More Checking Off in the Philippines

Bucket List Item #5: See tarsier monkeys-CHECK
Bucket List Item #6: Meet a local-CHECK
Bucket List Item #7: Learn to drive a moped/scooter-CHECK
Bucket List Item #8: Chill on one of the many beautiful islands-CHECK
Bucket List Item #9: Sing karaoke-CHECK (Sort of)

Bohol island and Siquijor island, Philippines

It was difficult to choose which of the many incredible islands to visit in the Philippines. It takes a lot of effort and it can get a little expensive transporting yourself to and from so many places so I decided to choose two islands nearby each other and I was very content spending days exploring each.

Bohol island was full of different activities to do and things to see. I also went scuba diving for the first time here!

I especially loved the Coco Farm I stayed at. The complimentary organic breakfast, fresh from the garden, was the most amazing I had had. I couldn’t wait to wake up in the morning just to have it (and I am not a morning person). Understandably, I couldn’t seem to get the incredible omelette recipe. I stopped asking after the third morning. Secrets are good sometimes.

The rustic feel of the bungalows, the kind family owners and fresh banana smoothies made staying extra days easy. I had planned to stay two nights but ended up getting comfortable for five. I also met so many great people; some that I continued to the next island with.

Mary, an American girl, and I rented a moped and spent an entire day exploring parts of the island. The drive, even through the rain, was beautiful. I thought it would have been my chance to check off a bucket list item and learn how to drive one, but I decided to take a backseat and observe. I realized later that was the best idea because I was responsible for returning it the next day and I couldn’t even figure out how to turn it on or back it up.

We stopped by the tarsier sanctuary to see one of the smallest primates in the world. They were difficult to find and extremely sensitive to noise. I was aware that they were small, but they were so tiny! Usually between three and six inches in length and they weigh three to five ounces. I was obsessed with their little hands and huge eyes. One would have fit in my palm and I easily could have put one in my pocket; I so badly wanted to. #5-CHECK!

We stopped to have a lunch buffet on a floating boat on the Loboc river. It was a great way to try different Filipino foods and enjoy some lush views. We stopped to watch some traditional dancing along the river (pretty touristy since every boat stops at the same spot and the dance is repeated numerous times a day), but it was nice.

The Chocolate Hills were one of the most popular attractions on the island. We drove nearly three hours to find them just in time for the down pour of rain. On a clear day they obviously would have been more visible, but we were still able to see the representation of numerous brown heaps of “chocolate.” I was ready for some chocolate covered peanuts after that one.

The next day I chatted with Sarah from Chicago. A laid back, humble, interesting, intuitive, sweet girl and a breath of fresh air, I met at the Coco Farm. I knew we would get along when I mentioned that the farm had so many different paths leading to the same place. Her response, “That’s life!”

We decided to spend the day at Alona beach. We drank avocado smoothies, ate ice cream, got cheap massages on the beach, smoked hookah and spent the night in some engaging conversations.

My last day on the island, I was standing outside waiting to buy a ferry ticket and a gentle, old man approached me and asked if I wanted to buy a local newspaper or one of his homemade pastries. We spent the next 30 minutes exchanging answers to each other’s questions. Apparently, he was a comedian and was paid to perform impersonations of celebrities. Of course he had to show me his impressive Trump enactment. I appreciated his assumption that I was 19 years old because I had recently been told I looked closer to age 40. I reciprocated the compliment and told him I thought he looked 45. #6-CHECK!

Siquijor island is a tiny island about two hours from Bohol by ferry. It is a quiet, chill island known for its taboo witchcraft. For this mysterious reason, many locals from other islands don’t choose to visit Siquijor.

