The kids have had quite the active social life this weekend. Kate had cotillion last night, a birthday party tonight and another one tomorrow.
I’ll post details later but here’s a picture from tonight’s party. Just a small one, and they are eating dinner at a Mexican restaurant before heading to a movie.
Update: they went to coldstone after the movie.
After our day of rest, we were eager to get going and see some Bohol island sights. We left the resort about 8:30 in a van and driver that the resort had arranged for us. First things first, the chocolate hills:
Now these don’t look very much like chocolate, but in the dry season, the grass turns brown and they really do look like chocolate drops. There are over 1,200 of these geological formations on the island of Bohol, and they are actually grass-covered limestone formations. Local legend claims that they are formed from a giant’s tears. The vista from the viewing point is quite beautiful, with these hills all around, and the occasional rice paddy or two.
Next stop, a local butterfly preserve. We learned about the various butterflies on the island, and held some caterpillars and butterflies. It was a short stop – maybe 20 minutes total, but pleasant. We also saw some specimens of giant moths. I don’t have a picture, but one moth was probably 8 inches tall, and 5 inches wide.
After the butterfly preserve, we headed to a tarsier preserve. Tarsiers are nocturnal primates (not monkeys). Their most prominent characteristics are their very large eyes, which are apparently bigger than their brains, and very long fingers. The poor things are endangered, and don’t breed well in captivity. The preserve we toured, however, is having some success. Unlike other places on the island, this preserve does not allow you to touch the tarsiers or take flash photography, and they are in a semi-wild environment. If you visit Bohol, do not patronize any “preserve” that allows you to touch the tarsiers! It distresses them and they can become suicidal. Don’t they look a bit like Yoda?
Not much happened this day. After all that traveling, we finally had a day to sleep in , and just lounge around the pool and beach. We’d sit and read, sipping a coconut or two, and then plunge into the water when we got too hot.
We ate lunch at the restaurant.
The kids thought it was great fun to be so close to coconuts growing on trees.
And here is my obligatory picture of my view from the lounge chair. Looks remarkably like the ones I’ve posted from Mexico and the Dominican Republic!
