From Cebu City we traveled two hours to go to Tagbilaran City, Bohol via Supercat Ferry. Unlike my experience in going to Batam, Indonesia the sea was very calm that day we traveled to Bohol. The ferry was air-conditioned and had big LCD showing Hollywood films.
My Cebu trip was more of revisiting Filipino Heritage as most of the places we visited are historical sites. On the other hand, Bohol trip was a nature trip. We visited famous places - Bohol Chocolate Hills, Tarsier Conservatory Park, Butterfly Garden, Loboc River, Man-Made forest in Bilar, Bohol Bee farm in Panglao Island and Chocolate Hills Adventure Park (CHAP). We also visited a musuem and the Blood Compact monument.
In Bohol we hired a tour guide to drive us to these sites.
May 21 - Our first destination was Chocolate Hills since our plan was to go to the farthest place first but we had to make stops in between because we can't resist to take snaps of the wonderful green scenery.
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| Passing by Loboc River |
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| Green, green.... |
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| a foot bridge damaged by the earthquake in 2013 |
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| Opposite the foot bridge is an old church also ruined by the quake |
We have been traveling for more than an hour already and I noticed there are very few vehicles on the road. There are no tricycles as well. I did not see a single sari-sari (small grocery store) store. I engaged in a small chat with our driver cum tour guide to get to know better the Bohol way of living. Mang Tony said people buy their stuff once a week in the market and all other needs/foods can be taken from their backyard or farm. It was simple living. And that also explains why there are no giant malls like Robinsons and SM in Tagbilaran City.
Bohol's main source of income is farming and tourism. However, when earthquake hit the province last year tourists influx declined according to Many Tony.
If you feel like engaging in a little adventure go to CHAP. You can do bike zipline here and also view the chocolate hills from a viewing deck. Try also their resto.
Next stop was Butterfly Garden where we experienced to be like the beautiful butterflies. :)
You can't missed this 5-kilometer stretch (more or less) of huge trees on your way to Chocolate Hills - man-made forest in Bilar, Bohol. It was relaxing to drive thru canopy of trees. We wanted to stop for a while but Mang Tony told us we will do it on our way back to Tagbilaran City.
Finally, we reached the famous Chocolate Hills. According to folklore tale, the hills were tears of a giant man who was jilted by his loved one. Wikipedia said those giant mounds are made of limestone covered with grasses which turn to brown during summer (hence it looks like chocolate from afar).
Loboc River Cruise - you should never missed this. We went for a cruise while having lunch and enjoying short entertainment from locals. One of the boat staff regaled the tourists by singing pop, rock and country music. At night, dine in Loboc River while fireflies lit the surroundings (we skipped this as we only availed of 8am - 5pm tour).
