Travel Philippines

Calamianes Group of islands is located in the northern part of Palawan, Philippines. It consists of Busuanga (largest island), Coron and Culion Islands.

How to get to Busuanga from Manila:

By Plane, daily:

South East Asian Airlines
Asian Spirit
PAL Express
CEBU Pacific

By Ferry, twice a week:

Negros Navigation
Super Ferry
Super Ferry’s schedule: Manila - Coron every Thursday & Friday afternoon
Super Ferry’s schedule: Coron - Manila, every Saturday & Sunday

What’s confusing is Coron Town is located in Busuanga Island instead in Coron Island.

Coron is a haven for wreck divers because you can find a lot of World War 2 Japanese ship wrecks around the area. It is actually considered as one of the best wreck diving sites in the world! So be sure you have your snorkeling, diving and underwater cameras ready because you’ll do a lot of island hopping!

For those who doesn’t want to go island hopping, you can visit Culion Island where you can find the former leper Colony, climb the 786 steps of Mt. Tapyas, have a dip in the 40 deg. celcius water of Maquinit Hot Spring, or see different African animals in the Calauit Game Reserve & Wildlife Sanctuary.

Our family (my hubby, parents-in-law, and our baby) went to Coron Last November 25 - 29. This was taken while we were waiting in the NEW NAIA Terminal 3.

Before, only small planes like Sea Air and Asian Spirit can land in Busuanga. Since the renovation of their airport, planes from Cebu Pacific and PAL (Air Philippines) can now cater flights going to Busuanga. As you can see this is not the typical Cebu Pacific plane because it is smaller and you can see the propeller outside.

The plane is just small so the entrance is just a few feet above the ground.

Honestly, I was scared when I saw the plane’s size. I was just relieved when we landed safely in Busuanga. Upon arrival, you will just wait for the small truck to drop off your baggages. As usual always be alert in looking after your bags!

It’s been a long time since I last posted. I will just post this last one to complete our travelogue in Bohol.

Balicasag Island

After the exciting dolphin watching, your boatmen will direct you to Balicasag island. Before you reach Balicasag, there would be a drop off point where you can enjoy the beauty of different corals and fishes! No wonder it is one of the popular diving spots in Bohol! For those who don’t know how to swim (like me), don’t worry, because there’s a part where you can stand on the big dead corals but be careful the next few steps will lead you deep into the ocean! Once we have our diving certification, we’ll definitely go back to this place and explore what’s in store for us in the deep! I bet there are a lot of manta rays and other big fishes underneath!

After our awesome snorkeling experience, we finally went to Balicasag Island for our lunch. As expected, the food was expensive but totally worth it because of it’s freshness! There are also cottages in the island where you could stay overnight.

One of the oldest churches in the Philippines is the Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception which can be found in Balcayon, Bohol. Beside the church is a Museum. We were not allowed to take some pictures inside the museum.

Baclayon Church Tower

inside Baclayon Church

Tip: You need to leave your cameras in their baggage counter. So better bring a camera bag with you and label it. If you don’t want to leave your camera, you can wait outside the museum or hide it where nobody else could find it!

Baclayon Church Museum

The most exciting attraction that Bohol has is dolphin watching! You will go to the site early in the morning, because that is the best time wherein dolphins play! I’ve watched a lot of dolphin shows and always been a fan. But this is my first time seeing them in their natural habitat! I can’t explain the feeling whenever we spot a group of dolphins swimming and playing! There was also a time where two dolphins swam along our boat! All of us were excited to see them underneath, nobody was able to capture a video/picture while they’re under our boat! They were so close, my hubby almost touched it! It makes me want to swim with them!

Dolphins

TIP: Have your camcorder ready when you visit this place! If you’re planning to take still pics, you should have a camera with a powerful zoom and fast shutter speed for you to be able to take pictures because they move so fast!

These are the only videos that I was able to take:

Bohol is one of the places where the Philippine tarsier resides. The Tarsier, locally known as Maumag in Cebuano/Visayan, derived it’s name from its elongated “tarsus” or ankle bone.  They can be found in Samar, Bohol, Leyte, and Mindanao. It is often mistaken to be the smallest monkey or the smallest primate but in fact, it is neither. The world’s smallest monkey is the Pygmy Marmoset (Callithrix pymaea) of western Amazonia while the world’s smallest primate is the Pygmy Mouse Lemur. It is however considered to be the mammal with the biggest eyes and still one of the smallest primates to live. The taxonomy of this animal is somewhat a problem among scientists.

Hello Tarsie!

