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Monday, December 7, 2009

~ Cebu Manila Trip - Day 3 @ Bohol ~

29th Nov 09

4:30am - All of us woke up to get ready for our Dolphin Tour! The kids put on the safety vest and pose for a photo.
5:30am - Since we were out early, Hubby went to collect the breakfast which we ordered last night. Flor also came on time to meet us.
The sky is getting bright even though it's not 6 o'clock yet. The boat is just by the beach outside Dumaluan Beach Resort and we walk our way there and up the boat.
Our boatmen for the day who will be helping us to spot the dolphins.

We were lucky that the weather is clear and there is no rain (unlike the day before). We set out to sea and it is simply GREAT feeling the breeze and seeing the Sun slowly rising higher and higher above the sealine! I guess it's not easy to spot the dolphins and after being out at sea for half hour, we decided to have our breakfast on board while the boatmen are still searching. (sausages, sunny side up eggs, veg, watermelon, bread and packet drinks).
Sun is rising higher and it's getting hotter. We finally spotted the dolphins (@ 7am) jumping in the sea!! They did not really come very close to us and so we were not able to get a good shot/video. All of us were so excited and applaud when we saw them. ^_^ There are sooo many and all the boats nearby gather around the same spot just to catch a glimsp of the grey dolphins.

Flor said that the dolphins usually gather around there to play before the sun rises too high and gets too hot.



As the kids are still young, we did not choose to go to Pamilacan island for snorkelling and fish feeding. So, we changed our itinerary for the afternoon tour. After finally seeing the dolphins, Denver wanted to have fun and play by the beach.. so the boatmen make a turn back to our beach resort.

We can see there were dark clouds gathering further away and then we spotted Rainbow! The full arc across the sea and Gladys was so happy that she keeps shouting "RAINBOW"! :)
Yeah! We finally reached the shore safely. :) It has been so much fun!

While Hubby went back to our room to get the sunblock and goggles, the kids and I went ahead to build our sandcastles. Uhhhh.. it did not look exactly like a castle, but the children had fun playing with the sand, running to the sea, collecting water and pouring it on the sandcastle. ^_^

The Panglao beaches and waters are clear and beautiful! Totally unlike the ones we had here. It is not polluted and the sand is so fine and soft to touch. We walked barefooted on the seabed and spotted small white fishes, seashells and STARFISHES!

You can imagine how happy Gladys is when she spotted one. She keeps picking it up and putting it back to the seabed. :p I know she would like to bring one back home... but we manage to persuade her and promise that she will have her starfishes bought from the shops instead. Denver is busy soaking himself in the waters... one moment crawling or walking... the next moment he is kicking or swimming. Gladys on the other hand keeps grabbing the white powdery sand and throwing them back into the sea.

We spotted another Starfish!! A blue one this time and of different shape!!

We saw another one again and Hubby picked it up. Unlike the other starfishes which is harder to touch. This one is Soft! Hubby was surprised and drop the starfish back into the waters. Not knowing how alive or safe it is, we decided to leave it intact.. in the waters. LoL :p

The Beautiful Beach Front and Clear Blue Sky and waters.

It was definitely a good idea to have my transition lens made for this trip. Although it's only 9am, the heat from the sun is so hot that I felt it's like noon time. Hope the children won't get sunburnt.

The children are not done after playing by the beach, they went straight to the swimming pool for another round of fun. I'm glad they are enjoying themselves so much so far.

Well, it's time to packup and check-out of the resort. As promised, I bought Gladys a basket full of colourful starfishes.. Before leaving, here's some snapshot of Dumaluan during the day.

11:00am - Flor came to pick us from Dumaluan and we are off to have our lunch at the Bohol Bee Farm. http://www.boholbeefarm.com/
After having so much activity in the morning, we are definitely HUNGRY and looking forward to a good lunch! There is only one resturant in the bee farm but they have two area where we can choose to have our lunch served. One is indoor with a small pool inside (The cave) and the other is outdoor with a great sea view. Of course we chose the latter. :p
While waiting for our lunch, we walked some steps down to another platform area where you can see the boats, relax, rest and enjoy the peace and serenity.
View from the eating area..
Our LUNCH is finally served. I LOVE their homemade bread and spread very much!! I guess these are complementary for every main dish ordered. They are so sweet and tasty!! The 3 different spreads are Honey Mango, Pesto and Honey. All of them are GREAT that I don't know which one I like best. :p
Our Healthy Drinks. Peanut Butter Mango Shake, Avocado Mango Shake and Veggie Juice. (Can't recall the name).
Main course - Fish & Chips, Tsokolate Muffin and Pastas
The children still have room for ICE-CREAM! We ordered their favourite Chocolate flavour @ 4op.
Of course we can't leave without buying some of the honey products and spread back! There are sooo many to choose from.
There is a guided tour within the beefarm... Unfortunately, the kids are not very keen as they are afraid of the bees flying near them and their sting. So we watched from afar and left halfway through.
2pm: Hingagdanan Cave. Gladys is asleep by now and seeing how steep the steps inside the cave are.. it will be very challenging and dangerous to carry Gladys down. So, I decided to give it a miss and let the guys go ahead.

