God’s Little Paradise (Bohol, Philippines)

My first trip to Visayas was in Bohol. I went there with my teammates last March 16-18, 2010. We stayed in Panglao, just near along the Island’s beachfront. The place for me was the best place I had visited so far - very calm and peaceful. Most of the tourists were not Filipinos but we still enjoyed our stay there!

Bohol is an island located between latitude 9°30' and 10°15' North and Longitude 123°40' and 124°30' east. With a land area of 4117.3 square kilometers, Bohol is the tenth largest island of the Philippines, and lies in the middle of the Visayas. Bohol is surrounded by other islands on all sides, and is thus shielded from the typhoons that often occur in the region, as well as from the heaviest rains. Bohol is separated from Mindanao by the Bohol Sea in the South and the island of Leyte by the Canigao Channel in the East. The Comotes Sea in the North separates Bohol from the Camotes Islands, and the Bohol Strait separates it from Cebu.

Arrival at Tagbilaran Airport

Although people have been living on Bohol long before Magellan reached the islands that are now the Philippines, our written records start here, and about the events before that time, little is known, and has to be carefully reconstructed from oral traditions and archaeological evidence. It is said that around 1200, the Lutaos arrived from northern Mindanao. They build a settlement on stilts in the strait between mainland Bohol and the island of Panglao. This town later became a prospering local center of power, also known as the the "Kingdom of Dapitan." It lasted until it was abandoned in 1563, out of fear for raids by the Portuguese and their allies from Ternate. It will be seen below how this event helped the Spanish to get a foothold in the Philippines.

Tagbilaran City's Port

Also at Bohol, Legazpi was given a hostile welcome. From his Malay pilot, he learned that this hostility was due to marauding expeditions of the Portuguese. Coming from the Moluccas, the Portuguese raiders traversed the Visayan seas, and just a few years before, in 1563, had plundered Bohol and killed or enslaved about one thousand of its inhabitants. Of course, the Boholano's easily mistook the Spaniards for Portuguese. Again with the help of his pilot, Legazpi explained two chiefs of Bohol, Datu Sikatuna of Bool and Datu Sigala of Loboc that they were not Portuguese, and had come in peace, and not to plunder or kill. This convinced the Kings to end their hostility and enter pact of friendship. On 16 March 1565 (or 25 March, records are confused due to the Gregorian calendar reform in 1584), Legazpi and Sikatuna performed the now famous blood compact, probably not far from the modern town of Loay. This event is still celebrated in Bohol every year in June with the Sandugo ("One Blood") festival. The same ceremony was repeated three days later with Sigala.

The Blood Compact Site

One of Bohol's Pride! Not me, but the tarsier!

BACLAYON CHURCH

The Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in Baclayon is considered to be one of the oldest churches in the Philippines. It is one of the best preserved Jesuit build churches in the region, although in the 19th century, the Augustinian Recollects added a modern facade and a number of stone buildings that now surround the church. Although Baclayon was the first seat of the Spanish Jesuit missionaries, fear of Moro marauders soon forced them to move their headquarters more inland, to Loboc. Only in 1717, Baclayon became a parish, and construction of a new church commenced. Some 200 native forced laborers constructed the church from coral stones, which they took from the sea, cut into square blocks, and piled on to each other. They used bamboo to move and lift the stones in position, and used the white of a million eggs as to cement them together. The current building was completed in 1727. The church obtained a large bell in 1835. In the Baclayon church is a dungeon, which was used to punish natives who violated the rules of the Roman Catholic Church.

Baclayon Church - one of the Oldest Churches in the Philippines.

Fun facts about Baclayon Church.

CHOCOLATE HILLS

The Chocolate Hills are probably Bohol's most famous tourist attraction. They look like giant mole hills, or as some say, women's breasts, and remind us of the hills in a small child's drawing. Most people who first see pictures of this landscape can hardly believe that these hills are not a man-made artifact. However, this idea is quickly abandoned, as the effort would surely surpass the construction of the pyramids in Egypt. The chocolate hills consist of are no less than 1268 hills (some claim this to be the exact number). They are very uniform in shape and mostly between 30 and 50 meters high. They are covered with grass, which, at the end of the dry season, turns chocolate brown. From this color, the hills derive their name. At other times, the hills are green, and the association may be a bit difficult to make. Legend has it that the hills came into existence when two giants threw stones and sand at each other in a fight that lasted for days. When they were finally exhausted, they made friends and left the island, but left behind the mess they made. For the more romantically inclined is the tale of Arogo, a young and very strong giant who fell in love with an ordinary mortal girl called Aloya. After she died, the giant Arogo cried bitterly. His tears then turned into hills, as a lasting proof of his grief. However, up to this day, even geologists have not reached consensus on how they where formed. The most commonly accept theory is that they are the weathered formations of a kind of marine limestone on top of a impermeable layer of clay. If you climb the 214 steps to the top of the observation hill near the complex, you can read this explanation on a bronze plaque.

