Visayas Travel Pt.3 - Bohol
10:30 PM
The last part of our southern travel. Bohol is 2 hours away by ferry from the port of Dumagete.
03 April 2015
Bohol Island
The last part of our southern travel. Bohol is 2 hours away by ferry from the port of Dumagete. We stayed at El Portal Inn, which was surprisingly cheap. They had wi-fi (very important), hot showers, AC, and good food!
We only stayed for a day and a half so we didn't linger too long in our itineraries. We travelled around the island by renting a van, which I recommend if you're a big group, because you might find it hard to go around since buses don't go on some routes.
We visited a lot in within the day (very tiring, not to mention it was around 35c that day), I want to share first my most favorite part of the trip- the road to the manmade forest.
I have to say this is the prettiest place I've ever been (that's not a beach). I've always loved autumn (and despair why we don't have it here) and it has that autumn feel. Photos can't even bring justice to it because you have to see it- the orange and golden leaves fell and glittered like confetti from the sky whenever the sunlight hit it. It was cool and windy, and the canopy was amazing. You can stop by some certain areas with big enough sidewalks. Be careful of passing cars.
There is also some pretty flowers and plants in the area!
We were already very tired at this point- visiting a lot in the hot sun, we all want to take a bath already, we went to Alona beach (which is in my opinion a small sized boracay)- I didn't bother to swim or look around since I've been to way too many beaches in my life and It wasn't really too special for me. There are a lot of establishments there.
Next was Hinagdanan Cave. It's humid inside, but there's a small lake down there where you can swim- perfect way to cool down! I didn't manage to take a good photo with my camera, so I borrowed the one from my dad (I was utterly exhausted. We were travelling from 7 till past 2pm, and no, we haven't had lunch yet so I was extremely tired, hungry and irritable)
The last place we visited that day (which is my favorite because it involved food) was the Bohol Bee Farm. This place exceeded my expectation. The area was great! The food was amazing, not to mention they gave us complementary food and they served it really fast (like 5-10 minutes).
The restaurant overlooks the sea, which was so nice. They gave us complementary dishes- their bread with a garlic-pesto spread (which is available at their store for 180 pesos/4.50$) and Kamote chips with chutney.
We only stayed for a day and a half so we didn't linger too long in our itineraries. We travelled around the island by renting a van, which I recommend if you're a big group, because you might find it hard to go around since buses don't go on some routes.
We visited a lot in within the day (very tiring, not to mention it was around 35c that day), I want to share first my most favorite part of the trip- the road to the manmade forest.
I have to say this is the prettiest place I've ever been (that's not a beach). I've always loved autumn (and despair why we don't have it here) and it has that autumn feel. Photos can't even bring justice to it because you have to see it- the orange and golden leaves fell and glittered like confetti from the sky whenever the sunlight hit it. It was cool and windy, and the canopy was amazing. You can stop by some certain areas with big enough sidewalks. Be careful of passing cars.
Anyways, we went to the Tarsier Conservation Area at Loboc. You have to pay 60 pesos for the ticket (which is a nifty postcard as well) and they will brief you a bit on what tarsiers are and what you are allowed and not allowed to do.
Well, tarsiers are nighttime creatures so most of them were sleeping at the time. And we only saw like 3 of them, which we couldn't really get close to. Oh yeah, there's a really nice souvenir shop full of really cute tarsier merch!
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| So sorry to disturb your sleep :( |
Afterwards, we went to Habitat Bohol (60 per pax) . Its basically a butterfly park with some flora, but what makes this worth the visit are the funny tour guides. They have amazing sense of humour, and take good photos as well.
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There's a mix of preserved insects and live ones freely flying around the park. You can also eat in the area (they serve ice cream!) and there's your usual souvenir shop as well.
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| Our tour guide in Habitat Bohol. |
Afterwards, we went to the Chocolate Hills. I'm not really impressed by it I guess, there are a lot of hills but I don't see them as eye candies or anything. You have to pay 100 (2.50$) for the entrance fee. There's some stairs there which you can climb up for a better view of the hills.
After the hills, we went to the zoo, where you can take a picture holding a big snake (so sorry, can't remember the species) and some local wildlife. I was never a fan of zoos since I feel sorry for caged animals, specially birds, since they're meant to fly. Anyways, I'm only posting on a few of them here since there's a lot.
Next was Hinagdanan Cave. It's humid inside, but there's a small lake down there where you can swim- perfect way to cool down! I didn't manage to take a good photo with my camera, so I borrowed the one from my dad (I was utterly exhausted. We were travelling from 7 till past 2pm, and no, we haven't had lunch yet so I was extremely tired, hungry and irritable)
The last place we visited that day (which is my favorite because it involved food) was the Bohol Bee Farm. This place exceeded my expectation. The area was great! The food was amazing, not to mention they gave us complementary food and they served it really fast (like 5-10 minutes).
The restaurant overlooks the sea, which was so nice. They gave us complementary dishes- their bread with a garlic-pesto spread (which is available at their store for 180 pesos/4.50$) and Kamote chips with chutney.
They only have single serve food, meaning, it comes completely with rice and salad, so it's for one person only. The prices are around 300-500pesos and 800 for the lamb. It's a bit steep, but its all worth the money. The servings are big- you get organic red rice and delicious at the same time colorful salad.
I got prawns for myself, they're huge! and very tasty, same with the salad and yes, those are flowers and they are edible!
We also got some Honey Glazed Chicken, Grilled Fish, Steak and Spare Ribs. They were all very good! They have a store by the entrance if you want to buy their rice, veggies, and bread and other organic goods. They also sell ice cream, which is one of the best I've ever tasted. The cone was weird though (fried cassava), but I had Avocado and it tasted exactly like one, even the consistency! It's 40 pesos/1$ per scoop (BIG scoop).
Well that's the last of the day. I'll also cover our last destination for Bohol- The Mag-aso Falls, which we visited the next day. There's an entrance fee of 20 pesos (.50$) for adults and 10 pesos for children. You can rent a cottage for 50 pesos (small cottage) and 100 pesos for the big one.
It's a cemented downhill walk to the waterfall. We were the first ones (and only ones) there when we went in the early morning. Our guide, and my dad tells us there were three streaks of water that fell down the mountain. Now, its there's just one left due to the big earthquake. It was called Mag-Aso because it "produced" (as they say there) smoke because it was cold. When we swam there, it was cold, but not as cold as the one in Baler. I really enjoyed swimming here.
Well, that's about it ! That's the last of my Visayas Travel. I wish I could cover more, but vacation time was really limited. We went to back to Cebu afterwards to catch our flight back home to Manila.
Check the first two parts of my travel!
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