from Tagbilaran to Panglao to Cebu to Manila

at the Mactan International Airport in Cebu, while on board the plane bound for Manila

on the way back to Tagbilaran, we saw these kids lined-up on the street, waiting for New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, waving both Philippine & NZ flags.

Panglao Island Beach

we crossed this bridge from tagbilaran going to dauis and panglao islands

biggest halo-halo ever


















The Bohol Tropics resort & resto overlooking the sea

More bisita iglesia pics -- Dauis Church

Bisita Iglesia pictures

Baclayon Church

the colorful altar

Baclayon Church facade

Facade of Loboc Church

(1)altar view
(2) bamboo organ
(3) full inside view
(4) entrance to the Loboc church

Bohol Churches

Aside from the Chocolate Hills, Bohol is also famed for its Centuries old churches.

Loboc Church
Called the Church of San Pedro in Loboc, the second oldest church in Bohol was built in 1602 and again rebuilt in 1638, a stronger one was build. Since it is located near the river, it has always been beset with floods. It houses the Museo de Loboc, with old statues of saints and other religious artifacts. In fact, when we were there, the curator/guide related that a religious statue made of ivory was recently stolen and the robber entered the museum by cutting a hole in the ceiling. D*mn you, religious art thieves! Across the church is a part of a bridge that wasn't completed bec doing so will destroy the church. (stupid, wasteful planning, IMO).

Baclayon Church
Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in Baclayon is built by the Jesuits and the oldest church in Bohol. In case you did not know, Cesar Montano (the actor from the Great Raid) is from this town. You can view his house from the road.

Dauis Church
Another church is the Our Lady of the Assumption in Dauis, in Panglao island. On the ceiling are frescoes painted by Ray Francia in 1916. The church patron saint, the Virgin of the Assumption is said to be miraculous. There is a story that says that when the town was once invaded by pirates, people flocked and locked themsevels in the church. When they ran out of provisions, a well appeared at the foot of the altar. The well is still the main source of water and is said to have healing powers. (Too bad I wasn't able to bring home some as I did not know this before).

Bohol Pics

Sagbayan Peak (l)

Carmen Peak (r)
1,268 mounds -- as far as your eyes can see (l)

Loboc River cruise (r)



Tarsiers!










scenes on the way to Carmen for the Chocolate Hills -- manmade forest & fields

Day 4 - Bohol

On Sunday, we took the Oceanjet ferry to nearby Bohol. For schedules, log on to www.oceanjet.net. The traveling gods must really be smiling on us coz when we purchased our tickets, they had a promo called "Libre Balik". This means that we pay only the price of a one-way fare for the round trip tickets. We left at 9:30 am, by 1Pm, we were already in Tagbilaran Port.

Very distant relatives fetched us and after a 2 hour or so ride in the mini-van, we reached the town of Lila. Here's a nice view of the sea in the said province.

After a brief rest in Lila, we headed to the Loboc River, famous for its very old church and its choir, the Loboc Children's Choir (winner of international children's choir competitions). You can take a river cruise and see fascinating views of waterfalls, or have lunch in one of the floating restaurants.

In one of the floating restaurants, we saw the several tarsiers perched on the trees. Read this article for more information on the tarsiers, and learn that it is NOT the world's smallest primate. For information of the Philippine Tarsier Foundation, head to their website.

After the Loboc and tarsier experiences, we moved on to a 2-3 hour ride going to Carmen, Bohol to get a glimpse of the famed Chocolate Hills.

Here is an entry for Chocolate Hills in Wikipedia:

The Chocolate Hills is an unusual geological formation in the island province of Bohol in the Philippines. The hills are the most famous tourist attraction on the island and consists of at least 1,268 individual mounds. The hills are scattered throughout the municipalities of Carmen, Batuan, and Sagbayan. What makes them intriguing is their mostly uniform molehill shape and size ranging from 30 to 50 meters high. The hills are covered in green grass that turns brown during the dry season, giving the hills their name.

A popular local myth for the hills' origin states that two giants fought with stones and sand against each other over a period of several days. A more romantic tale is that of Arogo, a strong and young giant who fell in love with Aloya, a mortal girl. She died within the palm of the giant's hand and the tears that fell supposedly turned into the hills.

Geologists have long debated about the formation of the hills. The most accepted theory, and the one that is written on a bronze plaque at an observation hill, is that the hills are eroded formations of a type of marine limestone that sits on top of hardened clay.

In 1988, the government of the Philippines declared the Chocolate Hills a National Geological Monument because of its unique formation. Currently two hills have been developed for tourism, one in Carmen, the very interior of Bohol, and the more recent one in Sagbayan, known as Sagbayan Peak.

We went to both the Carmen and Sagbayan Peak (which also has a butterfly farm, a resto, play place and other touristy attractions).

Day 3 - Cebu

The temple from the outside
stone guard
dragons adorning the temple roof


On our third day, my traveling companion cum financier, my mom, decided to look for old friends in Cebu. She had a tearful reunion of sorts with old family friends. My grandpa died when she was just 7, and this couple who lives in Mandaue are his friends. They're such a sweet couple, even in their old age (82 & 72). I'm glad that we made this trip bec my mom was able to reconnect with old friends and relatives. The last time she was in Cebu was in the '60s.

In the afternoon, we went to the Philippine Taoist Temple in Beverly Hills, Cebu. As a Catholic, it was interesting to light joss sticks and do this thing where you fervently pray and ask a question (should be answerable by yes, no or maybe). Then you throw these 2 wood thingies and the answer will depend on how they landed. To my dismay, the answer to my prayer was NO. Instead of repeating the process, I took this as a sign that I should stick to praying in Catholic churches.