With everyone so busy and stressed over the past few weeks, my mom decided to book us a trip to Bohol without knowing what to expect. My brother and I weren’t exactly thrilled about the idea of leaving Manila (since the both of us haven’t exactly enjoyed the comfort of resting and not doing any work at home for the past few weeks), but by the end of our 3-day stay in beautiful Bohol (forgive the cheesy alliteration, but Bohol is really one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen), we didn’t want to return to Manila anymore. No, I’m not exaggerating, Bohol really is amazing beyond belief.
For starters, we got to stay in Panglao Bluewater Beach Resort (which we booked for a more affordable rate, thanks to Deal Grocer!). We hardly spent time at the resort (much less the beach), but I guess the resort alone is enough reason to go back!
We spent our first night on a firefly cruise along Loboc river, which was about an hour-long drive away from where we were staying. It was pitch dark, but once we caught sight of the fireflies… I’m not even kidding when I say that it was one of the most surreal moments of my life. There was something different about the way they glowed- there was something ethereal about the fireflies, almost as if they used to be stars. A part of me regrets not bringing my camera along, but I guess it was the kind of scene that was so wonderful that even a photograph couldn’t justify how amazing it really was.
Our second day in Bohol was an entire day of sight-seeing in Bohol. We started off by visiting the… monument thing na may blood compact =))))))))))) We only went there for picture-taking though, since there were too many people and we were running on a tight schedule.
The Tarsier Sanctuary was our next stop. I knew that tarsiers were tiny but I didn’t expect them to be the same size as my fist! The amazing thing about the sanctuary is the fact that the tarsiers aren’t kept in cages or tied to anything. It just so happens that the place is their territory and they just move from one tree to the next (that is, if they actually decide to move), so the caretakers go out every morning (yes, they literally do this every single day) to look for the tarsiers so they know what route to take whenever tourists arrive.
After visiting the Tarsier Sanctuary, we had lunch on a floating restaurant! It was a lunch cruise thing (I don’t really know what to call it) but it was on a boat (HAHA), and everything was so happy and sunny with the live band plus the dancing tour guides (aka funniest, wittiest people I’ve ever met)! Again, I didn’t get to take pictures during the cruise because… I was busy eating :) =)) But then again, it’s an excuse so people actually visit the place so they understand what I’m talking about :-”
After lunch was a long drive to Carmen to see the famous Chocolate Hills! We climbed up a looooong flight of stairs and can I just say, getting there was an intense workout… or maybe it just felt like it because we had a heavy lunch and going up was twice as difficult. I was slightly disappointed to find that they weren’t so chocolatey (they said it was because of the weather) but at least I can say that I finally got to see them! (and at least one of them was actually brown when we went there HAHA)
After visiting the Chocolate Hills, we headed off to the Butterfly Conservatory. For those who don’t know, I’m absolutely terrified of butterflies (so much to the point that I actually cry whenever they come too close), so I wasn’t exactly thrilled about the idea of going there. Thankfully, it wasn’t as bad as I expected. I would freak out every time one would attempt to come near, but aside from that I guess the place was fine. I actually got to appreciate butterflies- I know I’m afraid of them but I really do think they’re pretty (after all, I do love color), so I prefer to admire from afar.
We even got to see butterflies mating- or what our tour guide likes to call it, butterfly porn =)))))))))))))
After the Butterfly Conservatory, we headed to Baclayon Church which happens to be one of the oldest churches in the Philippines! There was a museum at the back, so we even got to see what it was like to stand in the.. thingy =)) I forgot what it was called, but it’s this balcony-like thing that connects the convent to the church so the Spanish priests used to stay there whenever they didn’t want to mingle with the indios -_- Really amazing stuff!
Plus the colored stained glass on the windows added to the charm of the place. I was absolutely in love with the way hints of colored light entered the church!
So that’s pretty much everything I got to see in Bohol. We stopped by a souvenir shop on the way back to the resort and left early the following day.
We are definitely going back though. We have yet to try this extreme educational adventure tour package thing wherein you get to go rappelling, ziplining and other wild stuff -___-
But until then, I guess I’ll be daydreaming until the next long weekend ♥
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