Philippine Travel Notes

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...

Onwards we forded our circular route. And from Loboc, on the way to Loay, it rained. Argh! I really wanted to take a peek at that town’s center - like its church, as I heard from a friend it is also of the ‘era’ type. But our drivers suggested we move on amidst the rain to maximize daylight. Hah, and the camera was dead anyway, so I said okay (pouting)! Oh hey, any pics from here onwards are c/o the dear omnia that took the place of F200 until it also ran out of power! Okay fine. And as we neared Alburquerque, the rain became a misty drizzle. So we continued on to the snake – a planned stop in our itinerary. Yeah yeah, I myself wonder why it is now part of the “must see” places during a Bohol countryside day tour. Been there once and I thought it was just an added bonus that my tour guide inserted. However, knowing this time, that it was ‘added’ to our itinerary by my first-timer companion, I surmised this must already be a regular thing to see for tourists – for where else would he ha...

If you are looking for the best guided and annotated tour in the Philippines, you will only find it in Bohol. I will stand on that declaration with my chin high up! Howsoever you arranged for it, your tour will be the same - a grand look around the various natural and man-made wonders of the place, PLUS a barrage of historical information you will itch to write every detail down on a notebook. Best if you bring your palm or XDA! I have taken this tour three times (in three years) and each of those times I got so excited and too absorbed into the sceneries, the stories and the histories about the place. While the tour guides im part basically the same information, there is always something else new that I discover (or remember for good)! First time I went was with a big tour group – a whole bus load of about 40 tourists. Second time I went there, I was traveling with a special friend – only the two of us! And the third time, I was with seven of my adventurous friends! In all those tours...