Philippine Travel Notes

Before we get out of Bohol, I would like to share some random sights, sites and scenes I encountered around Tagbilaran, my "base of operations" while roaming the southern towns of this island/province. Let's start with this, a view inside the St. Joseph Cathedral of Tagbilaran City, Bohol ... The Old Provincial Capitol of Bohol , now a museum. Still not ticked-off from my bucket list! Part of the urbanized areas of Tagbilaran... "Oling" = "Uling" = "Charcoal"... an essesntial in the Visayas - a barbecue country! There are still big old wooden houses in the city, but they're slowly modernizing... I saw an interesting 'vintage' vehicle on the road. It looks like a fairy-tale ride! It's an old 'carriage' or 'caruaje' or 'karwahe' that you would imagine being drawn by horses. That's one ride (I guess) that no Pinoy would wish to do anytime soon. Would you? If so, may you R est I n P e

I had to rush back to Tagbilaran City as my meet-up was all-of-a-sudden happening here, instead of at Alburquerque as previously agreed. Ah, it happens when we mix work with leisure. Lesson duly noted! What was the lesson? Ah eh... kalimutan na ang %^!%$* work na yan 😈 bwahahaha ! Wait, does this mean I skipped the town of Baclayon on this westward joyride back to Tagbilaran from Anda ? Well yes, because nga of the meeting . Although I actually also considered skipping Baclayon if evening fell, since I've been there many times before, and am sure to pass by it soon again and again. Anyway, I said yes when my 'kausap' changed the venue to Ocean Cafe, even if I didn't know where in Tagbilaran it may be. My reasoning was: it's only in Tagbilaran, I or my driver should be able to find it. Eto na.., we easily found it via google, right beside the "Sandugo" or " Blood Compact " Monument! Hesumalusep andito lang pala! Even my guide says he pa

Alburquerque, Bohol. Let us start with that name - just for us to be careful with historical associations and the 'origin of things' around us! As I said more than 2 decades ago , be careful with that name. It is Albu r querque with a letter "R" on the second syllable. It is different from Albuquerque City in America ! Ah, idamay na rin natin sa usapan yan... yes, Albuquerque is a US city in the state of New Mexico - not in the country of Mexico, because there's no city nor town named Albuquerque or Alburquerque there. But here are 2 cute facts: Albuquerque City, NM was originally named "Villa De Albu r querque". There's one town named exactly "Albu r querque" in the province of Badajoz, Spain (mlapit na yan sa Portugal). That can muddle or even belie the theory of some folks who say that 'Albur' in Bohol was named after a city in Mexico due to the associations that resulted from the Manila-Acapulco Trade. It can also be, tha

So we arrived at Loay from Lila . This stage of my joyride took us a little less than 20 minutes, probably because we had to slow down or stop to gaze at things along the way, like the " water glide " and so on! Otherwise, this could have been just a 10 minute joyride, had we rolled continuously, so said my driver. Loay is a place that most visitors to Bohol pass-by, but few (include me, please) actually get to see. Its town center is well-known to travelers, drivers and tour-guides, as that corner along the scenic coastal circumferential road, where one must veer off going to Loboc , Bilar or onwards to the Chocolate Hills . I myself had been breezing-by, yet longing to stop at least for a while, and see the surroundings of this town, for many years now. But circumstances in those many times were just not in my favor. So I said this was it! Yet, the guide made some kind of a "disclaimer" saying "it may not be how I want to see it"! Argh! Bakit? He

So here I was in Lila, Bohol. This town is only about 8 kilometers on a westward run from Dimiao . But and however, midway on that distance is actually the boundary between the two towns - which is Banban 1 Bridge that I mentioned on the last paragraph of my previous story . Let's take it from there! But let us clarify that again, I was traveling on the opposite direction of the usual way of travelers who would normally come from Tagbilaran. Ako, I came from the eastern end of Bohol ( Mabini , Anda , etc). The other side of that signage says "Come Again" - that is still "Lila speaking". You might be wondering, if that bridge pictured above is named "Banban 1", there must be a Banban 2 or 3 etc? Well, there's at least Banban 2 that I saw, some 400 meters prior to that spot, on Dimiao side. I'm saying all that because, both bridges have wonderful views of the sea. Good selfie spots! Plus, the place above with the colored flags, is a res

This next hop was nearer, only about 5 kilometers from Valencia to Dimiao, my next destination on the southern Bohol itinerary. At midpoint of that distance is Tangohay Bridge that signifies their boundary. Right after the bridge, there is this simple, not so 'loud' welcome signage, but it made me smile... It says " Welcome to Dimiao, the town of MUSIC, BEAUTY & GLEE ". O ha! Isn't it itriguingly interesting? Wah! On the other side (left) of that road, you could already see that a few steps away is a beach with light-colored sand. Not white, but not black, and it looks already enviting! I saw at least 1 "mini-resort". When I say "mini-resort", I mean it is the usual countryside family-owned "backyard enterprise" where owners put up a few benches and little shacks usually called 'cottage' for visitors to spend the day at. I got engrossed looking at the beach and the nice views of the sea behind the houses, and ther