Part 14 of the Libotero Bohol Series

DAY 3.

While stargazing, we took another swim! We just couldn’t get enough of the beach! It was almost midnight when we felt exhausted and so we immediately returned to the guesthouse and called it a day.. Before I closed my eyes, I set the alarm to 5:10am so I could wake up and catch the sunrise which I failed to do the previous day.. ZzzzzzZzz.

DAY 3.

5:10am. My cellphone started to ring and since I’m very sensitive to sound, I was awaken instantly. While everyone else was still asleep, I grabbed my camera and ran down the stairs, and went outside. It was still so dark then,.. so I just sat on the sand by the beach and allowed myself to sink in the moment.

I took the first photo on 5:22am and I’ll be posting some photos from before-sunrise to after-sunrise because I believe that words are not enough to describe the beauty of a sunrise so I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

5:22am.

5:25am.

Breathtaking pre-sunrise hues!

5:29am.

I can’t get enough of the blue and purple hues warring it over

Dreamy

5:33am. The sun’s about to rise!

5:34am. Can’t freakin’ wait!

5:37am. Slowly but surely.

5:40am. Finally!

Hello sunshine!

The skies are starting to clear up, making way for the sun! Surreal!

Waves rush to the shore as high tide approaches

5:48am. Brighter!

5:50am. The sun’s totally out!

5:52am. The tide’s getting higher and I had to move backward from where I was sitting else I’d get wet

5:56am. And the tide got even higher! Oh my! Don’t tell me it’s going to eat up all the sand on its peak tide

6am. A long day awaits you, Dear Sunshine!

6:05am. As the sun continued to ascend, the surroundings have brightened up as well.

Phew! I spent almost an hour waiting for that sunrise and it did not disappoint. Waking up early, ahead of everyone else was totally worth it! The saying “the early bird catches the worm” is very much true as such astonishing and eye-opening radiant scenes made me realize that once in a while, we need and we deserve a break from our ever-busy lifestyles. So, are you stressed out by the hustle and bustle of urban living? Get out early and catch a sunrise, breathe some fresh air and get enlivened, even just for a short moment. =)

BONUS: Here’s a 360 degree panorama I took at 5:47am. Looks kinda weird but I’ll share it anyway.

(…to be continued)

Part 13 of the Libotero Bohol Series

DAY 2.

As we got out of the Hinagdanan Cave, it started to get dark already and so we began to think about dinner. And then my mind started blurting out, “ALONA BEACH! ALONA BEACH! Sunset! Stars!”… Hahaha.. But where else could we possibly eat dinner anyway? Fastfood? No way! So Alona Beach it was! As soon as we arrived, I let my parents take care of the food orders while I ran to the beach, appreciated and enjoyed the scenery and took photos…

Alona Beach in Panglao Island is Bohol’s most developed beach. It is popular for its fine white sand that stretches for at least a kilometer.

Get that perfect sunset massage by the sand in Alona Beach!

Lowtide!

Crystal-clear waters

Tall and swaying coconut trees!

The sunset crowd!

Post-sunset skies! Breath-takingl!

Poseidon, god of the sea, must be a lucky sea-vessel LOL

As the skies became darker…

and darker…

and darker… tens of white outrigger boats that were used for a whole day of island hopping and diving, lined the beach, waiting for the sun to rise the next day.

As the night revealed itself, bonfires were lighted up all around the beach.. Lovely!

And as the night got deeper, I was mesmerized by the sight of too many stars! Never have I seen that many stars in my life! Only in Bohol I guess! Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are, up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky times 100000000000000000000!

Alona Beach is truly a gem! On daytime, it is an irresistible glittering pool. By sunset, one can witness a war of colors in the sky as shades of blue and red try to lord it over. And by night time, the beach instantly transforms into a dreamland… Before our trip to Bohol, I’ve always read about the Alona Beach being a perfect place for stargazing, but I’ve never thought it to be this perfect, more than perfect, ***kin’ perfect! Wish, upon a star!

