Bohol - Day 2

taken from the front seat of the van

The lovely sun greeted us on our second day as we explored the city after breakfast. First, we went to the Blood Compact Shrine, where Datu Sikatuna, a native Boholano chieftain, forged a Blood Compact with Don Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, representing the King of Spain, for the purpose of fostering friendly relations between the two countries.  The shrine is a very well - known landmark in Bohol and it is included in every tour guide's itinerary.

 

Miss Switzerland wannabe :))

At the rear part of the shrine, you will be able to see the panoramic view of Panglao Island. Didn't have a good lens to take a picture of it so you better come and see for yourself. :)

Our next stop was the Chocolate Hills located in Carmen, Bohol. Below is a short description for you guys.

"The Chocolate Hills are probably Bohol's most famous tourist attraction. They look like giant mole hills, or as some say, women's breasts, and remind us of the hills in a small child's drawing. Most people who first see pictures of this landscape can hardly believe that these hills are not a man-made artifact. However, this idea is quickly abandoned, as the effort would surely surpass the construction of the pyramids in Egypt. The chocolate hills consist of are no less than 1268 hills (some claim this to be the exact number). They are very uniform in shape and mostly between 30 and 50 meters high. They are covered with grass, which, at the end of the dry season, turns chocolate brown. From this color, the hills derive their name. At other times, the hills are green, and the association may be a bit difficult to make."

                                                                                                        - http://www.bohol.ph

You will need to climb your way to the viewing deck through these stairs which will give your heart its much needed workout.

to the top baby!

view from the top - you are actually in one of the hills

Cam-whoring cannot be avoided in this kind of view. Even under the heat of the scorching sun, we still managed to smile and squeeze ourselves in the group just for a shot.

parekoy and me

There are photographers in the area who can take group shots of you while jumping on a broomstick and print it right on that same minute so you can bring it home for a minimal fee. Here's a failed attempt of Julia, Kc, Mena and Cacai:

And here's my favorite group shot, of course it has to be bigger :)

After the hills, we went to Butterfly Farm. The farm is part of the Sagbayan Peak, a nice, pleasant mountain resort. Sagbayan is about an hour ride from Tagbilaran City but its on the same course from  the Chocolate Hills. Entrance fee of P30 is required for the guided and detailed tour about different species of butterflies, how they evolve and how to differentiate the male and the female. In this tour, they use real and preserved butterflies and not drawings like what you see in your Grade 3 Science book. They will even let you touch the caterpillars which aren't itchy at all.

start of the tour

 

the boss and our moms

 

There is like a an area where you can rest after the tour of the garden where you can see a large hammock and some cottages where you can eat if you opt to have lunch there. But we just used the place for more cam whoring.

yes, we love to jump!

One thing you shouldn't miss when visiting the farm is their avocado ice candy, too bad it was out of stock when we came so we just enjoyed other variants but I can only remember Mango and Durian as of now. The next place in our itinerary was the Man Made Forest. This is the reason why I fell in love with Bohol when we first went there. I wanted my own tree house in the middle of those trees haha! There's nothing else you can do here other than appreciating the beauty of the landscape and taking pictures. But you need to be careful because it's a part of the national high way where vehicles are speeding their way to their next destination. For more information about the forest please click here.

We were all famished at that time so we went to Loboc for its floating restaurant.  You pay an entrance fee of P400 for a buffet lunch and one drink. Each floating restaurant has its own comfort room and wash area but unlike last year, food was blah. There was this dish made of shrimps and squid and the squid was like rubber that you just can't chew at it at all. The pakbet's string beans and squash are raw. Dunno why but  I think our tour guide chose a very lame restaurant. We just ate a lot of barbecue and adobo because that's the only thing that is edible enough and enjoyed the ride while singing to a lot of mainstream songs and of course, cam whoring.

that is one of the floating restaurants

 

 

