Philippines Part 2 – Bohol Island and Alona Beach (August 23-28)

Once I was dropped off at the Cebu airport, I was waiting for Teresa to arrive from Manila.  Unfortunately, waiting outside the Cebu airport for Teresa was not fun as I kept getting yelled at my lame security guards. First I was told I could not go inside to wait for her. Then I was told I couldn’t wait here or there and had to keep moving. It was annoying. I finally found a spot I was allowed to wait, and could get wifi so I could find out when she landed and see her at baggage claim. I sorta felt like a creeper stalking her but we were hoping to catch a ferry and I wanted to get her quickly, hop in a cab and get to the ferry terminal. So I would check her flight status (as she was late…) and send her text messages. When she arrived it was super great to see her. We grabbed her bags, got in a taxi and were off to the ferry terminal.

Philippine Ferry Drama

When we got to the ferry terminal, it was total chaos, and I was not expecting this. I have been to so many ferry terminals in the  For large ferries (like this one), you normally can come up, buy a ticket and get on. Unfortunately, we didn’t know this was a very busy Philippine holiday weekend and all the locals were trying to get out of town. So we got in the long line and learned the ferry we wanted was already sold out, so instead of being on the 11:45 ferry, we would be on the 2:00 ferry. No biggie, we could just grab lunch and chat.

After the long journey that Teresa had already been on to reach the Philippines, and my long trip from Malapascua Island, we decided to splurge and buy the Business Class ferry tickets. We weren’t sure what was really included in this ticket, but for the extra 200 PHP ($5 US) we got the nicer tickets. I only mention the business class seats as we did get a special nice, separated area upstairs on the ferry and the seats were plusher. There was also a movie showed. I was so tired, so I told Teresa I was going to put on my eye mask, ear plugs and go to sleep. I slept the entire 2 hour journey and woke up right when we arrived. As I woke up, I took off my eye mask and saw the craziest movie on the screen in front of us (and we were in the front row). Teresa watched the entire movie, said it was so bizarre and I had to take this photo which sums up the whole movie – this was a decapitated head, that was still talking…odd.

 

Bohol Island – Life on Alona Beach

So as I was first told it takes about a day to get between islands in the Philippines, this was tested and proved correct as it took me 11 hours to travel between 3 islands. I left Malapascua Island at 6am, arrived at the airport at Cebu Island to meet Teresa at 10am and we finally got to our hotel on the third island called Bohol around 5:00pm.   My transport method from hotel to hotel were: walking, boat, private car, taxi, ferry, taxi, walking. Yes, I know I could have made it faster if I didn’t have the airport pickup, but meeting Teresa was the most important part of the day!

Lazy Day on the Beach

Teresa and I decided to take a lazy day on the beach and just relax, chill and take in our new home.  As we were sitting in our lounge chairs, this little dog kept Teresa company under her chair all day.

At the end of the afternoon, we had one of the most spectacular sunsets ever… and we were so lucky to get a sunset like this almost every night we were there.  Sunset time became my favorite time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mango Rhum Shakes on Bohol Beach

Our first night at dinner, Teresa and I saw a sign that said “Rhum” and Coke for the equivalent of 25 cents. We couldn’t believe it was that cheap, but then when we saw a small bottle of this local Rhum in the store for $1.11, we understood. So we had a brilliant idea…we loved these mango shakes that are essentially the local drink in the Philippines but if you order them with the Rhum, they are much more expensive. Since we were having a great day on the beach, we decided to be a little ghetto and order the fruit drinks and then add our own Rhum that we bought at the store next door. So we were still have a grand old time on the beach for half the cost! Plus we had to sample the white Rhum and the darker (almost orange colored Rhum). Both were good, but the darker one changed the color of the mango shake to a funny pink, so we preferred the white when we could find it.

So this afternoon on the beach included mango daiquiris, hours in the ocean on our new floating toys, which we named Lilo and Lola and we had made some new friends from England to hang out with.