(…to be continued)

Part 12 of the Libotero Bohol Series

DAY 2.

From Alburquerque, Bohol, we headed back to Panglao Island to our next destination, the Hinagdanan Cave.

The Hinagdanan Cave is the most popular of among more than a thousand caves scattered all throughout the province of Bohol. The main reason might be because it is the most accessible and easiest to navigate. Located in Barangay Bingag, Dauis, Bohol, the cave is very much accessible as it has a parking area just within the cave complex. If you don’t have your own vehicle however, tricycles from Tagbilaran can bring you to the intersection on the main highway and you will have to walk at least a kilometer to reach the cave.

The area immediately surrounding the Hinagdanan Cave has been developed to feature a flea market, tourist ‘pasalubong’ shops, a tourist assitance center and some food stalls.

It has a minimal entrance fee of P15.00 per head.

During our visit, we had to wait on a queue for a few minutes as the cave is relatively small and only 20-30 persons can be accommodated at a time. The Hoyop-Hoyopan Cave in Camalig, Albay is much, much larger.

The limestone cave’s centerpiece attraction is a lagoon. Prior to it becoming a tourist destination, locals already enjoyed the lagoon and made it into a swimming pool. Eventually, a set of stairs or “hagdan” made of concrete was built down a small hole at the side of the cave thus the name, Hinagdanan Cave.

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The swimming pool. (no tripod = blurred shot =( )

Numerous birds and bats reside inside the cave and where else will they excrete their dung? For that reason, swimming is not anymore advised.

The entrance to the cave is narrow, steep and has low vertical clearance. Only one person at a time can enter and exit. For that, we entered slowly and held the rounded steel bars which served as railings tight.

The steps were really slippery as they were wet due to energetic carefree kids going up and down to/from swimming in the ice cold waters of the lagoon.

Dad gamely posed for the camera

As we entered the cave, we really had to blink a lot to adjust with the lighting of the cave. It’s not at all dark though as lamps have been installed on strategic areas.

While exploring the cave, we were amazed by the stalactites and stalagmites and the amazing rock formations but we were very much disturbed by the awful smell of pee. Locals told us that the offensive smell might have been a mix of human urine plus bird and bat waste. LOL. But dear humans, please do not act like dogs! Hinagdanan Cave has well designated restrooms ‘ya know..

The cave is really small. We got to explore the whole cave, which was just about 100 meters long, for not more than 10 minutes. But on our way out, we did not fail to notice this…

What’s this?!

The Hinagdanan Cave has unfortunately been vandalized. Who in the right mind would do such thing? Such action is irreversible but the best thing we can do is to help in preventing such thing from happening again. Let us not degrade our caves as these are our only connections with the prehistoric past. This should also apply to caving: “Take nothing, but pictures. Leave nothing, but footprints. Waste nothing, but time. Bring nothing back, but memories.”

(…to be continued)

Part 11 of the Libotero Bohol Series

DAY 2.

After a cruise of the very green Loboc River, we proceeded to our next destination, the town of Alburquerque.

From Loboc, we drove back to the direction of Tagbilaran City. Alburquerque is a fifth class municipality and it is the 2nd town away from Tagbilaran on the eastern side.

Alburquerque, or more popularly known to locals as “Albur”, is one of the towns in Bohol that produces the best calamay, a sticky sweet delicacy made of coconut milk, sugar and ground glutinous rice.

Just recently though, the town is gaining popularity due to another attraction: a snake!

But it’s no ordinary snake as Prony, named after its captor Sofronio Salibay, is the biggest and longest python in captivity! Prony was only 5 kilos heavy and 5 feet long when she was captured in October 1996 but after almost fifteen years, she has grown exponentially and is now about 27 feet long and over 300 kilos heavy! Imagine that!

You must be wondering what Prony’s favorite food is… Mind you, Prony is one choosy snake! Give her two goats or one white pig, and they must be live during feeding time or Prony will just snub them. After that, she’s good and can sleep for the whole month!

