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).
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).
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