It was quite a fun afternoon so we all decided to go to dinner and then had a very late night drinking. We had amazing sunsets like these almost every night.  We wereTo the point that we closed down the bar, and still continued to drink as the corner store was open next to the bar and we were having a fun time. So I think we finally went to bed around 2:00am and I knew it was going to be a rough morning (as we had arranged for a private driver to take us out to see the best sights of the island the next day). So I knew we had to be up for that.

The good news is…we all made it. Teresa and I asked Matt if he wanted to join us as all his other friends/coworkers had to return to Cebu for work, but he had taken the week off and was staying on the island. Since we all had a fun couple days, he thought it would be fun to share the driver and get out and see the island. So the three of us with off for the day.

Chocolate Hills

We were first off to see The Chocolate Hills. This is one of the most well known sights in Bohol and was about an hour drive from the beach. The Chocolate Hills are a geological formation and I read there are at least 1,260 hills (but there may be as many as 1,776 hills spread over 20 square miles). The hills are very uniform in shape and mostly between 30 and 50 meters (90-150 feet) high. The hills are covered in green grass that turns brown (like chocolate) during the dry season, hence why they are called the Chocolate Hills.

 

When we climbed to the top of the stairs to the viewing area, it was quite a site to see so many of these hills. Matt and I started to walk around and take some more photos, but Teresa just wanted to sit down for a moment, and then lay down. What was funny about this, is Teresa didn’t realize she laid down in one of the best spot to take photos. When I turned around, I noticed other tourists just started moving around her to take photos and then Matt was taking a photo of me and realized standing right over Teresa was the best spot to get the photo. So we had a few fun photos with “Teresa down” and she kept saying it was such a relaxing spot as it was on a slight slope.

All in all, The Chocolate Hills were pretty amazing to see from the viewing area and also driving up. We were there at a time of the year when some of the hills were green and some were starting to turn brown, so glad we made the journey.

 

Tarsiers – Think Gizmo from the Gremlins

Our next stop was at a special Tarsiers breeding center.   The Tarsier is a tiny little animal, think about Gizmo from the movie the Gremlins. The Tarsier is one of the smallest known primates, no larger than a man’s hand yet the eyes are huge and are actually larger than its stomach. I guess the saying your eyes are larger than your stomach is actually true for this animal!

The Tarsier species are now considered an endangered species and the Philippines is one of the few places that has had success in breeding the Tarsiers. We went to a special breeding center and were told how to behave to not stress out the Tarsiers as they easily get stressed and will commit suicide…yes suicide!

I had never heard of an animal committing suicide, but we were told the Tarsier is often shy and nervous. There are many activities associated with captivity (such as camera flashes, being touched, and being kept in an small enclosure) that will stress the animal out. These stresses will lead to the Tarsier to start hitting its head against hard objects repeatedly until it kills itself (as it has a very thin skull).

 

So the breeding center we went to was a very large natural reserve and everyone visiting was very respectful of the animals plus there were many workers there to monitor the visitors and ensure the safety of the Tarsiers. What was interesting, is the Tarsiers will return to the same spot every morning after the nocturnal activity, so the workers knew where all the Tarsiers were hanging out and could ensure their safety.

The Tarsiers were so cute we wanted to become Tarsiers too!

 

River Cruise – with Dreadful Music

We had heard about taking a river cruise on the green river for lunch as it was supposedly a really nice hour long trip along the river. Matt’s friend Eddie had just gone on this trip and said the river cruise was really great and worth going. Eddie never mentioned the entertainment of the cruise…

We expected the food to be bad, as it was going to be a buffet lunch on a boat for a lot of people. We were ok with this as we were really going for the scenery and the river journey.   The scenery was beautiful and that was the best part!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So when we got our tickets, boarded the boat and realized we were almost the last ones for this boat as it was full…we knew we were in for a rough ride. At the front of the open air boat, there was a small music ensemble and the singer was singing some love song and it was so loud we could barely hear our host tell us where to sit. Then they sat us right under a loud speaker (in case the music wasn’t loud enough). We asked to sit at another empty table and they told us it was reserved – which we later learned was a lie as no one else got on – but they wanted to keep in open in case a large group came).