Unfortunately, Prony was asleep when we visited. She even seemed like she was dead LOL. But I guess that’s just how old and huge animals work,… slow, immobile, much like the giant crocodile in Davao.

After taking the above photo, we were ready to leave when we noticed that people started to gather around Prony’s cage. Has she awaken? No. But someone with a megaphone came and called the crowd. She introduced herself as Marimar.

Marimar

Marimar, nephew of Sofronio, proudly announced that she was the ‘caretaker’ of Prony. She gave a 5-minute litany, in full English, and shared to us how Prony was captured, Prony’s eating habits and Prony’s hygiene, among others. Amusing, really!

Marimar then showed us a pair of lingerie made from snake skin and added that those actually fitted her (him).

And when we thought that the entertainment was over, Marimar led us to a covered court beside Prony’s cage then she started to lip synch, with exaggerated facial expressions, some Mariah Carey hits.. The crowd cheered and clearly had a good time. Such scene really tells a lot about the Filipinos. We’re simple, easy-to-please, fun-loving people! Happy and Positive vibes all over!

ABOUT: Prony the Python is the centerpiece attraction of a mini-zoo located in Barangay Filomena, Alburquerque, Bohol, just 12 kilometers away from Tagbilaran City. For a minimal entrance fee of P10 per head, one gets to see Prony the Python (and when visiting on the right season, get inside her cage for a photo op!), some other animals in the mini-zoo and entertainment by Marimar!

(…to be continued)

Part 10 of the Libotero Bohol Series

DAY 2.

As I said in the previous post, the Loboc River Cruise has skyrocketed to become one of Bohol’s major tourist drawers.

So after exploring the magnificent Loboc Church, we headed back to the airconditioned tourist waiting area and patiently waited for our turn at one of the river cruise boats.

The Loboc Church, as seen from across the Loboc River

A few minutes later, we were paged and instructed to proceed to the dock. Among the few floating restaurants operating at the Loboc River, we chose Riverwatch since it seemed to have the most variety of food. The river cruise fee, inclusive of eat-all-you can buffet and one drink and in-float entertainment cost us P300 per head for adults and P250 per head for kids. When we reached the dock, we were made to pay an additional P100 per head for adults while kids were not charged. I had no idea what that fee was for but I think it’s alloted for the maintenance of the Loboc River and the facilities around it… Terminal Fee if the term is appropriate. And I guess it is justified as the Loboc River is arguably the cleanest in the Philippines.

When we got aboard the boat, everyone else was already scrambling over the food. The river cruise boat which was made of two ‘bancas’ carrying a covered platform, pushed by another motorized ‘banca’, left as soon as the last person was comfortably seated on his/her table and then the band started playing some music to which I can’t relate with, LOL.

As we approached the buffet table, we were shocked to see it almost empty! Gawd, we were very hungry! We asked the waiters and they told us that the food was still going to be refilled so since we were a large group of 8, we requested for the next batch of food to be served directly to our table, hahaha! He obliged. A few minutes later, we were served by a bowl of rice and servings of pork belly, fried chicken, grilled fish, chopsuey, and pansit ‘bam-i’ which was enough for all eight of us.

If you’d ask me though, there was nothing really special about the food. To be quite honest about it, it was only good enough to be a “pantawid-gutom”. Oh well!

Anyway, I don’t think the food is the primary attraction of the river cruise. It’s called a river cruise because it’s all about the river. That’s why I’m not complaining that we were shortchanged for what we’ve paid for because the river is just so enchanting!

The Loboc River is jade green in color during the dry season while it turns to muddy brown during the rainy season as eroded soil from the mountains go directly to the river. We came across another boat which produced some waves then mom suddenly blurted out some “what-ifs”, “What if the boat will sink?” “Are there life jackets”, etc. etc. I easily get affected my negative thoughts but I didn’t mind and just continued to enjoy the view.

