Cabilao Island, once one of Bohol’s hidden paradise but is now slowly being visited and discovered by nature-loving people.  Cabilao Island is located in the western part of the main island of Bohol , facing Cebu. It is part of the municipality of Loon. I have a classmate in college who lives there and she even invited me to their place. Had I known that I would be writing about Cabilao, I would not have declined her invitation and went with her, and take lots of pictures! But anyway, I remember her proudly telling me about the great things you can see and experience in their wonderful, triangular-shaped island.

First off, she told me that electricity service is not 24 hours in the island. It’s only available for like 7:30 AM to 11:30 PM, but you wouldn’t mind about it because you will be enjoying nature at its best. By this time also, many people and resort owners in Cabilao now have generator to power up their place. So that is not a problem anymore. She also told me there are lots of foreigners, even local tourists, visiting their island for snorkeling and scuba diving since it has beautiful coral reefs and fishes surrounding the island. I also researched about it and indeed it is true. Now there are three famous resorts in Cabilao that offers snorkeling and scuba diving. These are Cabilao Beach Club, La Estrella Beach Resort, and Polaris Beach and Dive Resort. They are all owned by German-Filipino couples.

Cabilao Beach Club is located at Cambaquiz which is on the north-eastern side of the island. It has four spacious bungalows equipped with complete facilities like hot or cold showers, semi or fully air conditioned rooms, and terrace with the view of the magnificent sea. They also have a restaurant and a bar.

Polaris Beach and Dive Resort is located at Pantudlan, Cabilao Island. Their rooms are in cottage-style facility. You can log on to their website for more details http://www.polaris-dive.com.

Lastly, they have La Estrella Beach Resort which is the first resort in Cabilao. They have five different rooms available. Their room rates starts at 2,535 to 3,445 php. You can also visit their website for more information http://www.laestrella.ph.

You might wanna ask how to get to this beautiful island I’ve been talking about. Well, upon arriving to Bohol either by plane or by sea, you have to ride a bus or a jeep. In riding a bus, you just have to go to Cogon Bus Terminal and look for the buses or jeepneys going to Loon, or you can also go to the Integrated Bus Terminal at Dampas, Tagbilaran City . But I recommend you to go to Cogon Bus Terminal since it is nearer to the airport and pier. The fare to the airport or pier to the bus terminal is 10php (if there are no increases in gasoline). You have to be careful because some tricycle drivers ask for more fare, especially to tourists. The bus or the jeepney ride to Loon costs 50php. When you arrive to Loon, you still have to ride another jeep to Sandingan pier where you can ride a banca to the island itself. But, to avoid all these hassles, you can call the resort you will be staying and contact them if you want to be picked up in the airport or in the pier. I think this is much better especially if you are with your family or friends, though it will cost you a lot of money. But all these would pay off when you get to Cabilao Island .

The best time to go there is during summer since you will be on the beach and enjoying the walks along the island’s white sand beaches, the sparkling sun and gazing up at the fluffy blue and white clouds. And don’t ever forget snorkeling or diving! You wouldn’t want rain to ruin all these great things, right?

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• Cabilao Island Is The Place To Be (zay0612.wordpress.com)

The Chocolate Hills Of Bohol

Chocolate Hills

Chocolate Hills Complex

The largest hill, with a height of 120m, was turned into a “Chocolate Hills Complex” where you can have a 360-degree view of the scattered hills. But first, you have to climb 214 steps to be able to get that 360-degree view. And when you arrive, experience that wonderful feeling of satisfaction! One could really say how amazing our Creator is. The view is so breath-taking! You cannot stop yourself from taking pictures. You can also see some rice fields and lots of trees below the hills which makes the scene more wonderful. That’s why tourists from all over the world will not and cannot miss seeing the wonderful Chocolate Hills of Bohol.
           
You can easily reach Bohol through airplane or ferry. There are daily schedules of PAL and Cebu Pacific (and now Zest Air, too) from Manila to Tagbilaran City, Bohol. As for the ferries, they too have daily schedules going in and out of Bohol. There’s Ocean Jet, Super Cat and Weesam from Cebu or Dumaguete to Tagbilaran. Other ferries operating are Lite Shipping, Trans Asia, Sulpicio Lines, Cebu Ferries and Super Ferries, and I heard there’s Parras Seacat and Shuttle Ferry from Cagayan de Oro and Camiguin also.

Going To The Chocolate Hills

The Chocolate Hills Complex which is located at Carmen, Bohol is just 55 km from Tagbilaran City and 5 km from the town proper. You can ride a bus or hire a van to transport you to Carmen. But I prefer hiring a van especially when you are with your family or friends to make the journey more fun. When you hire a van, you can visit other tourist spots in Bohol other than the Chocolate Hills. They call it the “Semi-round Bohol”. Hiring a van costs you more or less 4,500php, depending on how many you are. But if you’re up to an adventure on your own, you can ride the buses going to Carmen, Bohol then ride a “Habal-habal” going to the Chocolate Hills Complex. Or, you can rent a car on some car rental shops found in Tagbilaran City.
 
