I love Bohol!

We departed from Manila at around 7:00 am last May 31, 2005 and arrived in Bohol at 8:20 am. A car was already waiting for us at the Tagbilaran Airport and we headed towards Bohol Tropics. Immediately after checking-in, we began our escapades. Our driver, Kuya Eddie, also served as our tour guide. Our first stop was at the blood compact site...sorry I forgot the people who did the blood compact. ;) Anyway, we also went to Baclayon/Bacla-on church. I'm not quite sure...sorry about that again. ;) If I remember it right, it is the oldest church in Bohol. We stopped by the Loboc River to have our reservation in the Floating Restaurant. Then we went to the 200 steps area where we had to go up so we can see the Chocolate Hills. It was an amazing sight. The beautiful scenery with the combination of fresh air really made my day. Then we went back to Loboc River to have our lunch on the Floating Restaurant. In the Floating Restaurant, there was a man singing for us and it was so cool! I had a really great time. Afterwards, we went to a certain area where they were allowed by the DENR to take care of tarsiers. A tarsier is the smallest monkey in the world. It is so small that you can carry it with a palm. It was so cute and weird... ;) it looks like a breed of monkey, rat, owl, and bat. After enjoying our time with the tarsiers, we went to a souvenir shop and we bought some delicacies in Bohol like peanut kisses and calamay for pasalubong, shirts and bags. We headed back our hotel because we were already tired from the day's trip. But it was all worthwhile.

The next day, Wednesday, we had a new driver. Kuya Cacoy, Dra. Sharleen Lim's driver, drove us to different tourist spots in Bohol. Tita Sharleen is the wife of Hon. Dan Lim, the mayor of Tagbilaran City, Bohol. That morning, we went dolphin watching. We woke up early because Kuya Cacoy told us that the dolphins were only seen at around 5-6 am. We rode a boat and went to the site where they see a lot of dolphins. It was breath-taking. According to Kuya Cacoy there are thousands of dolpins in that area. I was really amazed to see the dolphins go up and down and it reminded me of how powerful God is for creating such beauty. After watching the dolphins, we went snorkeling in one of the islands there. ;) We had our buffet lunch in the Bohol Bee Farm. Before we had lunch, we went to see a bee colony and a guy gave a lecture about bees.

In a colony, there is one queen bee, the female bees and the male bees. The queen bee is the only one fertile and she can lay 1,000+ eggs in a day. The female bees are the worker bees and they comprise about 90% of the colony. According to the lecturer, the male bees do not have use at all but only for mating. If there are about 50 male bees in the colony, only 17 will be able to mate with the queen. After the male bee has mated with the queen, it will die. The queen will mate only once in its entire life…it will mate with all of the 17. The lecturer mentioned that the bees mate in air, not inside the colony. The lifespan of a queen bee is about 3-4 months while the lifespan of an ordinary bee is around 40-45 days. There are 5 stages in the life of a female bee– nurse worker bees take care of the larvae and the queen, they make sure that the larvae and queen have enough food to eat (1st-10th day of life); janitor worker bees clean the whole colony, they also serve as construction workers (11th-15th day); guard worker bees, of course, guard the colony and keep it safe from enemies, they are often seen at the gate/entrance of the colony (16th-20th); scout worker bees are in-charge of looking for the place where they can find food then they pass the information of the area to the field worker bees (21st – 25th day); field worker bees collect the food from the place found by the scout worker bees (26th-40/45th day). If the field worker bees don’t bring any food back to the colony, the guard worker bees won’t let them in. The bees communicate in two ways – by wagging and buzzing. It is how they exchange information and give directions. Before, what I only know about bees is that they help in pollination, they sting, and make honey. But I learned a lot from that lecture. Now, I know more about bees. I was even able to touch a part of the colony because the bees there don’t sting. The bees in the Bohol Bee Farm were bred in Europe. It was so cool! ;)

We had a hearty lunch…I was amazed to see the fresh salad had flowers in it. I ate bougainvillea for the first time. There wasn’t anything odd about it because it tasted like an ordinary lettuce. And I guess the taste of the sauce overpowered everything else. We also ate dried cassava with pesto sauce. I just can’t stop when I took a bite. It was tempting. The dessert was also so enticing…it was a home-made avocado mango ice cream. It may seem a weird combination but it is so good, you just have to try it.

Afterwards, we went to a cave where people can swim inside. I just took a dip and left. We didn’t stay there for long because the place was dark (what do you expect? It’s a cave, right?! Hehe…) and a bit slippery and there were already a lot of tourists coming in. We went back to Bohol Tropics and changed clothes. We still have enough energy so we went to Island City Mall to buy some food and other stuff we need. Then we went back to our hotel to have some rest.

The following morning, Thursday, our destination was in Magaso Falls. It was there that I experienced something I will not forget for the rest of my life. I almost drowned. I didn’t expect it and it happened so fast. I was literally going with the flow and I was trying to reach a boulder where my brother was sitting but I missed. My brother tried to hold my arm but the current was so hard and I was pulled by it. The gush of water pulled me downwards. Kuya Cacoy said he would have thrown his cell phone out of his pocket and jumped to the river already, if he didn’t see me but thank God, I am a swimmer and I made my way up and to the riverbank. After that incident, I just stayed at the riverbank the whole time. ;) We also discussed what happened and my lola mentioned that she almost jumped but if she did, Kuya Cacoy would have to save the two of us. ;) Or I might be saving her, instead of her saving me. Anyway, I really thank God for sending me His angels to be there for me and keep me safe. I also thought that it wasn’t my time to die because I don’t want to die drowning or anything that has got to do with water. It would be a shame for me especially that I know how to swim! I thank God that I am still here, alive, and kicking. ;)

After we cleaned up and changed clothes in our hotel, our next stop was in Miravilla. It is a resort where we had our lunch that day. We met Tita Sharleen and had lunch with her. She just arrived from Manila. The owner of Miravilla is the bestfriend of Tita Sharleen’s husband, Mayor Dan Lim. She introduced him to us and she told him that my mom is her doctor. By the way, Tita Sharleen is also a doctor but she is a pediatrician. Then the owner of the place asked my mom about his medications and condition. His wife even came over to consult my mom as well. I think his wife was experiencing cough for days so they were asking what she needs to take or if she needs to change her antibiotic already. It was nice to meet them…they are rich but weren’t snobbish, they were so kind. The owner even signaled his employees not to let us pay for the food we ate…it was an instant treat. ;) Tita Sharleen asked us where we wanted to go after lunch and my mom said that since it was our last day there, we would just probably stay in our hotel and rest. Bohol Tropics is a beautiful place. The owner of Bohol Tropics is the brother-in-law of Tita Sharleen. The place is very relaxing. If you get there, it’s like you wouldn’t want to leave the place. Everything you need is there – swimming pool, restaurants, basketball/volleyball court, playground, internet area, and more. We can even see the beautiful scenery of the sea from our hotel room. It is like a home away from home. I enjoyed every minute of my stay there with my family.

Before leaving the next day, the family took pictures of different spots in Bohol Tropics. Our flight that Friday was 9 in the morning. The hotel shuttle took us to the airport. We were already in Tagbilaran airport at around 8 am. We boarded the plane at about 8:30 am. We arrived in Manila 15 minutes past 10. All I can think of when I was on the plane and even after we arrived in Manila was that I would definitely go back to Bohol. It was a great place. The people are nice, kind, and hospitable. And there are a lot of amazing places and things to see. The next time I go there, I would probably stay longer. Bohol now has a special place in my heart. I am really looking forward to my next Bohol trip…I just can’t wait!!! ;)