s hard to enjoy swimming in this place na rin because there’s just too many boats parked in the shore. Back then, I didn’t see many people swimming sa Alona. And we were there for 4 days. We were scheduled for island hopping kaya dun na lang kami nagswim.

Alona is like a mini boracay. So many restaurants and hotels beachfront and the management of these establishments don’t even know how to take care of their place. Trash is everywhere. So sad. Maybe once upon a time it was a nice place, but now, IMO, it’s only a good place for socializing. Not really a family-friendly beach.

Okay so let’s get to the part I am sooo excited to discuss. As I said, we were scheduled for island hopping the third day of our stay. I managed to haggle this tour for 1,200.00 only. This is the most exciting activity for us because we were scheduled for dolphin watching (dolphin is my favorite animal in the world, they’re just so cute and so smart), island hopping in 2 islands, Balicasag and Virgin Islands. We extremely enjoyed our island hopping. It really is the best part! I got to watch the dolphins swim solo and in groups and do exhibitions! They were really amazing!

After 30 mins of watching the dolphins, we headed to Balicasag Island. I was told that this is an excellent site for diving because of the coral reefs and the diverse number of species. The sand is not that soft since this is a diving place, the corals and pebbles are gathered in the shore. Just wear your slippers and you’ll be fine.

Balicasag has a small village inside so if you’re not going to snorkel or dive, go around the island. We explored the place and found a lighthouse. There are also lots of livestocks around too kaya nakipaghabulan ako sa mga manok at kambing heheheh 🙂 We also found the Balicasag Island Dive Resort here. If you’re a diving enthusiast, maybe this is a great place to stay. But if you’re not after snorkeling or diving, and would want to explore the province, look for a hotel in Panglao where everything is accessible. Otherwise the cost of transportation would be too much.

We had our lunch here. I remember we brought sandwiches for light snack but we bought fresh seafood and fish from the locals. Then we had them cook it. Oh it’s very expensive here. I mean we’re only 2 and we have to pay 100 ata for each dish that we want to be cooked. Iba pa ung price ng seafood. Umabot ata kami ng more than 600 (2 heads). 300+ per head is expensive na sa akin unless I wanted to indulge myself. I’m a cheapskate nga eh haha. Besides, our expenses are piling up kaya mejo gusto ko ring makatipid back then. But it seems  this is impossible to do if you’re a tourist in Bohol.

Anyway, after this we decided to head to Virgin Island. This is my most favorite beach of all the beaches I have been. It’s not a peak season but there are still about 30-40 people flocking the island that time. Not all are tourist.  I remember some vendors selling sea urchin. Nakakain daw un ng hilaw? Yikes scary! Then there are some selling their freshly caught fish of different species, may parrot fish pa ata dun. Jun really wanted to buy since murang mura lang. I don’t remember the  price but the thing is, the fish they’re selling I am not familiar with. I am not a fish person, I only eat the fishes I am familiar with at hindi lahat ng kilala kong isda kinakain ko. Aside from not being familiar, the fish they caught are too pretty to be eaten up. Jun is just too weird to be salivating on them when all I wanted to do is to look at them and imagine watching The Little Mermaid and Finding Nemo 🙂 Maybe I’m the weird one? 🙂 So, he wasn’t able to buy because we can’t cook in the hotel. We can’t bring them in Manila, walang freezer sa hotel plus baka hindi rin naman tanggapin sa plane.So sorry na lang si Jun. Hehehe

Oh I keep on losing track sa subject ko. I was talking about Virgin Island right? This island is so white! And so so fine! And is breathtaking. Hayyy. I have not been to a crescent-shaped beach before. Actually, I don’t know what the shape of the island is but when it’s low tide, the sand forms a C shape, about 5 ft wide (just an estimate). Pero sobrang haba. Jun told me not to swim on the edge. It may look tempting but he said that it’s a sudden drop plus it’s covered with seaweed. I don’t have any plans anyway, I’m too busy enjoying the  extremely fine sand and crystal clear water. I also like that there’s a small stand in the middle of the beach selling coconut drink in it’s shell with the cute umbrella adornment. Would’ve been chic if the stand and the chairs around are a little bit fancier. Mejo nakasira lang ng konti sa view but I was hungry and thirsty kaya it’s a welcome sight na rin 😉