There are a lot of places to stay in Bohol. But unfortunately, none near the Chocolate Hills. Nearest place that you can find a place to stay is in Tagbilaran City or in Panglao Island. Most hotels also have contacts to V-hire (short for Van for Hire) drivers for a trip around Bohol. Some good choices of hotels or inns around Tagbilaran City are Bohol Tropics Resort, Hotel La Roca, Metro Centre Hotel, Villa Alzhun Tourist Inn, Le Pensionne de San Jose, Travellodge, Soledad Suites, Darunday Manor, and Chriscent Ville Pension House.

The best time of the year to visit this famous Chocolate Hills is during summer. So you’ll really see those delicious-looking chocolate hills. This is also the time where lots of people are visiting Bohol, so expect a lot of foreign and local tourists around.

Feeling adventurous, I looked for other routes. To my relief there was one: take the roundabout trip from Nasipit-Bohol then to Cebu. Now there are two steps to that journey that made it very memorable.

The pier in Bohol was in Jagna. In my naïve collegiate mind, I assumed that the boat going to Cebu would originate from that place. Big mistake. The pier (actually just a little version of a pier) where the voyage to Cebu will start is in Tubigon, and the ‘boat’ was only slightly bigger than a banca. Think of those ferries plying the Batangas – Puerto Galera route. But in this case, the ‘boat’ will be treading open sea.

I felt my gonads in my throat as I thought about the prospect of sailing on that motorized banca. I can already imagine cathedral like waves smashing our boat to smithereens and sharks running off with portions of my torso and perhaps a limb or two.

But before that I had to take a bus from Jagna to Tubigon. I was almost positive that I would never get to Tubigon alive. The driver had us close all the windows. And the windows in this case were made of wood. Think of the side-windows of your car and replace that with wood. Yes, you can’t see anything. On top of that we were riding at the darkest time of the dawn along very narrow winding roads. The bus from the get-go shot out of the bus terminal like a bat out of hell. I swear to God I couldn’t feel the bus’ tires touching the pavement. We were in a bus and the feeling was that we were flying! Pretty traumatic bus experience that one.

Still, we arrived at the Tubigon Pier in one piece and the earlier horror of figuring in a bus collision was now replaced with my earlier reservation about the boat taking me to Cebu. One horror replaced with another more horrible prospect. It was still very early in the morning and I was already having a bad day.

All my morbid thoughts jumped off the window when I saw the water of the Tubigon. It was emerald clear and the more I stared at it the more I wanted to jump in. I think all those fisherman’s tales of mermaids singing out to them so they jump out to sea and drown were rubbish. There were no mermaids, only the heartbreakingly marvelous jade sea.

We head out for Cebu in that crystal clear water. Because the boat was relatively small (an understatement) I can actually put my hand on the side and dip my hand in the water– n act that had the boat’s crew reprimanding me in many occasions. I’m usually a sensible kid but I couldn’t help myself then.

I knew that we were in very deep waters when the sea turned dark blue. Actually it was more black than blue. I couldn’t help but think that sooner or later the boat was going to get unhinged and all of us would just be part of the debris; another reminder of man’s foolishness to tempt fate.

But we made it. I got of the boat shaking, smelling of the sea but fit enough to go to my midterms and pass it with flying colors.
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I have a certain fondness for Alona Beach because it was there that I had my first experience with a topless woman. No, nothing of that sort (shut that sordid mind of yours), I was merely walking along the beach one fine sunny morning when I noticed two foreigners sunbathing. I thought both folks were male as they were both sporting short hairs. Upon closer inspection (from a distance of course) however, the other one turned out to be a girl. Now this experience is something to scoff at, but if you’re an impressionable 14-year-old provincial kid, that kind of encounter leaves an indelible footprint in your mind.
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Somebody mentions Bohol to me however and I can only think of one thing– Fiestas.
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There’s no province in the Philippines that loves their fiesta more than the Boholanos or Bol-anons do. And no, I don’t just mean the Sandugo festival here, though it is also awesome in its own right. Am talking about the fiestas that happen everyday all over the province throughout the merry month of May.

It is during this time of the year when paisanos or sanos from all over the world congregate on this little island province. If the proud locals are to be believed, the island of Bohol actually sinks deeper into the sea during this time.

In this province, during this time, there will always be a barrio or a town somewhere that will be having its fiesta. It is even said that you wouldn’t have to worry about food during this month as long as you know which place will be having its fiesta. I’ve heard of my cousins’ tales on how they crisscrossed the island living off one barrio fiesta after another.

This may sound incredulous but given the Bol-anons propensity to invite everyone on the street to partake of their (even meager) feast, these tall tales may have some truth in them.

It’s a wonder that a movie hasn’t been made about it though. Could be an adventurer’s backpacking wet dream come to life.
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