Punta Cruz Watchtower

One of the great things about touring the Philippines was the numerous historical stops that could be made. This was one of my favourite stops, even though the temperature was over 32 degrees that day! While I was walking about the beach @geraldineyoga at least had the sense to take some cover from the sun.

Officially known as the Fort of Saint Vincent Ferrer, the Punta Cruz Watchtower is an isosceles triangle shaped fort located in the western tip of the municipality of Maribojoc on the island of Bohol in The Philippines.

It was seriously damaged after the 2013 Bohol earthquake but has recently been renovated to its previous state and looks as good as it probably did when it was completed in 1796.

The Punta Cruz Watchtower was declared as a National Historical Landmark in February 2009. Its historical marker was unveiled by the municipality of Maribojoc and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines in May 2009. Together with other watchtowers in the region the Punta Cruz Watchtower is being considered to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List since 2006 under the collective group of Spanish Colonial Fortifications of the Philippines.

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.