Bohol May 2011: Countryside Tour (Day1)
First up, our travel crew. =)
Our first stop was the cemetery where we lit candles at Lolo and Lola's graves (Mommy's side). It was already drizzling in the morning, and that pretty much was the condition the entire day...
Then we were off to the Chocolate Hills which can now be viewed from two lookout points, in Sagbayan and Carmen. Sagbayan Peak is relatively new and except for Papang and Mom, everyone else hasn't been there so that was our first stop.
Sagbayan Peak (Entrance: P30) is a resort and recreation center built on top of a hill. It has a view deck, that allows for 360-degree unobstructed panorama of the surrounding hills and on a clear day, even Cebu.
They have a tarsier center by the ticket booth, with 2 tarsiers.
It was already lunchtime when we left Sagbayan Peak. We decided to eat first before going to the Carmen lookout. We stopped at Tany's Fried Chicken House, which was quite popular as all the tables were filled during the lunch hour. The chicken have been pre-cooked and just needed to be fried before serving so it wasn't a long wait. Chicken was ok, I would have liked it better if cooked with sabaw. Chicken was priced P380 each.
Then we were off to the Carmen lookout (Eentrance: P50). It was still drizzling and very windy at this point so the climb up the hill was quite taxing. This picture of Neil and Richard below tells it better.
Beautiful, awe-inspiring view at the top.
Our next stop was the Man-Made Forest in Bilar (but only God can make a tree!). It was just a quick stop right where the vegetation is thickest.
I don't recall having been to the Sevilla Hanging Bridge (entrance: P10) before so when my cousin suggested it, we were all game. See, we were still making changes to the itinerary at this point and generally just going with the what most of us want.
There are two bridges spanning the river so the traffic is one-way on each. Because of the weather, the bamboo-slats were slippery. We were extra careful during the crossing especially with Neil. Trooper kid!
On the other end of the river were shops selling typical Bohol souvenir items and a few surprises like pastel from Camiguin. They're also building a structure, which I hope would be a place to sit and have drinks before crossing back.
Our next stop was the Loboc Tarsier Center, along the Loboc River (entrance: free).
It was around 3PM at this point and we were deciding whether or not to do Loboc River Cruise. Our timing was off for a full meal so we decided to skip it this time. Most of us have done it before except Dets, Chris and Tiars. We're leaving out some sights for their next visit. =)
Another must-see attraction in Bohol is the Baclayon Church which was built in the 1500s. But there are actually more remarkable old churches along the way for those interested in architecture and history, including the Loboc Church (which we missed stopping at).
We stopped at Alburquerque Church before going to Baclayon.
The walls of Baclayon Church make for very interesting portaits.
We went inside the Baclayon Museum (entrance: P50) and they had very old birth and marriage records, priests vestments, and other religious artifacts. The displays could be better curated though. They are not getting the appropriate care and attention to highlight the importance of artifacts...
The site of the Blood Compact is a very short drive from Baclayon Church. Another typical touristy stuff but this site is not appreciated enough because there's no historical background or poster at all. People just typically take pictures for posterity's sake, then leave. Which is what we did, unfortunately...
The Countryside Tour of Bohol is always a treat to do. It has everything to cover different interests. The attractions are close enough to each other that you can do all of them in one day. We would have taken longer if it wasn't raining, spent more time at the Carmen lookout for sure. Still, a really good day around the countryside.=)
It was around 3:30PM when we left the Blood Compact site and since there was still time, we decided to proceed to the Bohol Bee Farm. That will be in a separate post.
 |
| Papang, Mommy, Richard, Me, Neil, Chris, Dets, Em, Tiara, Mark and Ranil (driver). |
Then we were off to the Chocolate Hills which can now be viewed from two lookout points, in Sagbayan and Carmen. Sagbayan Peak is relatively new and except for Papang and Mom, everyone else hasn't been there so that was our first stop.
Sagbayan Peak (Entrance: P30) is a resort and recreation center built on top of a hill. It has a view deck, that allows for 360-degree unobstructed panorama of the surrounding hills and on a clear day, even Cebu.
They have a tarsier center by the ticket booth, with 2 tarsiers.
It was already lunchtime when we left Sagbayan Peak. We decided to eat first before going to the Carmen lookout. We stopped at Tany's Fried Chicken House, which was quite popular as all the tables were filled during the lunch hour. The chicken have been pre-cooked and just needed to be fried before serving so it wasn't a long wait. Chicken was ok, I would have liked it better if cooked with sabaw. Chicken was priced P380 each.
Then we were off to the Carmen lookout (Eentrance: P50). It was still drizzling and very windy at this point so the climb up the hill was quite taxing. This picture of Neil and Richard below tells it better.
Beautiful, awe-inspiring view at the top.
Our next stop was the Man-Made Forest in Bilar (but only God can make a tree!). It was just a quick stop right where the vegetation is thickest.
I don't recall having been to the Sevilla Hanging Bridge (entrance: P10) before so when my cousin suggested it, we were all game. See, we were still making changes to the itinerary at this point and generally just going with the what most of us want.
There are two bridges spanning the river so the traffic is one-way on each. Because of the weather, the bamboo-slats were slippery. We were extra careful during the crossing especially with Neil. Trooper kid!
On the other end of the river were shops selling typical Bohol souvenir items and a few surprises like pastel from Camiguin. They're also building a structure, which I hope would be a place to sit and have drinks before crossing back.
Our next stop was the Loboc Tarsier Center, along the Loboc River (entrance: free).
It was around 3PM at this point and we were deciding whether or not to do Loboc River Cruise. Our timing was off for a full meal so we decided to skip it this time. Most of us have done it before except Dets, Chris and Tiars. We're leaving out some sights for their next visit. =)
Another must-see attraction in Bohol is the Baclayon Church which was built in the 1500s. But there are actually more remarkable old churches along the way for those interested in architecture and history, including the Loboc Church (which we missed stopping at).
We stopped at Alburquerque Church before going to Baclayon.
 |
| Alburquerque Church |
 |
| Baclayon Church |
We went inside the Baclayon Museum (entrance: P50) and they had very old birth and marriage records, priests vestments, and other religious artifacts. The displays could be better curated though. They are not getting the appropriate care and attention to highlight the importance of artifacts...
The site of the Blood Compact is a very short drive from Baclayon Church. Another typical touristy stuff but this site is not appreciated enough because there's no historical background or poster at all. People just typically take pictures for posterity's sake, then leave. Which is what we did, unfortunately...
The Countryside Tour of Bohol is always a treat to do. It has everything to cover different interests. The attractions are close enough to each other that you can do all of them in one day. We would have taken longer if it wasn't raining, spent more time at the Carmen lookout for sure. Still, a really good day around the countryside.=)
It was around 3:30PM when we left the Blood Compact site and since there was still time, we decided to proceed to the Bohol Bee Farm. That will be in a separate post.
Comments
Post a Comment