Curious Cat Goes to: BOHOL! (Part 1 of 3)

Yes, the Curious Cat meowed its way to Bohol this month of July!

The bad: I had to miss out on the first day of the 3-day trip due to work. As a result, no beach-bumming for the cat. :(

The good: The lady from the travel agency convinced me to miss out on the beach instead of the day 2 countryside tour. Good because I totally enjoyed it! :)

Instead of photospamming everyone, I discovered these neat storyboard templates and arranged selected photos from my trip. The result? An orderly showcase of lovely photos and memories immortalized! Cool! :D

Ready for some of the cat's meowmeows? Let's go a-travelin'!

8:00 AM

I took the early morning flight to Tagbilaran through Zest Air. Thanks Zest Air for the seamless journey and for the window seat! Call me kiddy but the sight of clouds fascinate me all the time; I always try to get hold of the window seat. Heehee! :p The ride took about an hour and five minutes, just perfect for a catnap (pun intended, hehe).

9:10 AM

Touchdown Tagbilaran! I would have loved to take a photo on the field but I was alone and was shy to ask someone to take my photo. LOL. Plus I was raring to start the day tour and I'm sure my friends (who arrived a day earlier than me) were all itching to start the day too!

10:15 AM

The countryside tour has officially started!

First stop was by the Blood Compact Monument which overlooks one of their beaches. My pictures don't do justice but it was really beautiful! :) Our guide, who seemed to be so adept in taking photos, was kind enough to take our picture overlooking the pristine waters. The funny thing was that there were other people taking our photos too. We were like, 'huh?'. Oh well. Haha.

Trivia: blood compacts didn't necessarily mean drawing blood from the arm as usually depicted in illustrations; often, they would draw blood from their chest. Yikes, scary if you ask me!

After some picture-taking, we zipped to Baclayon Church, one of the oldest and well-preserved Jesuit-built church in the Philippines. Our guide pointed out the miraculous face of St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina imprinted in the rocks.

[caption id="attachment_288" align="aligncenter" width="500"] (Top L) According to our guide, the monument is just a memorial but is not where the compact actually took place
(center R) Overlooking the pristine waters. Photo doesn't do justice.
(bottom L) Can you see Padre Pio's face imprinted?[/caption]

We spent a few minutes of prayer inside the church. There was a rustic feel to it and it would be perfect for early-morning prayer - quiet and serene with the sunlight slowly pouring in the windows. I like their idea as well to lend shawls to tourists coming in shorts and tank tops so that body parts can be covered appropriately. I wonder if the cathedrals in Manila do that as well?

The last stop for the morning is the Rio Verde Floating Restaurant. Finally, food! :) Be sure to come in before 12:30 PM as that's when the boat leaves the dock and so the cruise begins. It might not be a bad idea to come in earlier, say, 11 AM so that you can eat early (lunch is served buffet-style) and would not feel queasy when the cruise begins.

The food was generally good fare; no exotic dishes, just the usual Filipino favorites. Watch out for a few flies, though; they can get quite annoying.

The cruise will take about an hour (and a half?). We saw mangroves and a fantastic view of the clouds (here I am again with clouds!) with a local folk singer providing music in the background. Before heading back to the dock, we stopped by a local Ati tribe's community where you can have your photos taken with some exotic animals, with the locals and even with some 'firebreathing' locals. It's a little too 'tourist-y', if you ask me.

And that concludes half day of the countryside tour and concludes this entry. Adventure to be continued in the next post. Ciao for now. :)