Day 4 - A whole morning of beach fun

Day 4 October 20, 2007

A whole morning of beach fun







This is our last day and we only had a few hours before we leave so we spent the morning at the beach. The sun shining bright, the cool air inviting and the whole stretch of the white beach made our last day the most memorable one. The kids were left in the beach while we were having breakfast and would you believe that they were already far from our area but the water is still knee deep. We just let them play and enjoy the clear water. Achilles in particular was very fond of water, I remember him telling his dad excitedly, “ daddy, mamam” meaning daddy look at the water. He was the one who didn’t want to leave the beach until it time for us to leave. Our experience at Dumaluan Resort was not perfect but the beach and the sea made up for all the shortcomings. Our pictures tell them all. http://community.webshots.com/user/s_f_c. The 4 day vacation was indeed a memorable one – worth going back to.

Day 3 - Chocolate Hills and the countryside tour

Day 3 – October 19, 2007

Chocolate Hills and the countryside tour











We woke up early because we were told by our Tour Guide/Driver that we will be picked up by 8:30am. I got annoyed after receiving a text message that he will arrive at 9:00am. Our iterinary should have included the following: Chocolate Hills, Hinagdanan Cave, Man-Made forest, Hanging bridge, Butterfly Farm, Bohol Bee Farm, Tarsier, Loboc River Cruise, Mag-aso Falls and Punta Cruz watchtower. The whole morning was spent traveling to Chocolate Hills, it was the highlight of our day tour and we were not disappointed. Although I realized how not physically fit am I because I was too tired after taking the 200+ steps going to the highest hill. The view was spectacular. Miggy was asking why are there too many hills in that area. I was glad he said it was also his favorite from all the Bohol adventures that we had, aside from the beach. Going back we went to Butterfly Farm, there were very few butterflies but the tour was very informative, I learned so many things in the few minutes that the guide was explaining. We passed by the man-made forest and the hanging bridge. Then the Loboc River cruise – another disappointment. It was almost 1:00 pm and the boat that we were supposed to ride didn’t wait for us so we had to wait for another boat which had too few food and poor service to deal with. Although the boat ride itself and the music playing almost made bawi to the bad Loboc cruise experience we had. Then we went to Tarsier, another disappointment, I was looking forward to seeing a nice place to keep and show Tarsiers – the smallest monkey in the world. But we only went to a store with a small area for the tarsiers, it was not even a garden. The tarsiers were embracing the branches of ornamental plants and they seemed to be matamlay parang di kumakain. I hope the Dept of Tourism will do something about this. We passed by Baclayon Church – the 2nd oldest church in the Philippines and the Blood Compact Site where we had pictures taken. Then we spent hours in the pasalubong store which I regret ksi if not we would have gone to Hinagdanan Cave and take another tour at the Bohol Bee Farm. When we arrive there, it was almost 5:00 pm and the crew said they were not offering tours anymore. I was only able to buy honey, spreads and organic breads. We also had some pictures taken in our last stop. We arrive at the resort a little before 6:00 pm. A makeshift stopper and a hot soak in the bath tub made our day complete 

Day 2 - Dolphin Watching, Bohol Beach Club

Day 2- October 18, 2007

AM- Dolphin Watching, visit to Balicasag Island and Alona Beach

It was raining the previous night and I was kinda disappointed because this is the day we will watch dolphins. I feared that they might not appear because of the weather. I had to make tawad to the boatman because the 5:30am sched is very early for the kids. He arrived at 6:00am but we were still not ready. Aloysius had been coughing pa because he made babad sa beach and pool yesterday. It was raining on the way and our boat trip was not smooth sailing. We encounter bigwaves buti nalang magaling yung boatman namin, Si Mang Viaw, yung father ni Theresa na co-star ni Cezar Montano sa Muro-ami at Panaghoy sa Suba. Aloysius was even shouting in excitement everytime our boat splash against a big wave, parang nagraride lang siya sa Enchanted Kingdom. It was cold during the ride so the double shirts and bathrobes helped keep the kids warm.



We were all shouting in excitement as we started to see the dolphins come and go. Ang galling! There were hundreds of them in front of us! I wished I brought the videocam with me so I can zoom and take a closer look at the dolphins while they swim. The experience is great! We already saw dolphins in shows and it’s different when you see them in their habitat. The rough ride is worth the trip.

Balicasag Island is a world-class dive spot but we only went near the fish sanctuary and didn’t snorkel because the kids cannot be left with one adult alone in the boat. If only Aloysius knew how to use the mouthpiece and snorkel, we could have done it with him and left Achilles with Cecille. I brought an underwater disposable camera but was not able to use it. Well, now there’s a reason for us to go back to Bohol, without the kids of course. On the way to Alona Beach, we saw school of dolphins but were not able to take pictures of them. Ang bibilis nila!





