Philippines Day 5 - Bohol

December 29th, 2013

We packed a WHOLE LOT into our 1st day on Bohol.
(So grab you coffee, this is going to be a LONG one!)
Our first stop was at a market to buy flip flops for Boy 1.
His shoes broke the day before and since we travel light, the poor boy needed shoes.

While we were there we picked up a little breakfast for the kids.
Just kidding. 
While they are adventurous, the draw the line at eating dried fish from a box.

On the way to our next destination we saw this Jeepney FULL of people getting to and from work, home & Grandma's house. 
This was a common site.
These things were ALWAYS PACKED to the BRIM and many times overflowing.
Hubby really wanted to ride on one, but alas I was not really into strapping the kids to the roof, although it would have made a great Christmas card for next year.

Our next stop was at the Blood Compact Monument in Tagbilaran City.

This is what is inscribed at the monument:
"About the middle of March 1565, the fleet of Captain General Miguel López de Legazpi anchored along these shores. In the course of this visit, López de Legazpi entered into a blood compact with Datu Sikatuna for the purpose of insuring friendly relations between the Spaniards and Filipinos."

It added that the compact was performed a as part of the tribal tradition:
"Each of the two leaders made a small cut in his arm, drew a few drops of blood from the incision, mixed it with wine, and drank the goblet containing the blood of the other. Thus was the first bond of friendship between Filipinos and Spaniards."

In his report to Philip II, Lopez de Legazpi wrote:
"It is observed in the following manner: one from each party draws two or three drops of blood from his own arm or breast and mixes them in the same cup, with water or wine. Then the mixture must be divided equally between two cups and neither person may depart until both cups are alike drained."

And that was it.
Ranked #19 on Trip Advisor.
True Story.

What I liked more was the view:
(and the coffee shop next door....I have yet to have a good cup of Joe in the Philippines.  I'm starting to have withdrawals.)

But check out what you see when you looked down.
Rubble.
On that balcony to the left is an infinity pool..
...and below...

Baclayon Church.
One of the oldest stone churches in the Philippines founded in 1596 and was the best preserved church in the region until the earthquake of October 2013.
On Bohol the devastation from the earthquake was worse than that of the Typhoon of November 2013.

We always seem to find the ice cream man!

Hanging with my favorite 17 year old.

While traveling though the Philippines we saw Christmas trees EVERYWHERE and most of them were made from recycled products.

Our next stop was the Xzootic Animal Park.
Really pathetic and not worth a stop.
They did have a 'Gray Squirrel'.

More devastation from the earthquake.
Another old church reduced to rubble.

More fun things to see while traveling....a pig in a tricycle.

Another festive Christmas tree!
I LOVED seeing these everywhere!

The most fun thing of the day....
ZIP LINING at Loboc Eco Adventure Park.
We did 2 zips.
1st Zip:
Length 520 meters
Height 120 meters
2nds Zip:
Length 420 meters
Height 100 meters

The view from the middle of the zip:

My favorite sign of the entire trip:

We then headed over to the Tarsier Conservation Area.
The Tarsier is the cutest little creature I think I have ever seen.
We were able to see them in their natural habitat.
I think we spotted about 5.

Isn't he adorable?
I wanted to take him home.

Chocolate Hills - Ranked #1 on Trip Advisor.
Chocolate hills have NOTHING TO DO WITH CHOCOLATE....do you hear me....NOTHING.
The Chocolate Hills is a geological formation.  There are at least 1,260 hills - they are covered in green grass that turns brown during the dry season....LIKE CHOCOLATE.  WHAT?!?!  Seriously, that is how they got their name. Do you know how disappointing it is to go to the Chocolate fields and not get chocolate?  Thank goodness we knew this before we got there or I would have had a revolt on my  hands.

At the top of the view point.
More devastation from the earthquake.
I love how the palm trees are still alive...I hope they replant them someplace else.

This is what happens after you have been sightseeing for an entire day and you ask you people to take a family picture at the chocolate hills with no chocolate....

Traveling to another area we see this:
They have STOOLS in the back of their truck for sitting.
Genius?

As we continue on our trek we ask to stop at another market. 
Hubby's flip flops wore a blister on his foot so he needed new shoes now.
This market was HUGE!

It kind of reminded me of Cambodia.

Need clothes?

Cabbage?

Rice must be comfortable...if you remember I posted a picture of children hanging out on rice bags in Cambodia.

Christmas started lined the streets of Bohol.

After a long day we made it back to our B&B where we had the pool to ourselves!

The sunset was magnificent!

After a long day we sat down to a dinner of fresh caught fish by the owners of our B&B, Isola Bella Beach Resort.

After dinner we finished the night with a few fireworks on the beach.

The world is a book & those who do not travel only read a page. ~ St. Augustine

I am blessed beyond measure that I have been able to read several chapters with the people I love the most in this world.