PHOTOS OF ISLAND HOPPING

Before the island hopping, selfie selfie muna hehehe

     

   

   

   

Dolphin Watching

   

   

 

Balicasag Island

     

   

   

 Virgin Island (so inlooovveee with the sadbar)

    

   

   

   

   

   

  

   

   

   

   

   

    

   

  

  

We swam around, took lots and lots of photos and then swam a little more. Then we went back to the boat. The boatman in-charge circled the area and Jun swam some more when we stopped for 15 mins to enjoy the view of the island once again. The water is really clear. I thought the water is not deep but Jun tod me it’s deeper than 6ft. I really felt envious of him because he’s a good swimmer and he’s able to explore the waters more. I can’t really swim, I only do what people called “sisid”. Jun’s been trying to teach me but I guess it’s a little too late for me 😥

So it was a little bit before 2 if I’m not mistaken when we left the island and headed back to Paragayo. After freshening up, we stayed in the hotel to rest then dinner. Paragayo is a very quiet and relaxing place to stay, it’s a stark contrast when you go outside the hotel where you feel the energy and the hustle bustle of the place. That’s another thing I loved about it. At least I can still rest peacefully after the busy and tiring day.

Morning on our fourth and last day. We woke up very early so we can hit the road. After the island hopping, Jun showed me the area where lots of motorbikes were parked. He said that you can rent one for 300 plus gas. We then decided to take a road trip and explore the city before checking out of the hotel.  We toured around and Jun took us to see the Hinagdanan Cave. I am weirded out because there are lots of drawings in the cave’s wall. I didn’t know why the bantays allow it when in my opinion, it made the cave not mysterious anymore. They’re not scribbles or drawings made in ancient times, parang may local lang na napag isipang magdrawing dun. If they’re very old drawings, I can still appreciate kasi it would make u think what the meaning of the drawings are. But they’re not. So it’s not a very enchanting experience for me.

Joyride and Hinagdangan Cave trip

 

   

   

   

Outside Hinagdanan, there are lots of stores selling souvenir items which are much cheaper kesa sa unang pinagdalhan sa amin during our countryside tour. After buying some items for pasalubong, we hurriedly headed back to the hotel. And this is when the unfortunate thing happened. We were gassing up the bike and as I got down, my lower leg got burned sa tambutso (is this called engine pipe or smoke pipe? I don’t really know). I was furious! At Jun especially. I don’t frequently ride a motor that’s why I’m not sure how to get down from it properly.  I guess I landed too close to the hot pipe. Nagalit ako kay Jun because he did not warn me about it. He said he was just going to kaya lang nakababa na ako. We both panicked coz anlaki ng burn and it was hurting like hell as in! It’s a good thing that a gas boy came to the rescue. Mukhang sanay na sanay na silang makakita ng ganitong aksidente. The boy instructed us to pour vinegar sa burnt area. We immediately bought vinegar to a store in front of the gasoline station. Thank God merong malapit na tindahan dun. The pain subsided but the mark is already very visible. Nag alala ako ng matindi sa scar that the burn will cause. Hayyy. So anyway, still feeling angry at what happened, we finished our business at the gasoline station and headed back. Btw, the vinegar is effective not only in helping the pain subside but I did not get a scar from the incident! I was soooo relieved! Don’t get me wrong, I have few scars in my legs kaya ayoko ng madagdagan hahaha plus the scar the burn would have left is too big halatang halata sya.

We immediately took shower and packed. Jun called his colleague assigned in Bohol and hitched a free ride to the airport. It was very nice of him 🙂 At least nakatipid pa kami ng konti. We waited at the airport for a couple of hours then headed back to Manila. It was a wonderful vacation but we really missed Kiara. Even as we were enjoying ourselves, we were always thinking of how we missed Kiara and how she would have loved the beach. We had her enjoy the water in  a pool even when she was just 6 months. We never let her stay in the water too long of course but she did love the water so much. All kids do! That’s why I love water! 😉

Anyway, after 4 days of the wonderful vacation, we went back to working but with a promise that we will go back to this beautiful place once again, and this time, with the whole family 🙂

I hope you like my blog about this awesome place! Do you love Bohol as much as I do? Then comment below and share your experience with us! I’d love to hear from you guys!

Anyway, I’m off to get my much needed sleep for now.

Til my next blog!!!

Tins ❤ ❤ ❤ 🙂