06.10.18 - 09.10.18 Bohol

The next destination of our trip was another island, the island of Bohol. In the morning, we took a tricycle to the city of Larena. From here, we took the slightly more expensive Oceanjet ferry to Tagbilaran, the largest city in Bohol. From there, we took a Jeepney (modified American army jeeps that serve as public transportation throughout the Philippines) to a small village called Loboc, where our accommodation was located. Although the village is in the middle of nowhere, many tourists come here to take a boat trip on the river at noon, where they also have lunch. These are mainly tour groups. After participating in this activity on the outskirts of the village, they leave immediately. So you hardly see any other tourists in the village center, except in the evening at a small pizzeria in the village square, one of the 3 restaurants in the village.

The village itself is very quiet, except for the times when the Holy Mass is announced through loudspeakers. It is surrounded by rice fields and palm-covered hills. We spent our first day in the village as we both felt a bit sluggish and tired.

On the second day, we had a comprehensive program. For this, we rented a scooter again, a vehicle that has become familiar to us by now. It suits us well, as we can experience the beautiful scenery up close while driving, instead of through cramped views from the small windows of overcrowded Jeepneys. We made sure that the tires were in perfect condition before we drove to the first destination, the Tarsier Conservation Center. Tarsiers are the smallest primates there are. They are highly endangered and can only be found here and in very few other places in the world. They are the perfect examples of the cute creatures that live on this planet, and they remain cute even when they are fully grown (unlike dogs). They could fit in the palm of your hand, and their eyes are bigger than their brains. Since they are nocturnal, you can watch them chilling during the day... It's melt-in-your-mouth cute to see how they cling to the branches with their little fingers.

Afterwards, we drove about 40 km further to the Chocolate Hills. On the way there, we passed through a man-made forest and had lunch. The Chocolate Hills are a large chain of almost perfectly rounded grassy hills in the center of the island. Their formation is a geological puzzle. The name comes from the fact that the grass turns chocolate brown under the summer sun. However, we viewed them in their green splendor from an observation platform. After visiting the hills, we also visited a beautiful waterfall where Mathias took a short dip in the pool.

On the way back home, the sky gradually darkened, and before we knew it, we were driving through a heavy rain shower that soaked us to the bone within a short time. We stopped briefly under a roof, but since it was raining heavily and we were already wet, we decided to ride home in the rain. So we ended an impressive day in our beautiful countryside village. The next day, the alarm clock was going to ring very early...