chocolate hills, tarsiers and having the greatest vacation of all time...

After 6 loooong months of waiting, our Bohol trip finally happened! There were a few bumps during the wait but nevertheless it was still one amazing experience.

Day 1:
2 Hours before riding the plane, I confirmed my reservation in Alona Kew. That's how unplanned this trip was. Yes, we knew 6 months before that we are going to Bohol but we didn't make any reservations months before the trip. Pretty brave eh!

Going there was a breeze, it was scorching hot in Manila so we expected the same sunlight upon arrival in Bohol. Much to our surprise/dismay, it was cloudy and drizzling in that part of the island. The 30-minute ride to Panglao Island was great, we can already see the wonderful waters of Bohol. We didn't get to do much on this first day but to explore the place.. find budget resto, gimik place and the like.

Bohol is a place conducive for couples and lovers. It's so peaceful that you will really get to have quality time with your loved one. Prior to the trip, some people were tellling us that it's kinda boring if you'd go with your friends since there's no night life there. All I can say is, I was with the best company. There was never a time that we got bored during our stay.

Day 2: Island Tour

I was pretty excited with the countryside tour. I'd finally get to see the chocolate hills and the tarsier! Kuya Gary, our driver and tour guide, told us some pretty interesting things about Bohol. Here are some:

• the blood compact "shrine" is not where the real event happened, historians made a study and found out that it happened on the other town of Bohol. I forgot what town it is.
• Cesar Montano proposed in the watchtower near the Baclayon church with the Loboc children's choir singing for Sunshine. Awww.. our expectations for our own proposals just got a notch higher.
• Tarsier foreplay lasts for 3 months which involves chasing each other from one branch to another... and the main part lasts for only 3 seconds. O please, please.. don't let me be a tarsier in my next life. hahaha
• underneath the chocolate hills are coral stones

The chocolate hills did not disappointment me at all. I can stare at it for hours and I won't mind. It was still cloudy and raining that day though so we can't see the other 1,000++ hills. The man-made forest is amazing! We didn't get to take a picture of it because it was raining really hard that time. Next stop was the hanging bridge. With rain and slippery bamboo, crossing the darn bridge proved to be a real challenge.

It was past lunchtime when we got to the tarsiers. I was expecting to enter a forest and see the tarsier from there but the place where the captive tarsiers were located are far from what I expected. They were just hanging by a plant! Anyway, the tarsiers are sooo cute eventhough I was afraid to stick my face right beside them as it might jump on my head. :p

After the tarsier experience we boarded the floating restaurant for the loboc river cruise! The food was not that great but the view and the whole experience of the cruise was well worth the buffet fee we paid for. There was even a mini-falls on one part of the river. We got lucky with our raft as it's the happiest raft in the river. The band that was playing is good. They played a lot of oldies-but-goodies songs which made us dance a little. Everybody in that cruise had fun!!!

Next stop was the Baclayon church and the watchtower. Baclayon church is really old. There were artifacts that are more than 2 centuries old! And they were able to preserve it that long. We then went to the watchtower where Cesar proposed to Sunshine... took lots of pictures from Kharol's phone cam and then went back to the resort.

Our second day is tiring but it was so much fun! Hopefully when we come back, we'd be able to see the chocolate hills again, hopefully with no mint flavor that time. :P

Day 3: The day our second life began

Day 3 was reserved for the island hopping experience. Sunny but super windy day resulted to a death-defying boat ride. I swore I've never been that scared my whole life. My heart was pumping with every wave. Even our 11-year friendship was on the line on that thrilling boat ride. When we got to the Virgin island, I guess the near death experience was worth it. hehe.. The waters are soooo clear! I swear, my fear with the sun was overpowered by my longing to swim in the clear water. I've never seen such beach in my whole life. The name speaks for itself, it is virgin and pure in it's truest sense of the word. After that, we went snorkeling before proceeding to Doljo beach where Ananyana is located. Ananyana is actually the 5th best spa place in the whole world. That is according to their website. =) The waters are so calm and peaceful when we got there, it was tempting to just sleep in the hammock all day. We went back to Alona beach using a different mode of transpo as we're too damn scared to brave the fierce waters again. We rode a trike on our way back. Talk about adventure!

That night, since it was our last night, we drank like crazy! Gulping a whole pitcher of alcohol in just 20 minutes. When I lied down, it was like I was knocked down by aneasthesia. I just woke up the next morning trying to recall what happened. =)

Day 4:

This was our last day and we went out to the beach, all bright and sunny... with smaller waves this time. The beach is really amazing. Words can't even begin to describe how beautiful the place is. We took lots of pictures.. no.. make that TONS of pictures. We managed to take a little less than 900 pictures in just 4 days! We took pictures from sariling-sikap shots to friendster-primary-photo shots.

As we head back to our cottage, I marvelled at this amazing beach one more time. Just by staring at the sea made all the 6 months of waiting worth it!

I wouldn't mind going back to Bohol. It's officially one of my favorite places now... if not my most favorite. =)