Again, to be very honest, there was nothing very spectacular about the view. All throughout, we passed by a forest of coconut trees and curtains upon curtains of dark green plants. Nonetheless, the sight of so much greenery while on a relaxing river cruise was worthwhile.

Some twenty minutes after we left the dock, we reached the end point of the river. It is characterized by a set of waterfalls, but then don’t expect set your expectations too high as the “waterfalls” are only short cascading waterdrops.

The boat then made a U-Turn to return to the dock but before we reached the end of our river cruise, the boat stopped by a bamboo raft where a group of locals, from kids to elders, performed some folk songs and dances and featured some of their local products. Ofcourse, a “tip” will be very much appreciated by them.

When we got back to the port, I didn’t feel that the cruise lasted for forty-five minutes. It felt like twenty. But then, as they say, good things always come to an end and despite all the “shortcomings”, I enjoyed our Loboc River Cruise experience!

After disembarking from the boat, we checked out one of the cottages by the river that bred some tarsiers.

Oh, such cute little thing!

Face the camera, please!

We then headed back to the Tourist Center and checked for some good finds at the pasalubong center. Each of us got a souvenir Bohol shirt, and then we headed back to the car to proceed to our next destination.

(…to be continued)

Part 8 of the Libotero Bohol Series

DAY 2.

Good Morning Bohol! Although we weren’t able to wake up early to catch the sunrise, we still did get out of our beds earlier than usual (is 7am early?) to take an early morning dip at the clear blue waters just a few steps away!

The resthouse where we stayed in while in Bohol

The beach! We weren’t in some five-star ultra-luxurious resort so there was no one to rake those dead seaweed off the beach. Thankfully, the waves shoved them off to the shore. Mother nature finds ways ‘ya know.

The family with the sparkling waters

A small boat, probably going towards Pamilacan Island

The beach, all ours!

The next thing we thought about while enjoying the sun, sea and sand was breakfast? Where were we going to eat breakfast? Unknowingly, mom and dad went out early in the morning to buy us some Jollibee breakfast, hahaha!

10am. We’ve enjoyed the waters for three hours already and never grew tired of it but then we had to pause for awhile as we had an itinerary to follow. First destination of the day: Loboc!

(…to be continued)

Part 7 of the Libotero Bohol Series

DAY 1.

From the Blood Compact Monument, we headed straight to Panglao Island.

Panglao is located southwest to the island of Bohol and it is linked to the mainland by two causeway bridges. Depending on the location of your destination in the island, Panglao is 10-30 minutes away from the capital, Tagbilaran City. Politically, it is divided into two, the municipalities of Dauis and Panglao.

Panglao is among the top destinations of Bohol-bound tourists for its white-sand beaches, diverse marine life, interesting diving spots, island hopping adventures and a bustling nightlife, among others.

Fortunately, a friend and former officemate of our parents owns a cute private resthouse in Panglao where we stayed during our three-day visit in Bohol.

So, as soon as we arrived in the resthouse, we settled our luggage and then we jumped to the beach! Yes, our very own beachfront!

Oooh, is that a jellyfish? And, why does that starfish lack a “wing”?

OMG! The sand is super white and super soft that it almost felt like I was walking over a cloud of cotton!

But then, good things don’t come with a price! Always watch your step or you might just cry with bloody feet when you step on a sea urchin!

Hundreds of fish! I’m not sure if you can see them though, haha!

Layers of Starfish

While in the middle of so much fun, mom and dad called us up to wash up for dinner. We were going to Alona Beach, but silly me, I left my camera in our room so no photos of the food (they’re the usual grilled stuff and baked seafood anyway) this time =/

After dinner, feeling quite exhausted after the early morning RORO trip, several kilometers on the road and some stopovers at must-visit sites, we returned to the resthouse and called it a day..

One thing you should not fail to do while in Panglao is, STARGAZING!

But err, storm clouds just covered ‘em stars… Hello to lightning and two small lighthouses anyway

(…to be continued)

Part 4 of the Libotero Bohol Series

DAY 1.

