Bohol May2011: Beach (Day2)
Day 2 is all about the beaches (and then some)!
We wanted to see the dolphins so we started early. The van was at the inn 5:00AM, and we left shortly after. We were already at the Alona Beach by 5:40 BUT the weather still was not cooperating. It was windy and overcast. A lot of boats were moored near the beach and Richard talked to a few folks who cancelled their early morning plans to dolphin watch.
I was on the fence at this point, but we all eventually decided to forge ahead.
The boatmen said dolphins don't usually show up in this weather and true enough, we didn't see any. So we proceeded to Balicasag Island instead. Again because of the winds, boats are not able to land at the resort side. We landed here instead.
It's rather raw and rugged unlike how I remembered it (resort side), but you get to interact with the locals who actually live there.
Dets, Chris, Em and Tiara snorkeled while the rest of us stayed back. Tiara also took a beginner's scuba lesson. All of these can be arranged at the island itself.
After Balicasag, we went to Virgin Island, about 30 minutes away. Despite my multiple visits to Bohol, I only heard of this island recently. Virgin Island is a C-shaped sandbar but the outer edges were immersed in knee-deep waters when we were there. This was a short stop but I would like to stay there longer given fair weather.
There were vendors hawking sea urchins. They tried it, I didn't.
Then we went back to Panglao to shower and change. The only(?) place that had public (vs. guests only) shower was Panglao Diver's. Shower is P40 each.
Our next stop was Bohol Bee Farm for lunch.
We wanted to see the dolphins so we started early. The van was at the inn 5:00AM, and we left shortly after. We were already at the Alona Beach by 5:40 BUT the weather still was not cooperating. It was windy and overcast. A lot of boats were moored near the beach and Richard talked to a few folks who cancelled their early morning plans to dolphin watch.
I was on the fence at this point, but we all eventually decided to forge ahead.
The boatmen said dolphins don't usually show up in this weather and true enough, we didn't see any. So we proceeded to Balicasag Island instead. Again because of the winds, boats are not able to land at the resort side. We landed here instead.
It's rather raw and rugged unlike how I remembered it (resort side), but you get to interact with the locals who actually live there.
Dets, Chris, Em and Tiara snorkeled while the rest of us stayed back. Tiara also took a beginner's scuba lesson. All of these can be arranged at the island itself.
After Balicasag, we went to Virgin Island, about 30 minutes away. Despite my multiple visits to Bohol, I only heard of this island recently. Virgin Island is a C-shaped sandbar but the outer edges were immersed in knee-deep waters when we were there. This was a short stop but I would like to stay there longer given fair weather.
There were vendors hawking sea urchins. They tried it, I didn't.
Then we went back to Panglao to shower and change. The only(?) place that had public (vs. guests only) shower was Panglao Diver's. Shower is P40 each.
Our next stop was Bohol Bee Farm for lunch.
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