When Lee and I were planning our route through Asia all I had to do
was mention ‘Chocolate Hills’ and Lee was on board. It was a few months
later that I had to break the news to him that Bohol’s Chocolate Hills
aren’t actually made of chocolate. But don’t worry too much because I
cushioned the blow by telling him we could see these incredible
creatures.
This Yoda looking creature is a Tarsier and it is native to the
Philippines. Bohol has many places to view them but only one place is
known as a sanctuary that looks after them the way they should be cared
for so we knew exactly where to head.
We hopped on a boat in Boracay and after two planes with a mini stop
in Manila in-between we were soon on Bohol and heading to the tiny
island attached to it called Panglao. We hadn’t heard anything good
about the beaches but since we had a few days in Bohol we thought we’d
go and have a look anyway. We weren’t disappointed. The island was so
interesting and animal’s definitely ruled the roost. Everywhere you
looked there were cows, goats, roosters, piglets and so many puppies. We
loved it. The houses were small and hand built. People were friendly
with kids running up to us just to say hello. There were motorised
tricycles stopping every few yards asking if we wanted lifts into town
but nowhere near the amount we were harassed in Boracay.
We stayed in a great hotel called Hope Homes. It was about a twenty
minute walk from Alona beach and only took cash but the people were
friendly, there were lots of puppies and the rooms were big and clean.
Lee what is your favourite thing about the trip so far? “Puppies”
Once we were settled in we headed to the beach. We hadn’t expected
anything but Alona beach was lovely. Not very deep until the end of the
beach but beautiful. I’d also recommend Bohol peanut kisses ice cream.
I’m drooling just thinking about it.
The rest of our time on the island was allocated to hills and
tarsiers so we set about finding the best way to view them. At this
point I need to send you to this incredibly smart and funny blog post
over at
Globetrotter Girls
that details how to get around Bohol better than I ever could. We were
completely set on following these instructions to the letter that was
until poor Lee had food poisoning. We still aren’t 100% sure what caused
it but we are almost sure it was from a Filipino beef dish Lee ate that
evening. The poor man was stuck in bed for 12 hours. Luckily we had
thought ahead and bought lots of Imodium and paracetamol on the trip. I
don’t know what we would have done without them because we were miles
from a hospital. It took about 12 hours to feel human again which left
us one last day to see the wonders Bohol had to offer. We ended up
taking the hotels car to both the Tarsiers and the hills for a total
cost of 2000 pesos since I didn’t want Lee bumping around on Bohol
roads.
The Tarsier sanctuary you need to go to if you want to see them
treated well is the Tarsier Sanctuary in Corella. You pay 50 pesos for a
ticket and then drive up to the sanctuary. The floors inside are muddy
so if its rained recently it would be a good idea to wear shoes instead
of flip flops. The guide took us around the area asking us to be as
quiet as possible. She answered all our questions and more about these
incredible creatures. She also warned us that we may not see many
tarsiers today. I know this sounds weird but this made me so happy
because it meant the sanctuary was caring for them, letting them wander
free and not doing this just for tourists. As it was we were very very
lucky and saw three. Their huge sleepy eyes and tiny hands melted our
hearts.
Facts about Tarsiers:
.They can live up to 30 years in the wild but live an average of 6
months in captivity. The ones in the Corella sanctuary that we saw were
10 and 20. One was about to give birth which is also un-heard of if they
aren’t happy in their environment.
.The girls are lighter in Colour.
.They only have one baby at a time.
.They jump from tree to tree and have a extremely long tail to help them fly
.They eat insects
.They are very territorial and need a ache of space each. The baby
will only be with the mother 6 months after its born then it must find
it’s own space.
.Each of their eyes is heavier than their brain. They have the largest eye size (compared to their body) of all mammals.
There are also so many more that you can read
here
We were both on a high when we left. It was only a 20minute tour if
that to stop the animals being too disturbed but it was thrilling. Our
next stop was those mysteries Chocolate Hills. It took us about two
hours to get to the hills and once we arrived we decided to get the full
experience and have a tour guide show us around the hills. We rode on a
ATV while following the guide on a bike. It was 900 pesos which is
expensive on our budget but we did travel a long way just to see the
hills so wanted a little more than just the viewing platform. We didn’t
regret http://smallandtalltravel.com/wp-admin/post-new.phpthe decision.
It was thrilling riding around the hills and local area, waving at kids
that ran along the road to greet us and seeing chickens crossing the
road in front of is (the irony of this never got old in Bohol, no matter
how many times I saw it)
Chocolate Hills or ‘Booby Hills’ as Lee liked to call them
After our ride we paid the 50 pesos and headed to the top. It is a
steep staircase and some older people were struggling with the walk so
if you aren’t use to walking up hills make sure you take your time and
some water. Lee and I aren’t exactly fitness fans and we still did ok.
It isn’t a long walk and only takes a few minutes of stairs to get to
the top.
At the top you could see the majestic hills as far as the eyes could
see. We poses for photos and were in awe at the damaged surrounding the
hills caused by an earthquake two years earlier. It was terrifying to
see the power of nature but humbling to also see the beauty it creates.
There are lots of myths and legends surrounding the hills such as:
“a giant named Arogo who was extremely powerful and youthful lived in
Bohol. Arogo fell in love with Aloya, who was a simple mortal. Aloya’s
death caused Arogo much pain and misery, and in his sorrow he could not
stop crying. When his tears dried, the Chocolate Hills were formed.”
Really they are made of limestone and sit on a hard clay base. Many
fossils of coral and small marine animals have been discovered within
them leading scientists to believe they were once under water. They are
named the chocolate hills because in the summer the grass disappears to
reveal the brown mud. Whatever the origin, they were great to see and
worth the trip for us.
Overall we loved Bohol, despite the food poisoning, it was
beautiful, humble, friendly and interesting. I can see it becoming more
and more touristy though which is a shame. I hope it can hold onto its
charm for as long as possible.
I already bore everyone with how much I adore you but I just wanted
to tell you how lucky I am to have you in my life. You are my partner
in crime, my silly best friend and my travel buddy.
For those of you that know this crazy man, you will know how funny
and full of life this British gentleman is. For those of you who don’t
know him…if you mixed a rugby playing monkey with Disney’s Stitch and
covered it in chocolate…you’d have Lee. I can’t quite believe we are
both getting ready to leave our 20’s. We both set ourselves a scary task
of doing as much as possible in the last few years of our twenties and
so far we are on track. With just 3 years to spare we have crammed in a
life in Asia, a whole lot of new lovely friends and are heading to a new
home in Australia…hopefully we will be squeezing Canada into the mix
soon.