You can never say that you’ve been to Bohol if you haven’t seen with your two eyes the world-famous Chocolate Hills of Bohol and while the Sagbayan Peak allows you to do that, the real deal is actually in the nearby town of Carmen.

The Chocolate Hills is a unique natural wonder as it is an unusual geological formation that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. The most recent accurate survey says that there are 1,776 hills spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometers or roughly the size of the whole city of Paranaque! The hills are mostly uniform in shape and have varied heights, between 30 and 50 meters.

And while they’re not at all eatable or fudge-y, the grass-covered limestone hills are a captivating asset that we should value and preserve for the generations and generations to come!

What’s in a name? Chocolate Hills? For one, they do look like Hershey’s Kisses. Some say that the hills look like women’s breasts but they can’t be named Breast Hills for the most obvious reasons! On the other hand, while the hills are green on my photos, they are chocolate brown most of the year, especially during the dry season, thus the name, Chocolate Hills!

The best place to view and appreciate the Chocolate Hills is the Chocolate Hills Complex in Carmen, Bohol. Located in Barangay Buenos Aires (what a name, LOL), 5 kilometers away from the town proper, the complex is wholly owned by the government. The complex is a joint venture between the municipal government of Carmen and the Bohol provincial government with the former managing the operations and getting 70% share of its net income. The complex is complete with amenities featuring a restaurant, souvenir shops, a hotel with swimming pool and a viewing deck featuring the natural wonder.

From Sagbayan Peak, we drove more or less 18 kilometers to reach the Chocolate Hills Complex. For those without their own service vehicle, buses can drop you off at the entrance of the complex along the national highway. From there, you’ll be walking for at least 10 minutes an a long and winding road up towards the complex.

Meanwhile, here are some panoramic shots of the Chocolate Hills, taken from the observation deck which is elevated 214 steps from the parking area…

After appreciating the beauty of the Chocolate Hills and giving in to some photo opportunities, we went back down the steps and had lunch at the complex’s restaurant. And then, we hit the roads again towards our next destination…

(…to be continued)

Part 3 of the Libotero Bohol Series

DAY 1.

Immediately upon arrival in Tubigon, Bohol, we wasted no time and drove straight to the Sagbayan Peak in Sagbayan Bohol. Sagbayan is a 5th class municipality about 15-30 minutes away from Tubigon.

Sagbayan Peak is an elevated resort and recreation center. The area offers a 360-degree view of the world-famous Chocolate Hills. The resort sits on a five-hectare property and offers different types of facilities and amenities: a viewing deck, pavilion, cafe, butterfly dome, grotto, chapel, children’s playground, picnic grounds, tarsier sanctuary and water park, among others.

A life-sized dinosaur named “T-Rex” welcomed us to the Sagbayan Peak!

The 10-feet tall structure is really quite scary to look at in person..

Other animals and cartoon characters are scattered all around the resort.

Say hello to the all-time favorite Disney characters which kids of all ages will truly love!

While walking towards the pavilion, we were greeted by a pizza man which had a funny face

Welcome once more

The covered pavilion has tables and chairs where guests can enjoy food and refreshments offered at the counter at the side of the covered court.

From the pavilion, there is a set of stairs going down, and slowly going up again leading to the centerpiece attraction of the resort, the massive viewing deck.

Surrounding the stairs are landscaped pocket gardens.

The viewing deck allows for 360 degree views of the surrounding areas including the Chocolate Hills, and on clear days, the sea, and even the nearby island of Cebu.

Oh my! Why is there a house being constructed on the foot of one of the hills?!

Ain’t the view great? By all means, we should preserve these wonderful things for the generations and generations to come!

Anyway, after snapping some shots from the viewing deck, we went to the pavilion and were ready to leave when I saw a screen-enclosed structure labeled “TARSIER”. For that, we went inside and one of the resort keepers approached us briefing us not to turn on the flash when taking photos and not to make noise as they may stress the tarsiers which are very suicidal in nature! So if you’re planning to check out the tarsiers, do take note of those.

