August 26, 2013

LONG OVERDUE POST: CEBU-BOHOL TRIPS PART 1

Since it has been raining in Manila for the past couple of weeks now, I can't help but think about sunny days at the beach and owing it to the fact that I haven't got the chance to travel to the beach this year. It's already August and a few more months, 2013 will be over soon. I hope that this year won't pass without me having to travel because that would totally suck.




I've recently felt nostalgic and went through all the photos saved in my desktop computer and came across our travel to Cebu and Bohol; and realized that I was not able to make a blog post out of that trip.


So even if it's loooong over due, I'm doing it now!

I have been to Cebu and Bohol twice, one was in 2010 and the second was in 2012. Cebu-Bohol was always a tandem trip, well that's my excuse of not being able to book any flights straight to Bohol Tagbilaran airport, many failed attempts. There are more promo flights going to Cebu than Bohol, plus  it's only a 1 hour ferry ride to go to Bohol from Cebu.

Btw, click on the Destinations Names' Link (usually texts in purple color) to know more about these places.



CEBU-BOHOL 2010 TRIP

DAY 1
On my first Cebu-Bohol trip, I went with a bunch of friends and their families. We were a big group of 12. Our flight was an early 4 or 5:00am flight to Cebu. Before we head off to the ferry dock going to Bohol, we visited the ever-famous Magellan's Cross and the Basilica De Santo Nino, which is just beside the Magellan Cross Monument. We had light breakfast and our other friend offered some prayers at the basilica and then we're off to Bohol.









When we got to Bohol, we went straight to our Day Tour and here are our destinations:







Lush vegetation along the river. One of the cleanest rivers in the Philippines. Buffet on the boat while cruising the river.




Chocolate Hills:
When I was still in school I only see these hills in books and post cards, I've never thought of the day that I'll get to see them in person. When I did, I was truly elated! They are one of the cutest things I've seen in my life! Btw, these cone-shaped or dome-shaped hills are actually made of grass-covered limestone.


I'm all smiles for finally seeing these cute hills in person


Hanging Bridge:
Nothing much to see here, just to add some thrill to our day trip. You just need to cross to and fro the slippery hanging bamboo bridge above the Loboc River.




Tarsier Sanctuary:
Tarsiers are one of the main attractions of Bohol. Tarsiers are actually primates and is the smallest monkeys in the world. They are also nocturnal animals. Flash photography is not allowed when taking photos of Tarsiers because they can easily get stressed.


lovers in Bohol! hahahaha!
aren't they the cutest??

DAY 2
At the end of our Day 1 Day Tour trip in Bohol, we went to the place where we will be staying for the next two days. It's the beach/rest house of one of our friends who was with us during this trip. It's just beside Amarela Beach Resort in Panglao Island, Bohol. If you checkout their website (http://www.amarelaresort.com/) you will see that this part of Panglao Island is very serene and would probably be with less tourists unlike in Alona beach and second to Dumaluan Beach (where Bohol Beach Club is)

Photos of Amarela Beach Resort

Photos of Amarela Resort, Panglao Island
photo c/o TripAdvisor.com

After that tree is the rest house where we stayed. See that the rest house share the same beach with Amarela Beach Resort :)


Photos of Amarela Resort, Panglao Island
photo c/o TripAdvisor.com
 The rest house where we stayed at after that tree on the right side of the photo.


Photos of Amarela Resort, Panglao Island
photo c/o TripAdvisor.com
The Beach House:


The beach a few steps away from the house:

 
me and the starfishes
powdery white sand covered starfish
I want to wake up every morning to this


Our Day 2 trip started with dolphin watching


Unfortunately, we didn't get to see a lot of dolphins that day, no close encounters either. We woke up somehow late than the usual time that dolphins flock the waters of Panglao Island. Also there were many boats around bearing tourists who also want to see the dolphins and this might have probably scared them off. We only saw the fins of little dolphins from afar.


baby dolphin's fins only



After too many failed attempts to see dolphins up close, we headed off to our Bohol islands tour. The first stop is Balicasag Island, which is one of the top snorkeling/diving spots in Bohol. This marine sanctuary is very well protected. Philippine Marines and Navy soldiers guard this place to assure that the underwater life is well taken cared of. They will also be the ones to accompany you while you're snorkeling or diving.


photo c/o http://www.visitmyphilippines.com

FYI, I returned this starfish back to the sea after taking this photo


It is one of the best thriving corals and marine life I've ever seen in my life.

After our lunch at Balicasag Island, we headed off to Virgin Island. It is one of the inhabited islands in bohol but always a part of any Bohol tour.Virgin island is a long string of white beach. During low tide, you can enjoy kilometers of white beach but during high tide, much of the beach disappears under the sea.  Like most of the beaches in this part of Bohol,  Virgin Island's sand is white which is still evident even if it was cloudy, with waters that are clear and serene.


photo c/o Casal Photography/http://maxcasal.photoshelter.com



Upon hitting the shores of Virgin Island, we were "mobbed" (exagerrating here lol!) with vendors of sea urchins. I easily got convinced to buy some, sea urchins are one of my favorite things that are added in Japanese sushis :). They were selling it at a very cheap price of P20.00 (US$ .50 cents). Just a dash of vinegar was added to lessen the fishy stench. It was quite good! 


sea urchin vendors

Afterwards, we just trekked along and up to where the sand bar ends.




DAY 3
On our third day before heading off to Cebu, We went to Hinagdanan Cave in Panglao Island.




Hinagdanan Cave was accidentally discovered when the owner of the area was clearing the decaying branches of the land when he found the hole. The owner throw a stone into the hole, then he heard a splash. Then he build a ladder to get into the cave. They named it Hinagdanan, means "laddered" used to get into the cave's interior. The cave is about 100 meters long of beautiful rock formations. The stalactites and stalagmites stick out from the ceiling and floor of the cave as though trying to meet each other. Inside the cave, there's also a lagoon with a greenish surface produced by the green limestone at the bottom of the pool, where people used to bath in the lagoon, however, it has been advised to not go dip into the lagoon because of the karst pollutants present in the water. (source: Wikipedia)

We were assigned to a specific tour guide whom totally amazed us because he knows how to place all our cameras to the setting that makes us able to shoot in very low lighting. Because on manual mode all our pictures would be just a black or blank photos.


last night in Cebu (Ayala Center Cebu)


On our last day of our first Cebu-Bohol trip before going back to Manila, we ate at these group of restaurants beside Mactan Shrine (also known as Lapu Lapu Shrine) and near the sea shore.We were also serenaded by a man playing a harp while we were eating.




So there ends my first Cebu-Bohol Trip. Thanks for visiting my blog!


Backtrack my other post about my Cebu-Bohol Trips:


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1 comment:

  1. Starting your travel going to the church is the best thing to do. I salute!

    ReplyDelete

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