Going To Bohol's Southern Towns

Just a little over a month, here I was going back to Tagbilaran, again. Not that I am complaining hehe! This time though, I didn't go to Panglao Island. I went instead, to see the southern towns. I needed to!

I went to see (work-related) all those towns, except those that I have already been-to in the past, such as Loboc, Baclayon, Calape, Tubigon, etc. [well you can search for other Bohol towns on this blog too]!

But, as they say in my favorite song "let's start at the very beginning"!

As many of you may have already predicted, I came from Tacloban (that is where I am often at, during weekdays) because of this thing called 'work' hahaha! There are many ways to go to Bohol from there, but just like last month, I opted to fly to Cebu, and connected to another flight to Tagbilaran. It's faster.

Hey, out of Tacloban, I boarded first, because my seat was 2B, yung nasa harap. And I saw this...

Umbrellas were provided as we passengers boarded, since it was a hot sunny noontime. Quite a nice line of yellow parasols, right? I wanted to take more pictures, standing by the door of the ATR72, but I would have delayed the boarding procedure. Besides, most of them, my fellow passengers, seemed to be 'not in a jolly good mood'! Not sure if, 'ganyan lang talaga ang mga Waray', or if 'it was just too hot'!

And well, what do you know, maybe I was feeling 'artistic' today, because even this got me interested!

That's something new that I noticed being consistently done at Mactan Airport's baggage carousel of late. Interestingly 'aliw' 'no? Yep, the baggage carts are already lined-up along the sides of the luggage conveyor belts, instead of passengers still going to the far corners to get them. Oh ha? Innovative. Da!

I consider that as part of "the little things that matter"! Kudos to the porters!

Okay, you already know the drill, right? I arrived on a Cebu Pacific flight from TAC; without going out of the arrivals area, I veered left to the transfer desks; checked-in for my connecting flight to TAG on PAL; then made my way upstairs (to the departure area); entered the final security check; and waited here..

Hmm, if you don't recognize that, you must be new to reading my blogs. That is of course everybody's favorite 'Arroz Caldo', at PAL's Mabuhay Lounge! But look at the condiment bowls, halatang me kulang!

Those 3 containers only have spring onions, salted eggs, and fried garlic. Nasaan ang 'dilis'? Yeah, the roasted crispy anchovies that go well with that 'Arroz Caldo'! Oh, I'm not so sure if I already mentioned that in any of my stories. Eto ang chika... an insider told me "hindi nagustuhan ni Kapitan, kaya inalis"!

You of course know who that "Kapitan" is, right? Ah, for those who don't, siya lang naman yung me-ari ng PAL! That's how he's informally called within the airline, though some youngsters refer to him as LT.

The story goes something like... "once upon a time, when he was at a Mabuhay Lounge, he did not like the smell of something, so the alalays searched for that something. Voila! Yung dilis pala! Ayun, inalis!

That 'legend' of a story is not clear if the Kapitan himself actually said "alisin yan", or, if an overzealous underling (aka sipsip) just commanded that it be removed because the Kapitan did not like that smell!

Whatever the case, that is how the lowly dilis ceased from being a condiment of the Mabuhay Lounge Arroz Caldo! When it first disappeared, I sad "hmp, mal viaje as in badtrip naman o"! Eh sa totoo lang, I didn't consider that as condiment. Inuulam ko yon hahaha! Di kaya yun ang real reason? Inuulam kasi!

Ituloy ang tsismisan... ako, my personal theory is,,, yung patis ang nangangamoy mabaho na na-amoy niya, kesa dun sa crispy-fried anchovies na manamis-namis. Mag-rally kaya tayo, "IBALIK ANG DILIS"!

Hahaha, enough of that! Let's proceed...

As usual, like last month, flight was delayed, due to some plane still occupying the Tagbilaran Airport.

And just like last month too, I caught my royal self na nakikipag-kulitan sa sang bulinggit hahaha! The little dude was bungisngisly cute, anlalaki ng pisngi na mamula-mula! Bus at 1542H, ETD was 1530H!

RP-C8609, Airbus A320-214 of PAL Express, 12 Business/144 Economy seats, pero iilan lang kami!

Such a big jetplane for less than 20 passengers! But I already know, this goes full to Korea from TAG.

Look, the plane was virtually empty. My seat was 6D, but I sat at the back to try taking pics from there!

You see that second video screen at left? Pasaway yan. Ayaw paawat. No video, but it entertained me!

Sa tuwa ko, I even recorded a video of its kakulitan! Eto...
Yes I know, sira yan. But (at least for me), it was fun watching it disturb the peace and quiet of the few passengers in the plane. Yes, me ganun hehehe! Obviously, it was not a threat to the flight's safety nor security, right? Though it would have been an issue (later) on passengers' "comfort and convenience".

Later? Ah, when I say later, that means on that plane's succeeding (and longer!) flight from Tagbilaran to Incheon, Korea. Imagine that, if you were the passenger near that video screen, while others would be watching entertaining things, ikaw Koreano, ang nasa harap mo, sumasayaw na video screen! Da!