Anyhoo…the music got worse and worse and for an hour, we were treated to horrible love songs (and I mean they were really….really bad songs that were sung so poorly and this was during the lunch hour). I mean come on, this wasn’t a romantic river cruise and it took away from the beautiful environment. So Matt and I started to drink beer to deal with the music and dull the pain. As you can see in this photo…Teresa was about to hang herself as the music was just painful!

 

Tourist Trap Island

Half way through the river cruise, we stopped at what I call “Tourist Trap Island”. This is where we were told to get off for 10 minutes to experience the local island living. I was a little suspicious when I saw the “locals” with baby alligators on leases and snakes around their necks. All these locals were willing to let you pet or hold their pets for a tip. Then there were more “locals” dressed in traditional attire that would allow you to dress in local attire, take a photo with them and there was this fire breathing man. I was watching this fire breathing man as he would essentially drink some sort of alcohol, start to blow it out and light it on fire. So many people were impressed by this and when I was watching the guy do this over and over again, I was laughing at how bored he looked.

I found this tourist trap too funny as everyone was looking for tips including little kids (as I’m sure the parents told them to do this). I even saw this little girl holding a puppy in one hand and local money in the other hand (to let you know she wanted a tip). When we were getting ready to leave (as we were the last boat of the afternoon), I saw he unclip her ponytail extensions and I just started to laugh. They added those extensions to make her look cuter. I found this more of a funny island experience as there was nothing traditional about it, but Teresa did enjoy this little puppy for the visit.

I’m so glad we hired the driver for the day as it was the best way to leave the beach and get out and see the best parts of the island on our time. None of us wanted to do the pre-packaged tours or be stuck on a bus or set schedule so this was really great and $55 for the day (or $18 each).

Private Boat Trip to Balicasag Island

We had one last excursion we wanted to do…a full day island hopping day. So we asked our driver if he also did island hopping trips. He said he didn’t, but he’s cousins did, and he could arrange that for the next day. So once again, we were all set and the three of us were going to go out.   Our plan was to visit two islands and have lunch on one of the islands.

Dolphin Encounter

We had the option to go on a dolphin tour as there was a high probability a seeing wild dolphins, but all the boats go out at 6am to see the dolphins. We all decided we wanted out sleep and didn’t need to see dolphins that badly at that early hour.

So when we left at 10am and started our hour sailing out to Balicasag Island, we were so lucky to come across a pod of wild dolphins. There were about 15 dolphins and we were able to stop and enjoy them all around our boat for about 10 minutes which was very fun.

Snorkeling at Balicasag Island

Once we arrived at Balicasag Island, we transferred to a smaller boat and a local man had to paddle us out to the marine park area where we were allowed to snorkel.

Once we were out there, the water was so clear and blue and the fish were large and colorful. It was a really nice snorkel spot. I laugh at this photo as it almost looks like Matt was catching out fish lunch, but he was just surrounded by a school of fish. Later on, he saw something shiny at the bottom of the reef and when he dove down, he came up and had an American quarter. He joked that as an English guy, working in the Philippines and snorkeling with two American girls…he was the one that found the American sunken treasure and he kept the quarter as a souvenir.

Island Lunch

Once back to the main part of the island, we selected our fresh seafood lunch and they cooked it up for us. So fresh fish, shrimp and some local Philippines sausage and we were set. We planned ahead and brought a cooler of beers (and glad we did as they didn’t sell any here). It was the most tranquil and fun lunch as we chilled on the beach with this local family watching mom cook on the gill as grandpa took care of the baby and the young kids ran around and our boat guys relaxing in hammocks nearby.

Local Phillippine Beer 

While waiting for our lunch to cook, I decided to take my underwater  camera and beer to get my Philippine local beer photo as I can’t imagine a more pristine location for this traditional shot.  Figured with my waterproof camera, I can be a little more daring with the waves.  So I started to set my photo, dealt with some waves, moved my beer closer and closer and took a few more shots and then watched a wave come in, and slowly topple my beer as I was shooting.  So this is the first photo that is a tri-photo but I found it funny with the upright, falling and fallen beer.  A little sea water got into this beer, but that’s ok – a little salt didn’t hurt and I still drank the beer and got a fun photo!  So here’s the Philippines San Miguel (Light) Beer.

