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    Bohol and Panglao

    Even though we would have, we weren’t able to book a full week in Moalboal. We decided to spend the last two nights of our vacation on the island province of Bohol.

    Getting from Moalboal to Panglao took an entire day. I was hoping we’d be able to catch a ferry out of Oslab, but with it being Easter weekend, we were told the smaller ports would be crowded and unreliable. We hired a taxi for 1500PHP (around $30) to drive us three hours to Cebu City. From there, we purchased ferry tickets to Tagbilaran. The ferries had already sold out of the earlier time slots. After a few hours wait, we took the 2.5 hour ferry ride east to Tagbilaran. It was dark by the time we got there.

    We stayed at Momo Village on Panglao Island, just off the southwestern tip of Bohol. We found and booked the place through AirBnB. (Get $20 off your first stay with AirBnB!) Momo Village was AWESOME. The owner, Ana, was so hospitable. Believe the reviews – her cooking is incredible. Momo Village had a five-story tower with a room on each floor. We stayed in the very top apartment (which was originally never meant for guests, but was Ana’s husband’s art studio). The view was amazing.

     

    Momo Village Tower

     

    The mosquitoes weren’t awful at that time of year, but we needed the windows open to keep the room cool. So we put up the mosquito net to avoid creepy crawlies on us while we slept:

     

    Momo Village top room

     

    View from Momo Village Tower

     

    View from Momo Village Tower

     

    Purple leaves plant

     

    Ana’s husband had several beautiful driftwood pieces around the property:

     

    Driftwood sculpture

     

    After a delicious breakfast, we rented a motorbike from Ana and set off to explore. There was an option for a full-day tour around the area, but our time was limited and there were only a couple of places we wanted to see.

     

    David on Motorbike

     

    Leah store

     

    A holy week procession:

     

    Holy week parade

     

    Our first stop was the Tarsier Sanctuary. These nocturnal primates were mostly sleeping, but we caught a few with open eyes! They were cute little guys. A few fun facts:

    • They grow to just over 6 inches and weigh between 2.8–5.6 oz.
    • Tarsiers are able to rotate their heads 180º to compensate for their immovable eyeballs.
    • They are carnivorous primates. They eat insects, spiders, lizards, and birds.
    • Their third finger is the same length as their upper arm.

     

    Tarsier monkey

     

    Tarsier monkey

     

    Tarsier monkey

     

    From there, we went to the Chocolate Hills. There are over 1,200 of these natural land formations. Unfortunately, no chocolate was involved. The mounds get their name from their brown appearance during the dry season. Apparently the limestone mounds were formed ages ago by the uplift of coral deposits and the action of rain water and erosion.

     

    Chocolate Hills sign

     

    Chocolate Hills

     

    We had lunch at the restaurant at the Chocolate Hills. The quality wasn’t amazing, but the prices weren’t bad and we were super thirsty and hungry.

    We stopped by White Beach, but were too disturbed by the super old white men with teenage girls and left soon after. We’re talking girls probably younger than their daughters. Eegh.

    It was a long day on the motorbike. David did a great job of driving. We both did a great job of sweating. The showers we took that night were some of the most needed and refreshing ones we’d had in awhile. We ate dinner that evening at Momo Village. I’m telling you – probably the best meal you can have in Bohol!

     

    Sunset in Panglao

     

    David and Leah at sunset

     

    Our time in Bohol was short, but I’m glad we were able to explore it for a day! Ana drove us to the ferry port early the next morning. We took the ferry back to Cebu City and a taxi from the port to the airport.

    Travel Note: When flying out of the Cebu Airport, there is an airport fee of 750PHP per person (about $16). You must pay this before you go to the gate area, so keep some pesos on you!

    I claim our first Asia trip (outside Korea) a success! 🙂

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