Bohol

We arrived in Bohol at 4:30 p.m. and headed for another island: Panglao, which is connected to Bohol by two bridges. The concrete road was very bumpy. The person who picked us up at the airport told us a little about the demographics, the population, and so on…

The next day, Thursday, we set out on a tour in a van reserved exclusively for the four of us, with a driver named Loyloy and a guide named Cécile, who showed us around the area, including the mahogany forests that were planted to stabilize the ground—where, every year, there used to be landslides… Mahogany trees are very sturdy and perfectly suited for this kind of work. The road was terrible and the driver was going too fast, so we all felt pretty rough. We discovered old churches and a tree so ancient that a legend surrounds it—the locals are afraid of it because there are ghosts there. A natural cave has been formed beneath it by the tree’s roots. But someone from Manila bought the land despite the stories and built a house right next to it. 

Then we climbed to the top of a mountain to see the Chocolate Hills—thousands of hills in the surrounding area that turn chocolate-brown during the dry season (March through May) due to the drought. It was impressive. There, we heard a legend about how these hills were formed:

A giant landed on Bohol and fell in love with a married woman whom he kidnapped. The woman literally died of fear, and the giant burst into tears, which carved out these valleys.

The scientific hypothesis: Bohol sits on a tectonic plate that rose out of the sea millions of years ago. Torrential rains and landslides created the Chocolate Hills, which have sparse vegetation; palm and coconut trees are rare there.

Then, around 1:00 p.m., we headed down to the Green River to eat at a floating restaurant—it’s a boat—a magnificent spot. The locals sang and danced for all of us—a traditional local dance, using bamboo sticks to keep the beat. Finally, we arrived at the mini waterfall and turned back.

After letting our food settle in the van—which was already driving more slowly—we saw the famous tarsiers in person for the first time. They’re tiny little animals that look like monkeys from a distance, with huge eyes and nocturnal habits. We took tons of photos there.

Laurent made a friend—a little aggressive monkey that tried to snatch his phone. We also encountered two flying lemurs there. Extraordinary. On our way back from the expedition, we visited the second-oldest church in the Philippines (413 years old) and its museum.

Back at the hotel, we cooled off in the pool…

Last day, Friday. Since we were checking out of the hotel at 2:30 p.m. and our flight was at 5:00 p.m., around 9:00 a.m. we decided to take a short boat ride; the boat had a glass bottom so we could see the coral and the seabed. Marlon and Seb got seasick, but Laurent and I enjoyed it to the fullest. We saw some big starfish with spines—brrr. Afterward, we enjoyed the pool and the ocean, where we were stung by strange, transparent mollusks that looked like water worms; Laurent thought they were more like sea cucumbers…

Later, Marlon got a call from his aunt Marilyn. News from Modesta: it hadn’t stopped raining, and apparently a second typhoon that was supposed to head toward Japan had veered slightly off course to bring us bad weather, but there weren’t any major problems. The plane was able to take off, and we arrived safely in Manila under a cloudy, dark sky. Back to Laguna with Marilyn and Alan. Meriem had to undergo emergency surgery for a stomach problem. It went well, and she’s doing just fine.

To be continued

Ninve