It's not just chocolate - it is a Chocolate Hill!

Toni, Win, Ice and Len - WACKY!!!

TARSIER

The Philippine Tarsier, (Tarsius Syrichta) is very peculiar small animal. In fact it is one of the smallest known primates, no larger than a adult men's hand. Mostly active at night, it lives on a diet of insects. Folk traditions sometimes have it that tarsiers eat charcoal, but actually they retrieve the insects from (sometimes burned) wood. It can be found in the islands of Samar, Leyte, Bohol, and Mindanao in the Philippines. If no action is taken, the tarsier might not survive. Although it is a protected species, and the practice of catching them and then selling them as stuffed tarsiers to tourists has stopped, the species is still threatened by the destruction of his natural forest habitat. Many years of both legal and illegal logging and slash-and-burn agriculture have greatly reduced these forests, and reduced the tarsier population to a dangerously small size. If no action is taken now, the Philippine tarsier can soon be added to the list of extinct species.

The smallest primate - just as big as my fist.

PANGLAO ISLAND

Probably the most beautiful, and surely the most developed beach on Panglao is Alona Beach. Located at the Southwest of the island, this beach is about one and a half kilometers long, lined with nice resorts, which are great to stay for some time, a number of well equipped diving establishments and pleasant places to eat out, if you do not want to eat at your resort's restaurant for a change. Probably the only drawback of the beach is the large numbers of sea urchins that inhabit the water, starting some twenty or thirty meters out of the coast. You will just have to be careful when wading. Don't forget to bring your snorkeling equipment. When you swim about one hundred meters off the beach, you will reach the edge of the 'house' reef, at between three and five meters deep and thus can be easily observed even without scuba equipment. If you are into scuba diving, though, don't forget to have a few dives here as well, as it is certainly worth it, not bad at all, even compared with the reefs the boats will bring you to.

Bohol's whitest and finest sand.

Yes, you may also try surfing in Bohol Sea!

MAN-MADE FOREST

The Bohol Forest is a man-made mahogany forest stretching in a two-kilometer stretch of densely planted Mahogany trees located in the border of Loboc and Bilar towns. Before and after this man-made forest are the naturally grown forests of Loboc and Bilar which are thick with a kaleidoscope of green foliage, different species of trees and giant ferns lining the road. The man-made forest stands out because of the uniformity in height of the big trees, the spread of its branches, thickness and design of leaves. Seedlings abound around the older trees. Trunks, some thick and others just a few months old, grow resplendently straight up towards the sky which is obscured by the branches and the thick leaves.

This bridge hangs approximately 20 meters above the Loboc River .

The Butterfly Sanctuary have been established by butterfly enthusiasts and are now gaining recognition. There are more or less 300 butterfly species native to the province and the sanctuaries are aiming to conserve and raise the butterfly population in the island. The sanctuaries come with landscaped flowering gardens, the beauty of which soothes the senses. It is a welcome addition to the attractions of Bohol and is now part of the itineraries of foreign and local visitors alike. Breeding butterflies can augment ones income by selling them as butterfly releases, making them into dry papered butterflies and selling live pupae. Moves have been taken to develop butterfly by-products such as framed butterflies, butterfly wing mosaic, and key chains.

Butterflies were so friendly here at the Butterfly Sanctuary!

LOBOC RIVER

The Loboc River Cruise along the river starts from the Loboc Tourism Complex. Small motorized bancas can be availed of for a minimal fee yet for those who want to eat while cruising, floating restaurants are available offering Filipino cuisine buffet that costs P280 per head or more and local delicacies.

One of the major attractions at Loboc River are the singing Boholanos.

BOHOL BEE FARM

Amid the lush natural surroundings of Panglao Island is another eco-tourist treasure, the Bohol Bee Farm. The smorgasbord of organic delicacies on offer makes it unlike any place you’ve ever been to. Dine in our restaurants and enjoy tasty camote pies, homemade ice cream, and fresh flower salads. And when your holiday draws to a close, stock up on some of Bohol Bee Farm’s healthy goodness with naturally made products like honey spreads, herb teas, and corn coffee.

These are the Bumble-BEEs! :)

We had our lunch here - with fresh garden salad and seafood lasagna!

Cucina Italiana serves the best Italian cuisine in Panglao.

BOHOL was really a good place to visit. It has its own unique character that can't be copied elsewhere. It provides an interesting experience for travelers who would want to really relax, unwind and enjoy. The many activities and places to see is more than enough to make visitors see the place as a sanctuary for a lot of nature's beauty.

No wonder why Tagbilaran was known to be the City of Friendship!