Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Breathtaking Bohol Part 2 of 2

Breathtaking Bohol Part 1 (click here)
Beachfront Fun
At the southwest of Bohol is the island of Panglao which is the range of beaches and fun in the sea adventure.  The Panglao beachfront has fine white sands and crystal clear water that makes it one of the better beaches in the country.  It's surrounded by a chain of hotels and restaurants and is a gateway for those who wants to go on island hopping.  This is where we spent day 2 of our Bohol escapade.
Dolphin Watching
One of the more popular early morning activity in this part of the island is dolphin watching.  You get to see hundreds of dolphins swim in the open water.  You have to catch these dolphins early in the morning as it coincides with their feeding time and unlike the dolphins we watched at shows, these dolphins are a bit shy and would just prefer to just swim freely in the ocean waters.
Balicasag Island

Balicasag Island is a small island in Bohol and one of the best dive sites in the Philippines with its rich marine life.  We went snorkeling in this site and was amazed by the variety of fishes and corals. When you go through the wall which is the area between the shallow and the deep part, it just gets better as you see bigger fishes chunk away at the bread you feed them.
Puntod Island
The activity just shifted from island hopping to bar hopping as you get introduced to a very long sand bar in the island of Puntod (now called Virgin Island).  We also got to try out eating sea urchins with vinegar and a drink fresh buko juice.  It's also a visual delight to be stepping on the sand bars while being situated in the middle of the waters.
Bohol Beach Club
Next stop was Bohol Beach Club which was an excellent place to just chill and relax along the beachfront.  I took this opportunity to run in the beach front which was a bit difficult since you tend to sink in the soft sands and an even softer shoreline but it was fun.  I also took the opportunity to sleep in the 'duyan'.  I just love these 'duyan' moments.  We also took a dip in the pool before calling it a day.
Back in the City
We were then back to Tagbilaran where we were set to wrap up our tour.  We ate at Bojol which was nearby our hotel for a sumptuous chicken inasal meal and halo halo sa buko for dessert.  We were suppose to go to Mag-aso falls but it was raining hard in the morning so we deemed it was not safe to proceed.  We instead shifted to the remaining part of the city while awaiting our flight.
Butterfly Garden
It was interesting to note that in a butterfly's life cycle, it spends more time from egg to being a cocoon than being a butterfly.  They also had a part called the butterfly effect wherein you get to have a picture with butterfly wings on your back.
Python Encounter
Then there's also the part where you can be up close with an actual python.  I'm not a fan of cold blooded creatures but it was satisfying to seat beside such a big python.  They also had monkeys, iguanas, ostriches, bear cats, leopard cat and civets in this area.
Clarin Ancestral House
The house was built in the 1800s and belong to one of the more prominent families in Bohol.  It was nice to see antique items and discover a bit about the family that lived in this house.  There's also a coffee shop inside the house and quite ironic there's Wifi in this old house.
And there goes the whole trip
We were off Manila after taking in an early lunch armed with memories of visiting the finest places in Bohol and also looking forward to the places we have missed out.  Maybe Bohol Marathon is not a bad idea after all since the beach front image is still on my mind.

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