Hahaha, that would probably annoy many passengers. I just wasn't 'affected', since my Cebu to Bohol flight does not even take a quarter of an hour. Eh yun Tagbilaran to Incheon, aba 4 to 5 hours yata yan! We were about to takeoff, so I was sure no one was repairing that thing along the way, eh wala naman PAL maintenance kids sa TAG. Grinning I silently said "haruy Mano Libie, an im mga boys ha Mactan"!

Alright.., at 4:26PM, here was my airplane, waiting for our turn to take-off on Runway 04.

On a fine day, a runway area (also called an airfield) is usually a vast and panoramic view, that is why I like taking photos as a plane passes-by or waits for its turn on the runway to assume takeoff position.

While waiting... all of a sudden... nang walang anu-ano... a fighter jet roared by to take off. Wowness!
It was fast, I did not catch it for a pic or video. Argh! But they usually come in pairs, right? So I readied my phone to shoot a video, in case a second one, also takes off, howsoever fleeting it might be. Got it!
Were those FA-50s of the Philippine Air Force? Probably so. Meron pa bang iba? I wonder though, why do I keep seeing them in the Visayas, when their home is Basa Airbase in Pampanga? I just saw them here 3 months ago! Ah, I remember... they're still doing the "ratatatatat" of the Maute Group in Marawi!

Anyway, after about half an hour from boarding the plane, it was finally our time to take off!

As usual nga.., our pilot had to await clearance from the Tagbilaran tower, if nihawa na ang red plane! Isn't that ironic? You check-in 2 hours before a flight, wait delayed for 30 minutes on the tarmac, for a flight that takes no more than 15 minutes! Ah okay lang. There're always things to see and learn from!

Like this whitish strip of an island should be (I'm guessing) Pandanon, a brangay of Getafe, Bohol!

That means therefore, the plane was just above the west side of Olango Island when I took that pic!

Which means... this next island below must be Cabul-an, a barangay of Buenavista, Bohol!

The island, shaped like a letter D is unmistakable. The while island at the back is still Pandanon.

Then we were flying over the thick and wide mangrove forests in the Inabanga, Clarin, Tubigon areas.

Flight was heading south-southeast from Mactan to Tagbilaran. Afternoon sun highlights the views!

Over Sagbayan, the multitude of hills stretching all the way to Carmen, started coming into view. Wow!

I just realized there are a multitude of hills, though not all of them are shaped like chocolate kisses!

Oist, come to think of it, there might be more than the 'official count' of 1,260 or the 'alleged' 1,776!

Some are not perfect cones, or don't have circular bases. But they all look amazing just the same.

It's true, even if you've already read about those hills, like in a child's heart and mind, the question that lingers in your brain is: "why on earth... why did earth form them to be amazingly so"? No trees on top!

In excited amazement, napa-video tuloy ako! Yes, I shot a clip of the hills all the way to landing!
Looking at the island from above, it is very easy to realize that Bohol is actually composed of so many hills and mounds. No high mountains, but thousands of smaller / tinier hills or ridges, not necessarily looking like the Chocolate Hills, since the majority do have trees on them - but are hills just the same!

Hmm teka.., maybe this island province should have been called BoHill instead of Bohol hehehe. Korni ba? Ah, whatever! What The Hill! Yes, you can Go To Hill! Oh, while visiting, you can sing "DaHill Sa'yo"!

Haaay hehehe! Anyway...

So we landed, and to the arrival area we passengers walked. Mas madami pa yata ang sakay ng jeep!

Can you see my fellow passengers? That's them on the right edge of the picture, plus the mother with a baby who is already inside the terminal. Apparently, not too many people know about this flight, yet!

Anyway, I told my self I better take pictures, and even savor these last few flights to Tagbilaran, as this airport is going to close soon, when the bigger one over at Panglao starts operating. Pictures like this!

You frequent air travelers would know this airport is now too small for the passenger traffic of Bohol.

Walking out of the arrival area, overlooking the departure area.

Well, just count a few years from the time the new airport over at Panglao Island starts operating, and these pictures will become 'historical', even 'nostalgic'. These will be "memories of the old airport". Da!

O eto pa.., public transport vehicles that wait just outside the arrival area walkway... tricycles!

'Cheap' (as in hindi sosyal) or 'baduy' for most of us na mga mapagkunwaring pulubi rin naman hehe! But those are actually what most tourists/visitors appreciate or cherish. New experiences, new thrills.

Ano pustahan tayo, when the new airport at Panglao Island opens, bawal ang tricycle! Pwede lang sila maghintay doon sa malayung-malayo that it will be very inconvenient for anyone to find and hail them!

Hahaha, I said so many things, tapos di rin naman pala ako sumakay sa mga tricycle na yan! Eh, dyan lang ang hotel ko sa kanto eh. Blue Horizons Inn. Just a few steps away. But let's talk about that later!

Meanwhile, let's go visit the southern towns of this island-province.

In my succeeding stories, of course!

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