Bohol and Alona Beach, Philippines - December 20, 2005
Amazing morning. We walked along the beach once again after we woke up. It looks amazing by the daylight - not that it didn't in the nighttime either. A few locals came up asking us if we wanted to take a boat ride to see dolphins or go diving. We declined.
What we did do today was take up a taxi drivers offer to show us Bohol for 1800 pesos (US$35). He took us to some old Spanish landmarks - one of the oldest churchest in the Philippines as well as some monument to the Spanish. From there we went to the Chocolate Hills. Very nice viewpoint from up there as well. Very impressive. The viewpoint from where we went was called the Chocolate Hills Complex. There was some really unique trees and walkways up to the top of this particular hill which gave a great vantage point to view many other hills all around us. Its difficult to describe, but well worth the visit.
After the Chocolate Hills, our driver brought us to a spot where we could eat an all-you-can-eat buffet for 250 pesos (US$5) which included a floating restaurant down the river to a waterfall and back. This turned out to be a very cool riverboat trip! They had a live band playing music the entire time. Plus a very festive atmosphere. There were local kids swinging from palm trees into the river, and just all liveliness everywhere. The river reminded me a bit of the Mekong River in Vietnam. This also felt very romantic. At the waterfall, there were more people swimming in there as well. I have to say its much better travelling with a girl than just travelling around solo.
From here, we went to a few other tourist attractions including a cave, and ultimately went back to Alona Beach once again. It was evening time by this time. We walked along the beach for awhile once again. It started to rain, so we decided to put on our swimsuits and get into the water for awhile. The beach was a gorgeous blue. The sand was a gorgeous white. Felt great getting into the water and just wading around in the rain. It was also a warm water, so no problem whatsoever with feeling cold by any means.
Ultimately as the sun started to go down, we decided to get out of the water. Too many starfish and other pointy creatures that we needed to be able to see if we were going to run around there barefoot. That night, had a very nice dinner on the beach once again. Strangely we noticed we were surrounded by almost all Germans in this beach area. I guess a major tourist attraction for them. Everyone seemed to be speaking German, and many signs in the bathrooms and just tourist signs were in German or saying they spoke German. Thought that was moderately interesting.
Anyhow, I gotta say Bohol and Alona Beach can be a very nice couple of days for anyone who makes that trip!
Continued journal entries in the Philippines:
December 22, 2005
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