The first thing Denver told me when he climb out of the cave is ... "Mommy, I bang my head." Hubby said that it was a good decision not to let me go down because it was really steep and slippery. They did not manage to see the bats but got to see the birds within the cave.

Before leaving, we bought some Tshirts at the souvenior stalls nearby and that marks the end of all our planned tours in Bohol. There is still some time left before going to the jetty. Flor send us to a nearby shopping mall - Mediterran where the children had some time playing with the car rides.
Since it will be late by the time we reach Cebu, we had an early dinner at Chow King - an oriental quick service food chain. http://www.chowking.com/
Hubby ordered Shanghai Lauriat, Yang Chow fried Rice and a spicy fried rice. The food is good and we are ready to meet Flor to take us to the Jetty to catch our 5:30pm boat.

The jetty is more chaotic than in Cebu.. Hubby has to go and squeeze through the crowd to get a boarding pass for Gladys since she is only 3 years old and do not need a ticket. The kiddos and I waited for him very long and I started to worry. Finally saw Hubby returning telling me that the earlier ferry at 4:10pm did not depart. There is an argument by many passengers outside as many are catching the boat back to Cebu/Mactan to catch a flight. :( Apparently the earlier ferry might have hit the wharf and that's why it didn't depart on time. I read on the web before which says "NEVER trust a boat to take you back on time to catch a FLIGHT".

We started to worry if our ferry at 5:30pm will have issues. True enough... it only departs at 6pm and Hubby can see there are passengers from the 4:10pm boarding our ferry. We are concern if it will be overloaded and I felt uneasy throughout the 2 hours journey back. This is the only worrying experience we had on this trip.

8:10pm: Thank GOODNESS the ferry dock safely. We quickly collect our luggage and thanks again to Lutchie, she arranged her parents to come and to pick us from the Pier back to Diplomat Hotel.

We were welcome by the hotel's staff and back to the same room at 308. What a looong day we had...
================================================================
Bohol Tour (Countryside, Firefly, Dolphin) - 11500p
Starfish for Gladys - 150p
Lunch @ Bee Farm - 860p
Buys from Bee Farm - 1060p
Buys from Souvenior shop @ Hingagdanan Cave - 1195p
Tips given @ cave - 50p
Car ride @ Mediterran Mall - 40p
Dinner @ Chow King - 480p
Cakes from Goldilocks - 60p
Cargo Tax - 30p
Terminal Tax - 34p
Mineral bottles from Diplomat - 100p
Total : 15559p

15 comments:

Unknown said...

Seeing dolphins and finding star fishes on the beach is so cool!! But bee farms are places I haven't dared to bring kids to. I imagine they would freak out.. and I would freak out too, if any of them got stung by a bee. :p

Missus Tay said...

the sunrise looked stunning!

i watched a travel programme on tv recently on one of the Philippines island and they had dolphins watching and beautiful beaches like what you shared here too! you've got me contemplating when we should do an island getaway.

Unknown said...

Bees? Yikes! The sea looks lovely. With the rainbow, it is beautiful.

Unknown said...

We've not been to the Philippines for vacation before. What's your take? Safe for kids? Which airline did you take?

Unknown said...

My goodness you managed to pack in SO many activities into one day! No wonder you needed a 5am start. But it seems worth it - the sunrise looks amazing over the water.

Phoebe said...

Luckily we didn't get stung by any bees. I was a bit worried too but just went along . :)

Phoebe said...

It's a beautiful island! The waters is really clear and we missed the beaches. It would be a great experience. But the ferry ride is chaotic.

Phoebe said...

Being not able to swim.. I was pretty scared! But it was worth the trip out! :)

Phoebe said...

Well, we went there a few times and we have not encounter any problems yet. The security guards have guns with them (even in fast food restaurant).. and there are bag checks at shopping malls. I guess its all about luck. Philippines is a beautiful country with good food but I guess it does takes courage and planning before travelling there. We took Cebu Pacific airline.

Phoebe said...

I didn't have a better camera then so I guess thats the best image I can get. :) Yes.. it was worth the trip taking a ferry from Cebu to Bohol... Looking back, I wonder where I got the courage to bring my kids who were so young then there!

Mummy Kless said...

Philippines is one country I've never been to but planning to do so soon definitely! I am sure my kids would love getting up close and personal with those dolphins!

May said...

I'm more excited that you saw a sunrise than dolphins haha but loving the experience you had for the children. It must have left a deep impression for them till today. And no way am I going to meet bees! hahaha

Phoebe said...

I am sure they will. We were lucky to catch them at the last minute. Else it will be a fruitless trip

Phoebe said...

Yes. They remember it well and hope to go back again. As for the bees, I will stand aside too. Hahah

Ed or Edmund Tay said...

Oh Wow! What an interesting place to visit in Philippines! Must get my kids there someday! :)

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