Bohol is an island I’ve been wanting to go to for over a year. Last year I had planned to go with my ex-girlfriend, everything was booked, but a week before we were supposed to go, her school told her she had to work. The trip was canceled. Naturally, I had to include it in my vacation plans for the Philippines.
Bohol is an island less traveled. It’s eclipsed by its neighboring islands and the extremely popular tourist destination of Cebu. For those that do find their way to Bohol, it’s usually only to spend a night to visit the Chocolate Hills and the Tarsiers. For me, it’s an island and any island has things worth exploring. My plan was to spend a week there: two nights on Panglao island, the westernmost part of Bohol, two nights in Loboc, the southern center area and two nights in Anda, the easternmost part and then one night in the city of Tagbilaran on the western side to catch the ferry the next day.
Panglao
It’s not the most beautiful island in the Philippines, but it’s where the airport is when flying into Bohol. My flight arrived around 9pm so that was one night and then I gave myself a day to explore it. My successfully completed goal was to drive the circumference of the island. In the morning I stopped at a beach on the southern side called Dumaluan. Dumaluan is what I imagined the beaches of El Nido would look like, long wide stretches of white sandy beach. When I got there Filipino families were arriving, getting ready to enjoy their Sunday. Other travelers might be annoyed at the inability to find a quiet place free of people, but for me seeing “the locals” live their life as they live it, is to catch a glimpse into their everydayness.
After lunch, as I made my journey around the northern part of the island I stopped at a cave. For some reason the entry was free, but because the entry was free and you didn’t have a ticket you weren’t allowed to swim. You could take pictures, but nobody was allowed in the water. It was like being inside a sauna, jumping in would have been a welcome reprieve. After a couple of minutes in the sauna, I wandered to the ocean only a two-minute walk away. There wasn’t a beach, the cement road stopped at the water’s edge, but there were three little girls playing. A few minutes later their dad came out of the water with some mollusks he’d grabbed off the ocean floor. He showed me how to eat a sea urchin: you crack the shell, take out the inside and use your finger to scrape the thin yellow edible part lining the walls in four or five areas. I declined the offer to try some, but the youngest of his girls excitedly waited to eat some. Before leaving I asked if I could take a picture of them and he happily said yes. I’m still waiting for him to accept my friend request so I can send him the pictures. From there, I continued my journey around the island and back to my hostel.
Loboc
Loboc is a village slightly away from the coast and acts as the gateway to the chocolate hills. It’s also famous for the beautiful turquoise river that runs through it. The main square with its town hall is almost the entirety of the village. There are two restaurants, a brick-oven pizza place and a traditional Filipino restaurant where you choose your food by pointing at it and a karaoke place pushed back from the road. One night while eating at the pizza place, I met a Spanish couple and a Polish girl and we went and sang some songs. The town wasn’t touristy, it was a nice change from the beach-side towns.
The Chocolate Hills
The Chocolate Hills are called so not because they produce chocolate, unfortunately, but because the green grass they’re covered in turns brown during the dry season. For me, they were still green. I almost didn’t get to see them because when I arrived at 6:40 am they were covered in clouds. As I was parking my motorcycle a German tourist lacking patience was leaving. It took about an hour but the clouds did dissipate. Waiting wasn’t bad as it allowed me to take some fantastic pictures of a Filipino couple taking wedding photos and to chat with the photographers. The German guy missed out on an amazing opportunity.
The plunge
The Plunge Bohol is a canyon swing located in Danao Adventure Park. It is mounted over a 200-meter high and 300-meter wide gorge. The swing itself calls for you to free fall for about 45 meters before being launched into a pendulum swing, 100 meters wide. I hadn’t planned on doing this but I had nothing to do for the rest of the day. When I got there, I wanted to see what it looked like before paying. At the platform, the three workers were on their phone and they hardly glanced at me. I didn’t get good vibes, but for $15 and potentially my life on the line, I thought, “why not?”
Once they put the harness on I felt a lot better, it was sturdy. Then I walked out to a suspension bridge-like platform that wobbled in the wind. I sat down cross-legged at the edge and the guy lowered the gate from beneath me leaving me dangling as if I was about to do a zip line. He counted down “3…2….1….” and… his timing was off because after one I was still hanging for a second and then I thought I was going to die. My stomach was in my mouth, I couldn’t breathe and it felt like I was choking until the line caught and I swung out. In the video, my sister asked me why it sounded like a demon was coming out of my mouth. It does, I couldn’t breathe during the free fall! When I got back to the top there was a guy from New Jersey and a Filipino couple trying to psych themselves into doing it, but watching me made them even more scared.
The Tarsiers
The tarsiers are the world’s smallest primates and are just about as useless as the sloth, maybe even more so. I say that with kindness toward the sloth because they’re my favorite animal. Tarsiers are so fragile they become traumatized by loud noise and touching, which could lead them to commit suicide. I went to a sanctuary, they were free of cages and lived freely in the protected area. You weren’t allowed to walk through unless you had a guide and you had to be quiet. Your camera couldn’t have the flash on or make any sound. It wasn’t a zoo and the sanctuary did a good job of making sure they were protected and undisturbed.
Anda
Anda is the easternmost point of Bohol and is known for its white sandy beaches. I rented a scooter and explored it for two days. I met an awesome Spanish couple that would be my savior at one of the caves. Meeting them saved me because the hostel I was staying in only had French guests. In my dorm of 12, I was the only non-French person. I’ve never experienced anything like it. It’s owned by a French guy and seemed like only French people went there. If you’ve ever traveled you’d know that generally, French people don’t like speaking English and if you have a group of them they’ll only speak in French, leaving everyone who doesn’t speak it out. The beaches of Anda were beautiful, with the most beautiful being the one at my hostel. It was free of people, had the cleanest sand and an amazing view at sunset.
Seven nights in Bohol and not a single problem. It’s more than most people allot for the island, but after my failed trip last year, I needed to give it its time. Plus, if you try to fit too many places in a short amount of time you don’t get to really see a place and I wanted to fully see Bohol.
I can’t believe you had to cancel your trip one week prior because work was like, too bad so sad! What the f?! (KOREA!!!!!) Anyhoo… As always, love the shade you throw. And oh my goodness the tarsiers are adorable!!!
No shade! It’s just the truth of what happened and an important part of setting of the trip this time around. I think planet earth did a thing on the tarsiers hunting at night!