Travel Diary: Bohol 2017

As I've mentioned in my previous post, my hub and I really wanted to get married in Bohol. Due to my sister giving birth a few months before our wedding, we weren't permitted to travel too far. Her baby was still too small to travel by plane so we had our wedding in Batangas instead. For consolation, my hub told me that he would just take me to Bohol after the wedding.

Fast forward to after the wedding, it really hadn't crossed our minds to plan our honeymoon. Us, traveling to Bohol was unplanned. It was actually a gift from my husband's cousin Jeremy who insisted on treating us to a lovely holiday.

When I would recall that conversation I had with my husband, I really can't help but see God in the whole picture. He really does make things up for us when our desires don't go as planned.

When it finally hit me, I became so keen to go. It was actually my first time to see Bohol for all its worth! I'm sure my husband was as well. Sure, it wasn't his first time in Bohol but it was probably our first time to travel that far together. So, it is safe to say that we both had a really good time in our own ways! :)

We decided to spend four days there because, according to my "tour guide", three days wouldn't be good enough for him take me around to interesting places.

Day 1: We arrived at the Tagbilaran airport just in time. Airport transfers were free, thanks to our chosen resort--Amorita Beach Resort. It's a private van ride that took around 45 mins. from the airport to our destination.

As soon as we arrived at the gates of the resort, I was stunned. I fell in love with the place right away. It reminded me of Chiang Mai, only it was in Bohol. It felt like a sanctuary hidden atop the unraveled tourist-alluring Alona Beach--which it was.

This first pool of the resort showcases the majestic view of the Alona Beach from a cliff.

Whilst my husband and I were checking in, I was distracted by the architecture of this luxury boutique resort. I was easily lost in wonder. There's something about it that reminded me of Thailand. I love trying out different types of accommodations, but sanctuary resorts really have a special place in my heart.

refreshing welcome drinks! Thanks, Amorita. :)

I am not an artist or designer by profession, but I'm so artistically driven. Though I'm not really a professional, I guess it's easy to claim by an untrained eye that Amorita's architectural design is something that meets the old and the new. It is in places like this where I am simply relieved to see how human's cultivating hands could create something that complements and enhances nature; not destroy it.

View from the cliff.

In a way, it gives us a certain degree of comfort to be in a place where we could enjoy luxury and nature without the latter being compromised.

A photo-op at the second pool. :D

Our first day in Bohol was just about settling down and enjoying the resort. So, our plan was to freshen up as quickly as we could and head directly to the Saffron Restaurant to have our first sumptuous meal!

                            The resort boasts of their delicious modern take on classic local dishes that we were so dying to try. We understood that we had four days to go so we had enough time to have a go at most of the items on their menu. So, for starters, we ordered their Sisig Quesadilla and Crispy Pork Sinigang. It's basically like Crispy Pata or Lechon Kawali with Sinigang soup. :)



After our small feast, we headed back to our suite and to take a nap. Then, we had the rest of the day to enjoy the rest of the resort as much as we wanted.

Our suite had a lovely decor, too! :)

        

Everything in our suite had a personal touch to it. Every day, we would receive a note from the manager who wrote such wonderful greetings for us! :)

Every day, they replenish these organic items in our minibar. :) I especially loved the Cassava Chips, I got hooked

As soon as we had changed our outfits, we went around the resort to explore reaching as far as Alona Beach which was around 25 steps from the cliff. :)

Then, it was definitely pool time the rest of the day! 

weeee!

The insect repellent jar has an endless pit inside. :)

A wider angle :)

At the second pool is where the Saffron restaurant is. Nothing beats having resort food with a fantastic view!

The pool at night

Day 2: Our second day in Bohol was probably the most tiring of all. Apparently, my husband hired a private van and driver. He talked to him about his grand plan for the day. The itinerary was well played out! The night before that, he was already briefing me to have as much sleep and then food at breakfast because it was going to be a looong day!

