Bohol Day 2

TRAVEL

On day 2, our wake-up call came at 5:30 am, not exactly ideal when you're on vacation mode but necessary if you want to see some dolphins. So we all staggered out of bed and dragged our asses to the van that took us to the next-door pier.

So this is what the world looks like at the crack of dawn, a beautiful, balmy morning in Bohol.

The view from our bangka as we watched the sun rise from our boat

Breakfast was packed in a cute little wicker basket by the good people of Bohol Bee Farm.

There was a handful of other boats racing after the dolphins and let me tell you, dolphin watching isn't easy. There's no guarantee where they'll be frolicking so it's not a sure thing that you'll even get to see them. Our boatmen were awesome though! We got to catch several glimpses of them jumping in and out of the water! These amazing creatures are worth waking up for.

After two hours or so on the water, it was time to head for land. The boat brought us to the super idyllic locale called Pamilacan Island, a part of the Baclayon municipality

It's a lovely little community where manicured grass meets the fine sand of the seashore. The residents are used to tourists coming to their island so everyone was friendly and accommodating. If you don't mind roughing it a little bit with no electricity or running water, they even rent out small huts for P750 a night with meals.

P&D by the sea (-Rosanna)

The beach area is so pristine and untouched. It was nice to not have to contend with droves of people and just have the entire stretch of beach all to yourself. We haven't been to a beach this empty and this nice in a looong time.

After spending our morning on the island, we headed back to Panglao to see two more sites before retiring to our resort. First, we visited the Hinagdanan Cave where half the fun lies with the energetic and entertaining tour guides.

The cave was formed naturally and features a fairly large lake. The light streaming in plays some cool tricks too. The water's even clean enough to swim in. Watch out for the liquid dripping from the ceiling though, like our guide said, "if it's cold, it's holy water. If it's warm, it's holy s*** (from the cave swallows)."

The steps covered all of half my feet. The cave was a nice little diversion; worth it for around 20 bucks per person. As a bonus, the guides are pros at using any camera that comes their way. They knew all this photography jargon and tweaked our settings for the tricky low-light conditions in the cave. 

After the cave, we headed on over to yet another beach, not that we were complaining. Alona Beach is where most of the bars, resorts and foreigners flock to. It's a mini Boracay of sorts, actually, complete with henna tattoo and jewelry stalls, seaside massages and hair braiders.

Happy hour with parents around. Weird.

This is part of what makes Bohol such a nice place to visit. There's something here for everyone, whether you're looking for adventure, sightseeing, some R&R or a club scene on the beach, or all of the above, you'll definitely find it here.