Bohol Island Adventure

After a couple days in Cebu we hopped on a boat and went to the island of Bohol. Bohol is one of the places I really wanted to visit while we are here. It is home to the smallest primate in the world, the tarsier. Also it is the place to go swim with whale sharks and home to the Chocolate Hills. The things we got to do while we were there is go see the tarsiers, visit a animal park, and go dolphin watching on our way to the island Pamilacan. We are extremly lucky because we had our own private guide who took us to all those places. The other legal intern with Lyndon, Peter, created a non-profit organization that builds schools and hospitals in the Philippines. His project this summer was on the island Pamilacan. Our tour guide, Jerome, works with Peter to organize these projects. Since we were a friend of Peter's, Jerome offered to show us the sights. We were so lucky to have this connection. Jerome picked us up from the pier and had a car and driver arranged to take us around for the day. It does not get much better than having a local show you around.

We went to a preserve to see the tarsiers. We wandered around the jungle and got to see these tiny monkeys up close. We even got to see a mommy and baby tarsier!

If you look by Cosette's shoulder you can see the tarsier. It kind of blends in.

Here is a close up on the tiny thing.

Squinty eyes.

More of the jungle. 

The animal park was well....bizare! The animals I assume were native to Bohol. There was not any information and the enclosers were not the best. The thing to see there was the giant python.

And yes, this is the type of place that lets you inside the cage with a giant snake that can eat you, your baby, and your baby daddy in one giant gulp.  

Mommy and Coco tarsier.

We next hopped on a boat and sailed across the ocean keeping our eyes out for dolphins on our way to Pamilacan Island. Sadly we did not see any dolphins. This is not the time of year to see dolphins or whale sharks.

Pamilacan is beautiful not in island paradise way, but in a pure and natural way because modernity has not quite reached its shores yet. The boat dropped us off a few feet from shore and we had to wade our way to the sandy beach. Jerome showed us the school that the non-profit organization had built that summer. They are in need of text books but otherwise the school is functioning propery. There is electricity on the island but only from 6pm to midnight. There was an octapus that someone had caught hanging up to dry. We walked along a concrete path that is the island's road. Kids played basketball, farm animals roamed around, and people were sitting around chatting with each other. Jerome told us if we had come the next day we would could have whitnessed a cock fight. Sadly our camera's battery died so we only got a couple of pictures on the island. We went down to the beach while we waited for our boat operator. Cosette loved picking up shells and sand. Lyndon walked around the beach with her while I looked for shark teeth. It was a perfect day.

The last part of our adventure on Bohol we spent at Flushing Meadows resort. It was nice as far as the Philippines goes. There was an infinity pool that looked over the ocean. We spend some more time at the beach. Cosette was not sure if she liked the water or not. She was sometimes okay with the waves washing up on her and then other times she would crawl away from them. I found my shark tooth!

We flew out of the Bohol airport. It made the Knoxville Tennessee airport seem huge. I am not sure how to describe it other than bizare as well. The building may not look like it functions but airplanes fly successfully in and out each day.

Our island hopping adventure was a success. We will always look back with fond memories.