Bohol's Countryside Tour

Our first stop was the Chocolate Hills in Carmen. According to our guide, there are 2 reason's behind it's name first is because during summer the hills are all color brown and the second is because when they make chocolate they shaped it like a hill. I bought one chocolate with the hill shaped on our way home and I really really regret of not buying extras, their chocolate taste a lot like Hershey's Deep Dark Chocolate, yum yum!!! Going back to Chocolate Hills. We went to a viewing peak, and climb more than a hundred steps to reach an overlooking on the ridge that gives best views of the hills. we stayed there for 20mins. I was disappointed because I really thought that the hills are close to each other and since it is already July, most of them are already green. I was amazed with some of the perfectly shaped hills. On our way to Carmen, our guide bought some Alupe, one of Bohol's specialty, I find it yummy although not superb!
Next stop was the Man Made Mahogany Trees in Bilar. We had a pit stop at the entrance and took few shots for remembrance. The trees blocks the sun which makes the place really really serene. According to our guide, Anvy, they started planting the trees only more than 20 years ago. The reason behind it was the flash flood calamity that struck Bohol 2 decades ago.
We had lunch at Riverwatch Floating Restaurant in Loboc River. Took a River Cruise and had a great buffet meal. I love the Blue Marlin they served. Their Biko kakanin are the best. The cruise last more than a hour. When we reach Busay falls, we we're serenade by a group of singers before heading back. There's still a bigger falls ahead but it is not passable by the cruise. Anvy said that the water is cold and very deep, there's a lagoon where the locals are allowed to swim but she said it is still risky because of the strong current. The lunch cost P250 per head plus a P30 for the coast guide.
Along Loboc there are Tarsier where a guest can see them up close. We can take a picture with them provided no flash can be used. I read that Tarsiers from this hut don't live longer since they can easily disturb by the noise and easily stress when there's a lot of people. We cannot visit Tarsier Sanctuary since Anvy said we cannot see them up close. We took few shots, give donation, buy 4 cute keychains and head off.
Our next stop was the ***I forgot the name of the place in Albuquerque, to see the biggest captivity python in the world, we also get to see flying lemers, locals call them Taguang, there's animals are so cute that you would think they are just stuff toys inside the cage. There's an entrance fee of P5.
The oldest church in Bohol is Baclayon Church. There's a meseum, where they kept all gold artifacts, relics and other antiques. You cannot bring in camphones and digicam inside the meseum, picture taking is not allowed. The church looks old and looks intact. They used egg whites as to cement the stones. We wish and pray before we finally went to our last stop.
On our way to our destination spot, we pass by a lot of churches in Bohol, some are Loboc Church (another old but really beautiful church), Dauis Church, San Agustine Church, Albuquerque Church and others. Mostly of the Boholenos are catholic that's why it is important for them to preserved the beauty of each church. according to Anvy, they even try to come up with a new rule that a lady should dress skirts every time they go on a mass. Whether the rule will be implemented or not they still don't know.
Bohol is called the cave country. Locals said that the name Bohol was derived from the local term Buho which means hole. Hinagdanan Cave was our last stop before heading to Alona Beach. It is only one of the few caves in Bohol. It is called Hinagdanan which means laddered. The cave has a number of stalactites hanging from the ceiling and stalagmites sticking out of the earth blow them. Inside the cave there are only few lights in order to preserved the nature. Both caves are open on each end but the other doesn't have trails so you will have to go back to get outside the cave. there's a pond, but according to the guide it is not good for swimming since it is dark inside the cave, the water is very cold and very deep. She said that the water is a mixture of fresh and salt water.
There are still a lot of caves and churches in bohol but since we only get to tour the land a day, it is not included in our itinerary, going to other caves and churches needs a special tour with a special rates.