Since on the way back to Dumaluan, we will pass by Alona Beach, we decided to take our lunch there. We first had to find a store that sells cough syrup because Aloysius’ coughing was getting worse. We docked by Alona Kew and the road that lead to Rona’s corner has less expensive rooms and restos to offer (suited for budget-conscious and backpackers). After we bought the medicine and other things we needed like water in the convenience store, we found a turo-turo which offers lutong bahay ulam which we all liked, even the kids finished their meal. We had pictures taken along Alona Beach and in front of Alona Kew - the only nice beachfront resort I saw, Alona Palm and Alona Tropical was in the other end of the beach. Good thing that I opted for Dumaluan because the Alona Beach was nothing compared to Dumaluan which is cleaner and more quiet. There are lots of seaweeds which leave for little swimmable area. I even saw dog poops on the beach. Yikes!

PM – Bohol Beach Club







We wanted to take advantage of the Class A resort beside ours so we paid the guard a day tour fee for P250 each, P150 consumable. Lito was against the idea because we had to pay pa e the same lang naman yung beach and the worst part is we cannot set up the tent. Anyway, Bohol Beach Club’s beachfront is longer and there are lots of lounge chairs and hammocks to use. This is where Tita Ces posed like Marimar and the kids enjoyed playing in the sand. We also posed in the carefully manicured gardens and the swimming pool with bonsai falls. Of course, we also took dip in the swimming pool.

We spent the remaining consumable in the sumptuous and I thought costly but cheap lang pala dinner. We had Calamares, Chopseuy, Pancit Canton and Sinigang na Hipon. I hoped that made bawi to the disappointment of Lito for not being able to set up the tent.

Summer in October (Our Bohol Trip day to day account)

This is the start of my wish ko lang travel(s) blogs. The fruits of our hard-earned money. I thought that the day I’ve been looking forward to will not arrive, a day before our scheduled trip, Achilles had been diagnosed with Broncho-pneumonia. The pulmo-pedia said that we can bring Kyle because the fresh air will be beneficial to him provided that we bring all his medicines with us. I had to convince myself that his ailment is not that serious because the doctor already made a clearance for him to go. Now, it’s only Lito that I need to convince and later I decided not to go anymore because I don’t want to be blamed in the future. Buti na lang, when I asked him, he said yes and so off we went to the adventure of our lives.

Day 1 - October 17, 2007

My kid’s First Airplane Ride





I didn’t report the previous night because I was too excited and anxious about Kyle’s condition. It’s a good thing that I had packed our things before we went to Munti and Carter had brought his car so we asked him to fetch Lito and Aloysius before bringing us to the airport. Our flight was at 11:50am but we wanted to get window seats so we arrive early or just in time around 9:00am. It’s a great improvement since the last time I have been to the Manila Domestic Airport. The Kiddie Traveler’s Lounge for toodlers had been a great help because I know how impatient my kids are. They didn’t want to leave the playplace until they saw the airplane that we are going to ride. It’s the first time of my kids to board a plane, I too got excited. We took pictures in all the sides of the plane and before boarding it. Aloysius didn’t want to take his eyes off the window to see the clouds below us. Achilles on the other hand was excited, at first he cried because he wanted to be with his kuya on the window seat, buti na lang Tita Ces is there on the other window seat and all we can hear is ba-bye, ba-bye when the plane took off. After that, he slept the whole time during the trip.

Arrival at Dumaluan Resort

It’s almost 2:00pm when we arrive at Dumaluan, While I was checking in, Lito and the kids were taking pictures of the beach. Our resort is just beside the Bohol Beach Club and there were no other resorts so it’s kinda quiet and the beach is clean. The white sand shoreline is longer than I expected and later on, I discovered that it’s powdery white sand, mala-espasol. We checked in a Superior Deluxe room and requested another mattress, we liked our room except that the bath tub is not working, no stopper and the kids are so kulit without TV so we transferred to a room with TV. The room we transferred to is better because it’s fronting the swimming pool and nearer but still the bath tub is also not working. The maintenance personnel suggested that we transfer again to the next room but we decided not to because we are already settled and we wanted to go to the beach right away.







When we checked the beach, it was low-tide and the weather is gloomy, not a good time to swim, but the kids got excited and when they wet themselves, we cannot control them, we just rode the waves literally with them. Later, Aloysius used the kiddie pool in front of our cottage. We had dinner at Dumaluan Resort 1 for grilled pork liempo and chicken.

Lunch Meeting at Leslie's

One of the perks of working is being able to try the latest restos for free. We had a lunch meeting at Leslie’s in Filinvest Alabang and also a treat for Peachy’s birthday. Mine was held at The Palm’s but was not able to blog about it. Here are some of our pictures taken at Leslie’s.





The same management runs this resto and the one in Tagaytay so the Bulalo taste the same….sarap! although you will appreciate the hot soup more in Tagaytay than in a hot city like Muntinlupa. We enjoyed posing in the different areas of the resto which has a nice architectural design parang castle or church….do I looked like I just swallowed the whole crispy pata? Actually, I gained weight when I started working in graveyard because all I do is eat, eat, eat…the pictures tell them all…