Have you been to Gubat?

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!

We left my Aunt’s house around 7:00 to catch a morning flight to Tagbilaran,
Bohol. The airport was busy with all the travelers flying home for the Christmas holidays, but not too bad. The kids were famished, having left the house without breakfast, so they stoppedto grab hamburgers, of all things. These were “Filipino style” meaning seasoned with garlic, a little sugar, and with a “secret sauce.” They gobbled them down and proclaimed them to be pretty good.

We flew Cebu Pacific Air, whose main claim to fame is when they choreographed their safety instructions to Lady Gaga. Much to the kids’ disappointment, however, the instructions were delivered in quite ordinary fashion for our flight.  The flight took just a little over an hour, and we had soon landed in tiny Tagbilaran airport. One building, one runway. We walked out and I quickly spotted Ted’s name on a sign held by the driver from Anda White Beach Resort, where we would be spending the next few days.

The drive to Anda was quite interesting, especially for the kids. It was night when we landed in Manila, so they didn’t see much, plus Manila is a big city, so it’s got the tall buildings, traffic, and other things you would expect to see in a city. I will tell you that the rest of the Philippines is not like that at all! The road was a modern, paved two lane road, but there were rice paddies and mini rice-terraces on the side, with farmers still planting rice by hand and tilling the paddy with water buffaloes. People meandered down the side of the road carrying goods on their heads (without hands), goats tied to the fences nibbled on grass, and lots of tricycles (like motorcycles, but with a covered side car) and jeepneys were on the road as well. Small townships had strung up parols (rice paper lanterns, although now they are mostly made of plastic) and other Christmas decorations all along the roadside. Palm trees and banana trees swayed in the breeze, and there were still traditional nipa huts (houses built from palm trees with thatched roofs) around.

We arrived at the resort after about 2.5 hours of driving, the last ¼ mile or so down a bumpy dirt road. The resort doesn’t look like much when you first pull in, since you’ve just come in off a dirt road, passing by a few small huts nestled in the surrounding deep vegetation, and all you see when you arrive is a gate and walls. But once you get inside and go past the reception area you are greeted by an infinity pool and a stunning view of the ocean.

We were greeted with fresh coconut water, from coconuts harvested just that morning.

And when I say harvested, I mean chopped down from those coconut trees you see in the background.  We actually saw a man climbing down from one of the trees with a bunch of coconuts the next day because some new guests were checking in.

We wasted no time changing into bathing suits and checking out the pool and the beach.