I don’t know if anyone missed me but I sure did miss blogging. I had been away from the internet since the last few days of my finals because I was spending the nights studying with my roommate in their home in Fairview. I also had the internet connection cut back in the apartment since I’m also moving houses soon (tomorrow in fact) so even when the exams ended last Friday, I wasn’t able to surf the net and rant about my hell week before we left for the much-needed Bohol-Cebu trip.

I got back this morning after five days of being on tour. I had so much fun that I felt the need to share my experience as a guide for those who are also planning on a Bohol-Cebu getaway as well. Anyway, I’ll be dividing this summer escapade entry into a number of parts since it won’t fit in just one blog.

My mom, aunt, Bee and I left Manila on board the Cebu Pacific flight to Tagbilaran early morning of Saturday and arrived a good one hour and a half later. My aunt who is from Bohol, was the one in charge of getting a tour van for us. A tour van is the best and most comfortable way of going to the tourist spots in Bohol since taxis don’t exist in Tagbilaran (or so I think). If you have no contacts in Bohol, you can hire a tour van once you get off the airport since you’ll be greeted by a number of drivers offering tour vans for visitors. The drivers also serve as your personal tour guide as our van driver, Kuya Joven (Cel #: +639202810530, email: join@yahoo.com) did for us. The drivers know exactly where to bring you so you don’t have to worry about your itinerary. We spent PHP 3,500 for the van. It’s originally PHP 3,000 but my aunt requested him to bring us to Sagbayan Peak (which was out of the way) to see more of the Chocolate Hills so we had to add another PHP 500. You see, there were two places developed where tourists can see the Chocolate Hills, one is in Carmen, Bohol named the Chocolate Hills Complex and another one located in Sagbayan. We had breakfast in a nearby mall because we had to wait for my mom’s colleagues who were joining us in Bohol from Cebu. Once they arrived, the adventure began for us. Here are the places we visited on our first day in Bohol in chronological order.

Sandugo Marker, Tagbilaran City

Our first stop was at the Sandugo Marker (Blood Compact Marker) in Tagbilaran City which was built to commemorate the pact entered by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi and Datu Sikatuna of Bohol on March 16, 1565 to seal their friendship. We didn’t stay long in this place since it was getting a little crowded because vans kept coming and going to drop visitors (mostly foreigners) to the place.

Baclayon Church

Baclayon Church (Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Concepcion) is one of the oldest churches in the Philippines built by the Jesuits. The church was constructed by natives forced into labor. Coral stones were taken from the sea, cut into square blocks and piled on top of each other and used egg whites (!) to cement them together. There’s a museum upstairs which you can check out for a minimal fee of PHP 20 featuring hundreds-old farming implements, tools and religious artifacts. The church is open to visitors and since it’s a holy ground a jacket is useful to cover up especially if you’re wearing sleeveless tops, short skirts and shorts. I was wearing a sleeveless dress but was allowed to enter the church provided that I don’t pull up my hair in a pony so I won’t be exposing too much skin.

Prony: The 23-foot long python of Bohol

Located in Alburquerque, Bohol is one of the biggest and longest python in captivity named Prony. He is 23 feet long and approximately weighs 200 lbs! For only PHP 5 entrance fee, you get to see and even pose for a snapshot with Prony and a number of birds (like owls) as well (just like in a mini zoo). A flying Lemur keeps Prony company in his cage. The caretaker told us that Prony is being fed with small pigs! (Poor pigs!) I was too chicken to go inside the cage and pose beside him. (Eeeek!) There’s also a gay performer who lip synchs and dances to the latest tunes (think Beyonce, hehe) and even hangs upside-down from a horizontal bar while dancing. We were joking that he/she’s perhaps Prony’s twin sister. Hehe.

Tarsier Home @ Loboc River

Finally! I got to see the tarsiers! And with my big eyes and haggard look, I can give them a run for their money! Hehe. It’s a small place by the Loboc River (entrance fee: P10-20, can’t remember) where you get to see them up close and personal. Luckily for us, there was one tarsier who gamely posed with the visitors even if it looked really sleepy. Most of the tarsiers were up in the tree lazing around and you won’t even notice they’re there unless you looked really hard for them. You can feed them a live cricket on a stick. There’s no charge for doing so but it might help to donate a few pesos for their food. A hungry tarsier will instantly grab the cricket and eat it to his heart’s delight. The one I fed however was perhaps too lazy or too full to eat the cricket I offered him with gusto. But well, he still fed on it albeit very, very lazily to the point of being cute.

~ END OF PART 1 (to be continued) ~

XS: Sorry I had to cut this short because I have to sleep and wake up extra early tomorrow. Don’t miss the rest of my entries for the Loboc River, Chocolate Hills escapade and the Alona Beach in Panglao. But if you’re looking for term life insurance for seniors, then might as well click the link.

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