 

 

Crystal Clear Blue Water – Ahhhhhh

As the water was so beautiful, we had to spend some time at in the water at Balicasag island before we moved on. We brought out rafts, Lilo and Lolo and spent some time floating. It really couldn’t have been any better…We knew we had to stay at this island until about 2pm as the next island we were going to was still “under water”. Yes, the next island only appeared when the tide went out around 3pm…so we had to wait until the right time in the afternoon until we could get there and see the sandbar. That’s kinda cool and so we relaxed on Balicasag until it was time to leave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Virgin Beach

The final stop of the day was at the Virgin Beach. This was a small island with a hidden “S” shaped sandbar. The sandbar is below the water most of the time, but around 2 or 3pm (in August at least), the tide is low enough that the sandbar appears a little and you can walk part way in the water and part way on the sand. The white sand was beautiful and the water was very clear.

We enjoyed out time and felt like we were walking out in the middle of the ocean as there was nothing else around.

 

At one point, it felt like we were jumping above the ocean.

 

On the way back to the main island, the water was so shallow, our co captain had to stand on the bow of the boat to direct the driver as the water was only inches deep and it would have been too easy to run over the reef or run into something larger.

Last night on Bohol

After a very fun five days in Bohol, Teresa, Matt and I had time for one last dinner and even got some fire dancers on the beach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also had one last night at our favorite bar and of course many mango dacquiries with our favorite bartenders. We finally asked the bartenders for the recipe of exactly what they use to make these drinks. When we realized how much sugar they use, we started to order them differently without the sugar and without the milk and preferred them more (with less calories). So we closed the bar down once more and were set to leave in the morning.  The three of us had so much fun over the past couple of days.   This is definitely a place I would love to return to and do some scuba diving (as I never did any on this island but Matt did and said it was very good).

Philippine National Promotional  Video:

While we were in Bohol, we were asked if we saw the National Philippines video and we hadn’t.   People said it was really good and we had to look it up…so I did and loved it. After watching it, and visiting the Philippines for three weeks, it makes me want to go back and see more islands. If you have a few minutes, this is worth watching:

National “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” Video  – (or paste https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADNgEHFDYzo

 

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Logistics:

Hotels:

1. Hayahay – This is where we stayed and we got a low season rate of about $45 per night. The hotel was a very simple, but nice and clean hotel with A/C, wifi, private bath and was the most important – it was in the perfect location right on the beach right by all the restaurants and bars. Couldn’t ask for a better location and play to stay.   It was more affordable than the hotel next door (which we really liked). If I returned and was on a budget, I would stay here for sure. If I was coming back and wanted to spend more, I’d stay at Alona Vida. If I was returning and wanting to spend a lot more and have a pristine beach…I would stay on the other side of the beach (as there were really nice hotels, but there were $100+ a night in the low season).

http://hayahayresort.com

2. Alona Vida Beach Resort – This is where the friends we met stayed and where I would stay if I wasn’t on a budget like I was on this longer 3 month trip. This place was nicer, had a pool and the restaurant/bar was our main hangout. I believe the rooms were about $70 a night.   There currently is no website to link, but you can book on bookings.com or agoda.com

Fast Ferries from Cebu Island

It’s about a 20-40 minute taxi ride from the airport to the ferry area (pending traffic). These are the 3 fast ferry companies and it should take 2 hours on the ferry to Bohol. Be away of the time and ferry company so you get to the right pier. Once you get to Bohol, you need to take a taxi to Alona Beach which is about another 30 minute ride (we did a taxi and not an open air tricycle – and we were glad as it was a long ride after all the transit we did that day). The Air Con was much needed plus our bags would not have fitted in the tricycle.

1. Weesam Express (Pier 4) – www.zimnet.com/weesam/php/booking.php

2. Supercat (Pier 4) – www.supercat.com.ph

3. Oceanjet (Pier 1) – www.oceanjet.net