Speaking of food, of course, we started our day at the resort's Saffron restaurant for our complimentary breakfast. I really love dining at this restaurant. Great food, but I really have to charge it to the ambiance.

a nice touch to the interior: they allocated a special space to hold the spread in. How creative!

Breakfast dates are the best!

Since we had already loaded up on food, we were now ready to hop on our rented van and headed to the first stop on our itinerary: the butterfly farm. :) We had a ton of photos taken from this place, but I only like to share a few--well, just because we looked like idiots from all the poses the tour guide asked us to do. Also, this place has a lot of butterflies. They were so magical, but we weren't able to catch them on cam. I guess these are just one of the many instances on this trip that we had to leave to our memories to remember them by.

How amazing are those cocoons? it was probably my first time to see cocoons out of a Science book. 

Photo op. :)

my hub's way of learning is by touching. haha he's into it. I think that isn't the issue, just the fact that he CAN touch creepy crawlies... I'll stop there. :))

On the way to the Butterfly Farm was actually the Bilar Manmade Forest--the beautiful mahogany forest that was planted by boy scouts about 50 years ago as a part of reforestation efforts. 

It was too magical and mystical altogether. I don't recall hearing birds chirping here and there, actually.

the two-kilometer stretch of Mahogany trees created a natural canopy that warms the coldest of hearts. the patches of sunlight were truly heartwarming. The only place where silence was not deafening.

Second stop: Chocolate Hills. Getting there took roughly 40 mins from the butterfly farm. It was so hot when we got there, so I had to protect myself as much as I could with coverups. I guess I'm not the same old me who didn't care about the sun at all. I'm no longer the sunkissed carefree girl like I used to be. I know it could be unbearable to look at the photos but here they are!

In order to see everything, we had to find a higher ground--where else, but on one  of the thousands of chocolate hills with man-made steps that total to about 214, if my memory serves me right. That it was tiring is actually an understatement.

  

you see, the climb was worth it.

I've seen photos of the Chocolate Hills before, both professional and amateur, but nothing compares to seeing it all for myself. It was breathtaking. My husband couldn't even contain his amazement that he praised God for the beauty of His works, His creation. My husband said, "how great is our God. How did He put all these around here. Only He can do this." Yes, God's fingerprints are everywhere!

The view at the top. It was too high, I thought I was going to be sick from my fear of heights.

It was truly quite a sight. :) In fact, I think Chocolate Hills is underrated. 

Next stop: A small zoo full of birds, and then snakes.

This one is obviously preserved. They did so because it was apparently the biggest in their zoo. This snake had a name, I just didn't bother remembering (and a legendary story, too). 

I didn't really enjoy this place, but my husband, who tries to see the best out of anything, actually tried to poke fun at me by actually encouraging me to face my fears. Yes, he kept touching the live snakes and asking me to touch this dead one and the other living ones. Err. I couldn't, obviously. haha

Our next stop was Tarsiers.

A short disclaimer: we had a friend over there who owned a couple of it, so he let us see them for ourselves. They are strictly prohibited so we decided not to go to the Sanctuary. I'll show just a few of the photos we have of it.

Next stop was at the Loboc Eco Adventure Park where we went for a Cable Car ride. It was too majestic. From the top, we were able to see Loboc River for all its worth.  It was too beautiful, I forgot I had fear of heights!

Hubby

The view up here was too good to be true!

Greenery at its finest!

Next stop was lunch at Loboc River. It was already 1:30pm around this time and we were already hungry we could eat an entire cow if you know what I mean. I heard a lot of things about Loboc River, but my hunger did not prepare me for the best that was to come. I was so happy.

The moment we were asked to enter the vicinity of the Loboc River offices, we were guided to the boat we were supposed to be on. It was a floating buffet restaurant that was going to tour us around the River.

The spread

Busog smiles. :)

The river ride had a few stops where we were serenaded by a choir of energetic locals.

At the end of it. :)

Our final stop for the day was the Bohol Bee Farm. It's an organic farm where they now have their own resort, but previously it's just a restaurant that serves dishes made out of safe organic ingredients--mostly from their own garden! We also shopped for some pasalubong there. Of course, we bought a couple bottles of Wild and Organic Honey and a few other things. :)

I love artsy doors. :)

Organic Ice Cream!