According to Bohol.ph

Some scientists consider tarsiers to be a taxonomic suborder among the primates. While, because they are closely related to lemurs, lorises and bushbabies, others classify them with the prosimians to which these animals belong. Monkeys and apes belong to the suborder of anthropoids. The complete taxonomic classification thus is:

Class	Mammalia
Order	Primates
Suborder	Prosimii/Haplorrhini
Infraorder	Tarsiiformes
Superfamily	Tarsioidea

sleeping tarsier

Philippine tarsiers are unique among mammals because of their elongated hindlimbs and short forelimbs. Their digits are long and tapered, tipped with soft, rounded toe pads. All of their feet have flattened nails except the second and third hind toes, which have claw-like nails used for grooming. They can also turn their head around more than 180 degrees!

You will visit these tarsiers after you take the trip to Loboc River. I was disappointed because the place is just small. I thought we will see them from the forest or something.  At the back of the souvenir shop you will just see some plants. But when you look closer, you find these tarsiers clinging on the branches. It’s still a nice experience because you won’t see these creatures everyday!

me and my friend tarsier

me, hubby and tarsier

When you say Bohol, the first thing that comes our mind is the Chocolate Hills. Like Palawan’s Subterranean River, you can’t say that you’ve been to Bohol without visiting this famous tourist attraction! No wonder it is currently ranked as top 4 in the new7wonders of nature! The 1268 hills are mostly between 30 and 50 meters high. They are all uniformly shaped and covered with grass which eventually turn into chocolate brown during the dry season and hence the name Chocolate Hills. What’s amazing about this site is it is not man-made, it is just plain nature’s work!

chocolate hill from afar

You will see this sign at the foot of the stairway.

sign before the staircase

You have to climb 214 steps to get a panoramic view of the chocolate hills. Don’t worry, there are places where you can take a rest.

214 steps to reach the top

You will see this amazing view when you reach the viewdeck. Does it remind you of our favorite chocolate kisses? How I wish…!!! :) 

Don’t forget to vote for Chocolate Hills in new7wonders of nature! You only have until Dec. 31, 2008 so hurry!

One of the nicest experience that you could have in Bohol is dining on the floating restaurant while cruising the Loboc River. The restaurant is a motor driven “balsa” put over 2 large “banka” hulls.

Floating Restaurant

You can start getting food from the buffet table and eat as soon as the boat takes off. In our boat, they serve native filipino and western food. You will surely enjoy eating while looking at the beautiful scenery and listening to the musical band (combo) on board.

enjoying our lunch buffet

Tourists can also sing along with the band or take pictures with them.

picture - picture!

At first I felt like I’m in the amazon river! The thought of seeing anacondas swimming along our boat scares me! But seeing these kids swimming along our boat is a relief! You will also see other kids playing around the area and some women doing their laundry on the river side.

kids swimming along

The trip ends with the Busay waterfalls after around an hour. It is not the typical falls you know because it is just 1-1.5 meters high. This marks the point where the restaurant cannot go any further. You will be given time to take some pictures and enjoy the view. After a few minutes, you’ll start going back to the dock.

Busay waterfalls

As part of your City tour in Bohol, you will visit The Blood Compact Site in Tagbilaran City. The blood compact (aka Sandugo) between Datu Sikatuna a native chieftain and Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, the Spanish explorer and colonizer is one of the most important events in Philippine History. It was held on March 16, 1565 and is considered as the first international treaty of friendship between two people of different races (Spaniard and Filipino).

A sharp dagger was used in cutting slightly both the arms of Legaspi and Siaktuna, then having their blood mixed in a cup of wine. From this cup both men drank to become blood brothers in eternal friendship. The act has come down in history as promise of brotherhood and friendship.

Blood Compact Monument

Sandugo Festival

The Bohol Sandugo Celebration (or Sandugo Festival), also known as the Blood Compact Commemoration, is an annual historical event taking place for the whole month of July in Bohol. The festival commemorates the 1565 Sandugo.

The main highlights of the Sandugo Festival are the colorful street parade with a street dancing competition, a re-enactment of the blood compact between Datu Sikatuna and Miguel López de Legazpi, and a search for the Miss Bohol Sandugo.

view from Blood Compact Site

Source:

Bohol PH

Wikipedia

During our trip to Bohol, we stayed in Alona Kew White Beach Resort. As the name implies, it is located in Alona Beach, Tawala, Pangalao Island. It has it’s own beach front and garden cottages. The staff are very accommodating and friendly. The room is also great for its price! You will feel secure if you stay in this place.

Alona Kew

This is the beach front of Alona Kew. You can just sit back and relax on one of their benches or lounge in their hammock.

Alona beach

If you don’t feel like swimming in the ocean, you can take a dip in their pool.

Alona Kew's pool

Or you can just rest on the poolside while enjoying a drink of fresh juice!

poolside