The tarsier, the world’s smallest primate

After some photo-ops with two tarsiers, we bid the Sagbayan Peak goodbye and went back to the road for our next destination!

(…to be continued)

Part 18 of the Libotero Baler Roadtrip series

DAY 3.

After shooting the sunrise, I went back to the hotel to sleep some more. It was our last day in Baler and we’ve already completed our set itinerary so there was nothing else to do but sleep…

We woke up at around 9am to pack up and ready our things for our roadtrip back to Manila. After everything was ready, we ate breakfast, still at Bahia de Baler’s restaurant. After filling our stomachs to the brimmed, we relaxed for a while and finally hit the roads again to finally start leaving Baler..

On our way to Baler, we passed through the Pantabangan-Baler Highway. This time, we decided to take the other route, the Baler-Bongabon Route as one book about Baler described it as the “more popular route”.

So we expected that we were going to go through more concrete this time… And yes!

Concrete!

The zigzag road crossing the Sierra Madre Mountain Range now has some portions that are cemented, but only until the initial portion of Barangay Diteki.

Concrete, still..

The lush Sierra Madre Mountain Range

But just after less than 10 minutes, signs of rough roads are starting to show up… Oh no!

This area must be very landslide prone. Yikes!

Imagine if those huge rocks are going to fall on you!

Sierra Madre greens. Let us help protect and preserve the Sierra Madre mountains. It is one of the only three biodiversity corridors in the country! It is one of the very few surviving forests! Let us help save the Sierra Madres from destruction!!! PLEASE!

A seemingly non-ending stretch of unpaved road..

Still more than 40 kilometers to go on this rough mountain zig-zag road!

Oh my, such huge boulders!

Another landslide prone area…

The Baler-Bongabon route definitely had lesser signs of human habitation, which was good as there would be less chances of adding damage to the Sierra Madre Mountains but on the other hand, it added to the vague premonition of danger like “Who would help us in case of emergency when our cellphones had no coverage, there are no residents around the area, and vehicles rarely pass by the route?”.

More greens…

On gravel road still…

Wow, unexpectedly, concrete greeted us again!

until…

OH MY WHAT IS THAT?!!!?!!

The steel bridge was destroyed by previous typhoons…

So how were we going to cross the river?

Locals washing their clothes and taking a bath on the river…

…and leaving their clothes on gravel to dry.

We had to go through that wooden plank bridge to cross the river. OH MY!!!

The bridge looked very narrow!! Fearful of our safety, mom got out of the car and guided dad as he maneuvered the car to cross the bridge, haha!

So what could have happened if our car fell of the bridge? God forbid!

At that point, we were at the heart of the Sierra Madre Mountain Range! Such a breathtaking sight to behold!

See mom in action!!

It was a very inconvenient rough road but the amazing scenery and memorable experiences are all worth it! Goodbye Aurora! ‘Til we meet again!

Having crossed the Aurora provincial boundary, we were already in Bongabon, Nueva Ecija.

The last few stretches of rough road, finally!

One can see the obvious change in landscape. If the surroundings were so green in Aurora, everything seemed to be dry in Nueva Ecija!

Crossing a bridge…

…to cross another bridge. A rusty one-way steel bridge which badly needs to be repaired as soon as possible! It didn’t look like it was strong enough to carry a few vehicles…

All dried up!

But there was still some fresh water falling off from the mountains…

Overall, Nueva Ecija was so dry, a huge contrast to Aurora’s “lushness”

We’re back to the plains, finally!

And that wraps up the Libotero Baler Roadtrip Series! You see, no amount of rough, “not-for-faint-hearted” roads discouraged us from visiting Baler so you should visit the province too, as soon as possible, before everyone else does! I’d like to go back in the near future as there are much much more natural and cultural attractions in Aurora waiting to be discovered and invaded. Our 3-day visit was totally not enough to get to experience the “real” Aurora so I promise to be back SOON!