Bohol has always been one of the places I wanted to visit in the Philippines. And now I can tick off this site and smile in remembrance of how Bohol taught me to have a grateful heart.
Joy, Lyca, and I were in Bohol from April 5-9, Holy Week. Joy and I took the 6:30 am flight to Tagbilaran City from Manila, while Lyca took the Cebu route (then ferry to Tagbilaran). Though cheaper, I did not choose this route because I wanted to go through Manila and see my friends.
Joy and I were expecting a big crowd considering that it was Holy Week. The Cebu Pacific plane was fully booked. In front of me was a family with children, who were evidently riding a plane for the first time.
Boy: “Wheeee! We’re flying! We’re flying!”
His sister: “Mama, mama, pwede mag-weewee?”
We arrived in Tagbilaran at about 7:30, which was 30 minutes earlier than the scheduled arrival time. The airport reminded me of Davao’s long ago – small, with no proper baggage claim area.
We met our hired driver Mang Domeng, then drove to Tierra Azul, Panglao. That’s where we stayed the whole time. Tierra Azul is said to be only one of two Filipino-owned resorts in Panglao. Though not beachfront, it is only a short walk from the beach and has clean rooms and a friendly staff.
Panglao has many resorts side by side, so it doesn’t really matter where you stay. I was surprised to see not a lot of people, for Joy and I were expecting a deluge of China standards. We shouldn’t have compared, because even though the resorts were fully booked, the number of people was just enough. Not too few as to be lonely, and not too many either as to be suffocating.
