Libotero – Philippine Travel Photo Blog

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!

Part 17 of the Libotero Baler Roadtrip series

DAY 2.

After dinner at Bahia de Baler’s Restaurant, we wanted to do some stargazing by the beach but the skies were too cloudy, we couldn’t see even a single star. Sigh. For that, we just returned to the hotel and went to sleep…. Zzzzzzz!

DAY 3.

5am. My cellphone alarm woke me up! I set the alarm before going to sleep the night before as I wanted to shoot the sunrise. So, while everyone else was asleep, I headed to the beach! Baler Bay – Pacific Ocean lies on the east and the sun, rises where? The east! Perfect!

5:11am. If you could see those blurred dots on the right side of the photo, those are actually people! Super early birds who can’t wait to enjoy the beach!

Chilly sea breeze. Waiting for the sunrise under bluish-purplish skies…

5:23 – 5:36am. Can’t wait to say, Hello sunshine!

5:42am. This is it!

5:44am. HELLO SUNSHINE! Warning: PHOTO OVERLOAD!

Good morning Sierra Madre!

Good morning Balerianos!

Good morning Baler!

(…to be continued)