I went over with a few other travelers from the Coco Farm, including Sarah. A French-Canadian also named Sarah who was ambitious, friendly, chatty, and funny with a contagious energy. She had once told strangers in India that her name was Smegma and she was looking for Narnia. I liked her instantly. And a Dutch guy named Remco who had an intense yet funny, strong, confident nature with an addiction to the gym (that was one of the first things we had to find when we got to the island). He described himself as an emotionally sensitive muscle machine. It was an interesting mix of personalities, but it worked so well and I learned so much from each one of them.

(Since there are two Sarah’s I’ll use their initials if I’m talking about one to lessen the confusion. SP is Sarah from America and SM is from Canada).

First things first (after finding a gym for Remco), I wanted to learn how to drive a moped! I was hoping to cruise around the island and be able to drive one in other countries since there are so many opportunities to do so in Asia.

Siquijor was a perfect place to learn since there wasn’t a lot of traffic but just enough that someone would eventually find me if I were to mangle myself on the side of the road. Remco patiently showed me the ropes, directing me to practice turning around, speeding up, stopping and so on. It took me about 30 minutes to get comfortable and we were on our way. # 7-CHECK! Sarah (SP) would be hopping on the back the next day so I had plenty of time to practice. I was so appreciative of her patience with my inability to ever being able to figure out how to turn around pleasantly.

 

We spent a couple of days exploring the island always stopping at the same local outdoor restaurant for lunch; ordering little plates of different food after opening and pointing inside each pot asking what it was.

We drove around stopping at random spots. A refreshing waterfall, remote mountain villages, a cave (that we didn’t go in), a church and mountains views. We splurged on $4 an hour, full-body massages too!

We even stopped at a thrift shop on the side of the road. We were all excited to dig through the heaps of random shirts and get some new clothes. Not sure where they came from but the bunny shirt I bought was cleaner than anything I had in my bag.

We chilled at a beach where we cliff jumped into the crystal blue water.

At one point we stopped by a local house that was blaring techno music so we had a dance party in the middle of the road (I wish I had a picture for that one). We even went on a witch hunt in the mountains and that basically failed.

Another day we reluctantly decided to check out a cock-fight; a popular local pastime.

I guess I’m glad I experienced something that was important to some of the local people and it was neat to watch them bid amongst each other for the cock winner, but I don’t want to see another one. I felt weird and uncomfortable watching two animals kill each other even though it only lasted a short time. At the end of the first (and only) fight we watched, I looked over at Sarah (SM) to see what she thought about it. She had her hand over her mouth staring at me with her eyes wide and full of tears; she couldn’t handle it either so we left and waited outside for the others.

The video below only shows the bidding amongst the locals, not the cock-fight. 

The last day we spent the morning walking around and exploring the ocean. The tide was low so we could walk out quite far with the water barely rising above our knees. We took turns napping in the hammock, drinking smoothies, reading, journaling, jumping around, sitting and chilling. #8-CHECK!

That night was our last chance to sing karaoke and as much as I really didn’t want to it was hard to resist since everyone and their grandma sings; you can hear it nearby or in the distance any time of day pretty much anywhere. After losing ourselves in the undisturbed sunset, we hopped on our mopeds and went in search of dinner before deciding which bar or house or corner we wanted to sing at.

We didn’t make it too far before Remco and Sarahs’ (SM) moped ran out of gas. Luckily, it was a quick fix and we were on our way again. Nope, just kidding. Suddenly, our moped got a flat tire. We had no choice but to take turns walking it back to the hostel and our singing hopes and dreams slowly faded. Sarah (SP) didn’t let that ruin our night though. She took out her phone and played a mix of 70’s, 80’s and 90’s music. Nostalgia flaring, we danced and sang the entire dark, 1.5 kilometer moped push back. Our own little karaoke session! #9-CHECK!

Sarah (SP) and I spent the last couple hours of the night sitting on the beach and star-gazing. I had never seen so many bright stars in one place. I saw the milky way for the first time and apparently one of the neighboring planets! We reminisced about life, traveling and its many lessons. It was a wonderful ending on a beautiful island with some awesome people!

Would you like to cliff jump?