The whole ride takes about an hour to an hour and a half. Breeze was cool, everybody's mood was jolly and the singers on board are really good. There will be an area where the boat will stop at a dock where you will be able to see locals perform cultural songs and dances. They also sell honey and you can help them by donating. You are even free to join the tinikling dance! Mamu, Kc and I dared and after a few tries, I was the one who nailed it. :)

Here's a video clip of us so you can see and hear the real thing.

she doesn't want to leave the dance floor :))

Its not typical for me to go and do this in front of an audience but what the heck, its fun! Was too shy to do it the last time we were there so I thought why not now? :D

Moving on, at the end of the cruise, you will see a small waterfall but the boats don't go near them because the water there is too shallow. So we made a u-turn and headed back.

It was around 2pm when we left the boat and proceeded to the Tarsiers. There is no entrance fee in this place but you can donate. Taking pictures of the tarsier is free but make sure you don't use your camera flash.

 

Our next and last stop was the Baclayon Church located in Baclayon, Bohol.

"The Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in Baclayon is considered to be one of the oldest churches in the Philippines. It is one of the best preserved Jesuit build churches in the region, although in the 19th century, the Augustinian Recollects added a modern facade and a number of stone buildings that now surround the church.

The first Spanish missionaries or doctrineros in the region, Fr. Juan de Torres and Fr. Gabriel Sanchez, first settled in Baclayon in 1595. Shortly after their arrival, a visita was erected on the spot."

                                                                                                                               - www.bohol.ph

The church has a museum where you can see really old stuff. But you are required to be dressed properly in order to enter the vicinity because its a holy place. Only half of the group entered the church so we don't have pictures. Across the church is a lighthouse and a fisherman's wharf.

After the long day of laughing, walking, bickering at the van, eating and non-stop talking we finally called it a day. We passed by the Island City Mall for some supplies and my mom decided that she'll cook pansit and Pollo ala Jillio for dinner to make my birthday "salubong" a little special.

Back at the resort at around 6PM while some are taking their showers, Ken and I started prepping the needed ingredients for the dishes and by 8PM we haven't had anything in our stomachs except coffee and biscuits. My mom used the resort's kitchen to cook and Mang Ed was kind enough not to charge us for that. So after I took a bath, the food was ready and the boss told me that his Ipod was missing and we started to look around the room and just learned later on that it was on his pocket. (yes, his pocket!) I was really starving by that time already and I'm really wondering why we aren't having dinner yet when the food is already served at the table. I was told that Johnna and Marc left for some sanitary napkin emergency so I said that we should all eat ahead and not wait for them. This is what we had for dinner:

Pollo ala Jillio (chicken in garlic and beer)

the resort's grilled squid w/c we didn't eat at all bec it was too gummy

seaweed salad

Mamu's Special Pansit

By the time we finished eating, Johnna and Marc arrived and went to the kitchen. I wasn't noticing anything since I was busy chit chatting w/ everyone and much to my surprise, Johnna was already walking towards me with my birthday cake! So everybody sang and I was lost for words! I didn't smelled that they were up to something! Hahaha! I so love my friends! So the real reason why Johnna and Marc weren't there was because they went to the other resort and picked up the cake they  have personally requested the resort's baker to make! (they went to the resort while we were walking the other night from Bohol Beach Club) it was still hot off the oven! This is the first time someone pulled such efforts for me and I just can't believe my eyes. Marc managed to film everything in his camera, sorry for the poor lighting because the resort's restaurant was already closed.

Here are some pictures:

while asking them how they were able to get a cake in an island

kilig!

was so happy that night :)

What made it all so fun is even my mom and my bf's mom didn't leaked anything! It feels like a group of high school kids planned some kind of secret mission and everyone is an accomplice. Thank you very much guys! We ended the night with this:

Best birthday so far, unexpected and I felt super blessed. We all slept at around 11pm because we still had an early morning the next day for our island hopping and dolphin watching activity.

PS: sorry for the different exposures of the photos because they all came from 3 different cameras :)