The restaurant overlooking the sea. :)

The shop.

What we ate? Why, I thought you'd never ask! haha.

Fresh drinks!

Before heading back to the resort, my husband and I asked the driver to take us to the market so we could buy more pasalubong. This time, we intended to buy daing for everyone back home!

This cute sweet girl was everything but camera shy. 

Finally, we were going back home. When we got back to the resort, it was probably around 4pm. We just freshened up a bit and headed straight to the pool. :)

Day 3: Off to the Sea.

Our itinerary on our third day in Bohol was again my husband's doing. We had planned to wake up at 5:30am, but we ended up waking up at 6am. By 6:30am, we were already at the foot of the cliff, about to hop on the boat to go see some Dolphins!

Out here, from a distance, we were able to spot a group of dolphins who were swimming around to have their first meal of the day. :) Oh, the feeling was hard to explain.

After spending about 30 mins watching the dolphins, we were finally ready to go to Balicasag Reef. There we snorkeled for two hours. I am afraid of sea creatures. I only like to look at saltwater aquariums and appreciate everything that way, but what I experienced at Balicasag was just immensely beautiful and wonderful it's hard to recount everything apart from the fact that the reef was just full of life and color. I recommend it to everyone out there who needs therapy from depression hahaha 

  After Balicasag, we were invited to spot tortoises. We were told that there are just too many of them, but sometimes they do tend to hide, because why shouldn't they? We could only hope to see at least a couple of them, but we were just blessed with one. There's no way to take a snap of it. Again, we left it to our memory to remember how graceful this creature was. After another 5 minutes there, we had all given up and responded to our hunger. We went back to the beach and had our lunch there.

These picnic boxes were packed by Amorita for us. Since, we had to leave early that morning, we couldn't have our brekky at the resort. So we asked them to pack us at least sandwiches for the journey, instead they gave us this. EVEN BETTER than having another breakfast at the resort. Just for the experience. 

It was downright creative. So native yet innovative. too cool for my life.

It kept the food fresh and warm, would you believe? and the smell of the woven leaves just brought up another notch of a happy feel to the whole experience.

 After lunch, we were off to the picturesque Virgin Island Sandbar in Panglao.

We stayed here for about 30 mins and swam for a little bit. It was too hot for the Queen Bee. hihihi

After Sandbar, we decided it was time to go back to the resort. What we did there was sleep until 4pm. We were too knocked out and couldn't be bothered for the time being. When we woke up, we just spent the entire time at the pool ready to have a go with the rest of the resort food we haven't tried yet.

my favorite Turon Ala Mode. I like Turon a lot. I like Ice Cream a lot. Turon and Ice Cream together, why not?!

I like Churros, too, by the way! haha 

Resort food is love. :D

I haven't really mentioned that for dinners, we would go out to Alona Beach to look for restaurants. On the first night, we had grilled seafood at ISIS Bungalow. Quite pricey but worth it. On the second night, we went out on the main road to have Korean (couldn't help it). On the third night, we went to Alona because the Mediterranean restaurant there had been calling our attention since day 1. So, on the third night, we just couldn't resist it anymore.

It was underrated! It was a great meal to end a great day.

After dinner, the boys went for a drink while I went to the spa at Amorita.

Bar at the foot of Amorita.

Day 4: Last Day

The next day was our final day in Bohol We just decided to, of course, enjoy the resort. We had our usual breakfast at the Saffron restaurant, went for a swim, and finally packed up.

Relaxing spot

Kilig with my hubby.

The whole trip to Bohol allows me to conclude that it's a province that's full of luster and life.There are just too much to experience, too many things to see and find that our time was not enough. I've already decided not to repeat going back to a place I've been before, but I guess if there are so many things I haven't seen in that place yet, then I'd have good enough reasons to return... like Oslob, perhaps? :)