Wanderlust Diary

This is one of the natural wonders of Philippines that fascinated me. When I was studying Social Studies in Grade school, I used to dream about seeing this and wonder if it really does look like chocolates. That name itself sounds delicious! Chocolate Hills is one of the wonders of the Bohol. Well, it did shocked me that I can also see other nice sights around.

I’ve been here twice, though I toured the place twice, it’s good to see that it didn’t change at all (well, it was just 1 year apart anyway).

The first visit with my friends, we stayed at Panglao Island resort which is actually good, peaceful but quite secluded. The second visit with my family, we stayed at Amarela Resort which is also good and relaxing but a bit off track. You can actually try Alona Beach Resort or Bohol Beach Club which I heard has better beach front.

One should definitely rent a van (usually around PHP1500-2000/day) where the driver will bring you to the usual tourist spots. We visited some of the usual like this statue that signifies the bond of those first Spaniards who conquered Philippines and those local Datu (leaders). It’s actually called the Blood Compact Monument.

We also tried the boat ride along the famous river Loboc.. There’s this buffet lunch while you ride the boat along the river. It took around 30-40 minutes until you reach the end then go back. The food was so so but it was refreshing to ride the river on a cool day. It reminded me of the book Love in the Time of Cholera.

While we were brought around, we also passed by a man made forest which they call it, it’s quite serene looking at it..it was a long a mountain driveway. The driver told us it was not really natural but it did looked like one.

Visiting the Tarsiers is a must! Bohol is the only place I know features it. There are quite small, as long as my pointing finger. They seem to sleep a lot and hate being disturb. Such lazy animals, but I like it. They know how to relax!

The second time I visited Bohol with my family, I was also able to watch the dolphins which I love. We were suppose to wake up earlier but the boatman was late! I haven’t had a good night’s sleep that time because of a hectic flight. But it was wonderful that I saw the sunrise at the beach. I miss seeing how the sky changes colors upon dawn (or dusk).

Watching the dolphins swim around was great! They were with the usual school and you could catch a glimpse of the playful dolphins here and there. They wouldn’t come near the boat but will definitely swim nearby.

We visited the “Virgin” island and swam along the sand bar. Quite serene.

The other must see is the Bohol Bee Farm (great food there!).