Traveling around Panglao, Bohol, Philippines
The Philippines is comprised of more than 7,ooo islands marinate on that for a sec. This fact made deciding where to land insanely difficult. Researching these tropical islands led to being overwhelmed, wanting to drop everything to go frolic around all of them. The investigation eventually pointed towards Panglao, an island in the north Bohol Sea. Panglao promised gorgeous beaches, intriguing animals, and unexplained land formations - yes, please.
Beaches in the Philippines have a reputation for being the creme de la creme, not sure a photo can provide evidence as to how they've gained this prestige. The color palette of the beaches has enough power to hypnotize. Turquoise waves crash onto blindingly white sand while deep green palm trees rustle against a blue-violet sky. It can't be helped but to bronze the day away on beaches that prove their point of being some of the best in the world.
Loboc River, a secluded waterway lined with dense walls of lush greenery, snakes its way through Bohol and is a river worth rolling down. Twists and turns take you through what seems like a maze, stumbling upon local children attempting to impress with backflips into the river. The Loboc flows by the village of the indigenous Ati tribe. The Ati are thought to be the earliest inhabitants of the Philippines.
Traveling further into the hills, a pit stop was made at one of the oldest churches in the Philippines. It is said to be one of the country's first Spanish missionary churches. Unfortunately, in 2013, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the region, causing severe damage to the church. Currently, scaffolding and piles of stones are still visible around the church, indicating that repairs are still ongoing.
The unexplained land formations on the island caught my attention. Standing mysteriously in the center of the island are the Chocolate Hills. There are over 1200 of these puzzling mounds. There are various rumors about their formation, many involving giants. I headed to the highest point to witness these hills of chocolate and create my theories. To reach the Chocolate Hills, you have to drive through a man-made forest, which was actually reforested after being deforested during WWII. Many people gathered in the late 60s to help restore it, resulting in the beautiful walls of towering mahogany trees that exist today.
What Bohol has to offer on land is quite marvelous, but what's in store underwater is particularly mind-blowing. The Banca, a traditional indigenous boat of the Philippines, is a must-do in order to explore the waters around Bohol. Gliding over turquoise waters so clear, you could see what the coral and fish were up to below.
Docking on Balicasag, a tiny island where around 100 indigenous families live. We hung out with the friendly and curious locals while taking a break with a beer in the sun on the rocky shore. Chickens hobbling by and children playing hide and seek, cracking themselves up into infectious laughter.
As I got back on the water, I decided to explore what lay beneath the surface. Drifting offshore and sprinkling fish food (crackers) into the water attracted schools of brightly colored fish, and I felt like I found Nemo. Going down into the reef revealed stunning beauty - countless corals in vibrant shades lay below, accompanied by schools of fish moving in neon color combinations reminiscent of Lisa Frank. Watching sea turtles gracefully float into the abyss left me completely awestruck.
The end of this journey was made complete with a visit to a place I've been lusting after, the Virgin Islands. It's an uninhabited tiny island, and during high tide, part of the island sinks below the water, leaving only the palm trees visible.
P.S. The fruit here was the icing on the cake of this place I now consider a little slice of heaven.
