Bohol Series Part 1: Countryside Love

My Bohol trip was my favorite in 2010. Badly needing a break from all the stress at our respective jobs, my college girlfriends and I took advantage of PAL promo flights and did our first Visayan adventure together. Shout out to Martha and Weng who arranged the entire thing. We had our strategically planned 4-day itinerary ready weeks before our flight. Haha.

I know, I know, having a carefully planned itinerary sounds boring. But it actually worked on this trip. There’s just so much to see and go to in Bohol and I think one should really plan to make the most of the Bohol experience. 

We spent our first day touring the Tagbilaran countryside. This is pretty ideal since the airport is in Tagbilaran. If your flight’s pretty early like ours (we left Manila at 5:30 and yeah, we were almost late for check in), you can hop off the airplane to your (rented) car and get the trip started.

Tagbilaran hits!

We were too excited for breakfast, so we decided to drive to Carmen for our first stop: The Chocolate Hills. Had breakfast at a nearby eatery and stuffed ourselves ready for the climb to the viewing deck.

That's 200++ steps to the viewing deck. 

I don’t know if it was just me or everything spells beautiful in Carmen. The weather was also really nice to us. You wouldn’t even  notice how exhausting the climb is because of the breathtaking view.

View's good enough to make us forget about our aching legs.

Weather's all good as well. See the chocolate hill peeking?:)

There you have it.:)

Our next stop was the Butterfly Sanctuary.  It was really pretty seeing and learning about all them butterflies (female butterflies are always on top. Ha!)The guides there are also very friendly and witty. Oh and their fruit ice creams are also must-tries!

At the butterfly farm. 

After the butterflies, we were headed for Loboc to have lunch on their floating restaurant. Obviously, by this time our breakfast was all burnt out

We made a couple of stops along the way. Literally. One was the man made forest where the highway cuts through.  You just pretty much have to pull over and voila! Tourist spot! Next was the hanging bridge. Out driver, Kuya Toper, is the nicest.  Putting up with four high-pitched girls telling him to pull over every now and then for photo ops is probably not an easy task.

These gigantic mahogany trees line a good 2-km stretch  of the highway bordering on Loboc and Bilar towns. 

Careful not to trip over these just-as-gigantic roots. 

Their rich branches make a pretty good shade when sun's up. 

Karla trying her luck along the highway. Haha. 

Man-made bridge crossing Sipatan River in Sevilla Town.
I'm not very good with measurements, but I think that's bout 20m above the river. 

Finally it was time for lunch! The Loboc River Cruise is a popular activity for tourists, both local and foreign. For P350, you get a cruise and a buffet lunch. I say it’s really more of the cruise ‘cause the food wasn’t exactly exceptional.  Aside from natural beauty of Loboc River, the cruise also promotes culture as you’d get to see performances by the Loboc River Children’s Choir.

Floating restaurants 

The Loboc Children's Choir.

DID YOU KNOW: The movie Panaghoy sa Suba (Cry of the River, 2004) revolved around a love story set in Loboc River.
The movie was directed, produced and starred by famous Pinoy actor and Boholano, Cesar Montano.

After lunch we head for another attraction in Bohol, the tarsiers. I’m not a big animal geek (I used to think wildebeest are big, scary bees), but I think I understand well enough that it’s not advisable to keep them tarsiers for attractions. Tarsiers are very shy, nocturnal animals and displaying them for tourists during daytime is quite stressful for them. I appreciate the caretakers strictly imposing their no loud noises, no flash, and no touch rules. But still, I can't help but feel sorry for these tiny loves. 

These tiny creatures draw lots of tourists in Bohol.

We planned to go back to Tagbilaran after the tarsiers. But Kuya Toper had been suggesting to see the ‘giant python‘ all day long. So we all decided to go to the nearby town of Alburqueque (Albur for short) and see it, just to humor our trusty driver.

Weng with Prony, the 27-ft long star of Alburqueque. Some say he is the largest python in captivity in the world, but these claims have yet to be proven.

Before heading back to Tagbilaran, we stopped by another nearby town, Baclayon to 1) drop by this bakery at the back of Baclayon Church for the best broas in town and some tablea chocolates (yum!) 2) to drive by Cesar Montano’s house (haha) and 3) to visit the final, and I’d have to say one of the best, attraction that day- The Baclayon Church.

Baclayon Church (Church of the Immaculate Concepcion) is the oldest church in Visayas, and if I’m not mistaken, the 2nd oldest in the country.  Some say it’s the oldest standing stone church in the Philippines and not San Agustin Church.  I think that’s still under debate.  Either way, the church is a beauty.

Baclayon Church built in 1727 by the Jesuits. 

The first Spanish missionaries in the region settled in Baclayon in 1595. 

Baclayon Church interior. 

Tourist flocking the church. 

It’s really commendable how even with tons of tourists visiting this church, they still mange to keep it clean and sacred. Silence is strictly observed inside, not to mention proper dress code. So for us clad in short shorts, we were asked to wear these long, wrap around skirts while in the Church.

Beside the Church is the Baclayon Museum, unfortunately cameras aren’t allowed camera. Everything there is centuries-old so they’re pretty sensitive to light. The museum houses all the old church stuff- closets and glass cases of priests' robes and jewelries, manuscripts, chalice, bibles dated in the 16th century, giant musical instruments, confession booths and loads of other creepy, religious stuff. The museum gives you this eerie feel, as if the place has a life of its own.  It’s like scenes from Noli and Fili just flash before you- homilies cursing indios and requiring indulgencias, prayles with their lavish lifestyle, and Maria Clara jumping off the convent tower.  It was a real creepy but interesting experience altogether. Visit to the Baclayon Church is a must in Bohol.

With Weng and Karla by the Baclayon Museum entrance. It's no cameras allowed beyond this point. 

I was knocked out when we got to our hotel at around 6pm, so I didn’t know what they had for dinner.  But I was glad I dozed off early, needed all the energy for our extreme adventure the next day.

Next stop: DANAO. :)

Roanni