Chocolate Hills and furry creatures

One of the main attractions on the Island of Bohol is the Chocolate Hills. They are a group of unusually shaped hills located in the middle of the island and they are unique to Bohol. There are conflicting views on how many hills have been formed but the estimates are between 1250 - 1750. The highest hill reaches 120 meters in height but most are around 30-50 metres, scattered within a 50 square kilometer area.

Local legend says that long ago two giants fought for days, hurling earth and stones at one another, until they fell exhausted, leaving the mounds of earth and stones in place. The more romantic legend says that a handsome young giant, Arogo, fell in love with a mortal woman. When his love died, as all mortals must, the giant wept and his great teardrops fell to the earth and turned into the chocolate hills.

Of course, geologists came up with a theory; they are weathered formations of marine limestone lying on top of an impenetrable clay base. They get their name from the colour they turn at the end of the dry season as the grass turns from green to brown. I prefer the romantic legend, geology seems to take the fun out of them.

I literally couldn't wait to get there, up at 4am to get there for dawn.

We arrived at the chocolate hills just as dawn rose after spending a night at the Fox and the Firefly Cottages near Loboc River. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing this experience was. Not only were the cottages amazing to stay in with amazing views but the food and service was also outstanding! The last two photographs was the view from the chair in the first photograph.

At this point you are probably wondering about the furry creatures that is mentioned in the title. On the way back from the Chocolate Hills we visited the Bohol Tarsier reserve. They are the world's smallest primate. They measure 10 - 15cm and belong to the primitive sub-order Prosimii or Prosimian that dates back 45 million years. They are known locally as mawmag and is a species endemic to the Philippines. There is some good information on Bohol-Philippines website about them. I have added a few of my own pictures underneath.

 

 

 

Behold Bohol

Bohol is  located in the Central Visayas region, consisting of the island itself and 75 minor surrounding islands. Its capital is the City of Tagbilaran and is the tenth largest island of the Philippines. The island is a popular tourist destination as it has many beaches and resorts. The Chocolate Hills are among one of the top attractions. Panglao Island, located southwest of Tagbilaran, is famous for its diving locations and is routinely listed as one of the top ten diving locations in the world. The Philippine tarsier, amongst the world's smallest primates, is indigenous to the island. 

After leaving Cebu I headed to Bohol and the City of Tagbilaran. It's difficult to know where to start when I think about Bohol. The hashtag that comes to mind is #itsmorefuninthephilippines, although the locals like to joke that #itsmorefunanddangerousinthephilippines. Driving of course was of course mad and appeared to have no rules but there was a touch of beauty about how it just worked for the most part. Being driven in a modified side car of a motor bike around the City of Tagbilaran was an entirely new experience. 

 

I found Tagbilaran easier going than Cebu, the people and the city felt calmer and although the weather was very warm a small breeze from the ocean took the edge off the heat. I enjoyed meeting people such as @gallardonoygonz and @nessagwapa and getting to chat after Yoga on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Driving down to Panglao at night and sitting outside with a cold drink watching the sunset was sublime and made me question why I would want to be anywhere else. I suspect the company I was keeping had a part to play in this too.

I will talk about more locations and attractions of Bohol in upcoming posts, but for now I wanted to share the first night I spent in Tagbilaran. All four photographs were taken at Kasagpan Resort on the western side of Tagbilaran City.

 

Cebu

Finally starting to write some posts from the notes that I took while visiting the Philippines. I'll start where I arrived, Cebu.

Cebu is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands, its capital is Cebu City the oldest and first capital of the Philippines.

After a 24 hour journey a lot went through my mind on a delirious journey from Macyan-Cebu Airport to the hotel that I was staying. Mostly about NASCAR which seemed to be how the drivers got anywhere, mercy was not given or asked for on these roads. I figured that if I survived the journey to the hotel then I could walk everywhere else that I wanted to go. My travelling campanion informed me that if I was to do this I would likely meet an untimely death either from heat exhaustion or from being mugged. 

In all seriousness though, Cebu is a city of immense contrasts. The shopping malls are fillled with lots of big brand western stores where the rich shop but less than block from there is the poorest of people that wouldn’t be allowed in the mall. Much to my shock, to get into the malls you had to be screened by armed security. The signs outside the shopping malls politely reminded you that guns are not allowed inside. The temperature in the city reaches 30 degrees by 10:30am and when you walk outside the air conditioned hotel it literally feels like walking into an oven. This, I think is the hottest country that I have ever visited, although Australia might be hotter, I had the sense to go there when it was winter.

I experienced many tourist sites that I have photographs of (below) but also saw many places where there was abject poverty, it was hard not to be moved by some of the things I saw. I can't imagine how people get by on a daily basis and if there is any chance of escape from it. I am immensely grateful that I am not in that situation. 

Below are some photographs of the Cebu Taoist Temple. Built in 1972 by the prominent Cebuano Chinese community. The Cebu Taoist Temple stands 980 feet tall (above sea level) and is renowned for its elaborate multi-layered architecture. The colourful temple overlooks a portion of Cebu.

The Heritage of Cebu Monument is a tableau of sculptures made of concrete, bronze, brass and steel showing scenes about events and structures related to the history of Cebu. The construction of the monument began in July 1997 and it was finished in December 2000.

The Yap-Sandiego Ancestral House is located in the Parian District in Cebu, Philippines. It is just a few steps away from the Heritage of Cebu Monument and meters away from Colon Street, the oldest street in the Philippines. Considered to be one of the oldest residential houses in the Philippines, the house was built sometime between 1675 and 1700. It was originally owned by a Chinese merchant named Don Juan Yap and his wife, Doña Maria Florido.

The next few images are taken in and around Colon Street, mostly street shots of things I found interesting. The smell of the dried fish in the first photograph has yet to leave my clothes...after several washes ;-)

Cuba

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Of course, reading about Cuba while travelling in The Philippines, what did you expect? Anyway, I read this nice inspirational story that over breakfast this morning about a couple that was travelling in Cuba.

I think they are more adventurous now than I would ever be, but it does go to show that there are still good people out there that are worth meeting no matter how cyncical the news and media makes you. 

Read here - http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20180329-they -day-i-picked-up-a-cuban-hitchhiker

The Hague

I travelled back to The Hague last week to take care of some administration and to catch up with friends. It's getting harder to meet with friends there of late primarily because they keep leaving to pastures new.

The city is changing, every time I visit I notice these changes, cafes disappearing, new shops appearing and of course new tram routes just to confuse me. It makes me wonder how much changed during the time I lived there that I didn't notice. Change, it seems to me, is more evident when you don't look for a period of time.

I had a lot of time to think while walking around the city (roughly 16km each day I was there) and I was able to bring my attention to the present instead of rooting around in my mind at things I have experienced in the past in The Hague. It was nice to be there and to have a still mind.

I still love this city. It almost defies explanation. I feel so comfortable there. There is no single thing that I can say that makes it such a great place for me, but when it is all combined there is no place I would rather be. Perhaps, I just haven't travelled enough. Of course, there is always a difference between travelling to new locations and living in new locations.

I didn't get much time to take photographs but these are the ones that I like when I did manage to get time. These photographs are from Scheveningen, a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. Click on them for the full size if your on a desktop or tablet. Oh, the photograph of the fishing vessel, I have almost this exact shot from 2013. I think I like the shot below more as you can see the industry of Rotterdam in the background.

So much change, yet so much the same.