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Published: January 7th 2007
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welcome to bohol
this was the view that welcomed me. (i dunno what happened to the leaves of the other coconut tree) a confirmed ticket from manila to cebu (and eventually to its neighbor island, bohol) brought me back from mindoro to the polluted, traffic-ingested metropolis. i was very particular on saving as much money on transportation as possible so i took the 1am flight to the queen city of the south (as Cebu is famously known of).
the nice thing about getting flight on an ungodly hour such as this is that there is not as much hassle getting to the airport, throught the security checks and eventually check-ins as there would have been if i took it during the day. plus, they are not so strict with cut off times (i checked myself in 30 minutes before published departure time).
i arrived in cebu international airport close to 230am struggling tp staying awake. the problem with very short flights is that you can never sleep early enough nor can you stay asleep long enough. i sat down at the airport lounge seats and contemplated for fifteen minutes if i want to go ahead and do a day tour of Cebu. in the end, i decided to just go straight to bohol; the places in cebu i wanted to see
bohol2
this paradise is mine. for a while. are the ones outside the city and that requires more time.
because there was no trip to tagbilaran until 6am, i found myself lingering at the airport until the break of dawn and got into conversation with the airport police and a woman in her mid forties who was in the same flight with me. after an hour of talking, the police invited us to come with them for a pre-breakfast snack at some sidestreet vendor outside the airport vicinity. it has been a while since i last tasted some decent cocoa and sticky sweet rice (cooked Cebuano-style) so i complied. the cocoa, which we call "tsokolate" in filipino language, costs about US$0.14 per cup and the sticky sweet rice about US$0.15. having been transformed into a makati-kind of living, it has continuously amazed me how cheap the food in the province is. and how uncommercialized.
the ferry trip was uneventful. upon arrival in the tagbilaran port, it took me about five minutes to find a van driver who was willing to bring me to panglao for half the standard price. there will always be drivers who will drop you to your destination at a discounted price from
bohol3
my temporary panglao residence the pier or the airport, especially after the rest of the passengers are gone already.
the view that welcomed me in panglao was exactly the kind of scenery i hoped to see. half-deserted beach. perfect weather. warm people. i took residence in a resort called Isis Bungalows just right the beach front. it was particularly not a cheap resort but it was worth the price i paid for my room. cielo, the resort manager, took time to make me feel at home. i found myself enjoying it. in my previous travels (in groups, usually), we never seem to find time to talk to the locals and the resort staff. we were too busy minding ourselves.
"are you travelling alone, maggie?" she asked.
"yes. i took time off work for stress relief." i answered her and gave her a brief recount on which places i have been to from the time i commenced my holiday.
"are you planning to tour the island?" she asked, referring to the famouse bohol tour (e.g. chocolate hills, loboc river, tarsier, etc.)
i shook my head. i have done that two years ago and although it would be nice to see
happy in solitude!
manning the spot where i was continuously seen to frequent for the entire duration of the holiday! it again, i was just not up for it. the beach and the sand beckoned for my full concentration. "i am just going to lie down and spend the next few days at the beach, read a book, and get a massage. stuff like that."
"total relaxation." she smiled. "it must be a very demanding job."
"yes it was." i told her added i am glad i have finally convinced myself to give myself a break and do some travelling for a while. she asked me where i would go next and i told her i am looking at palawan. i have been craving for palawan since i started working. "but for now, there is no space to think of my next destination yet. this place is a paradise, i just want to take it all in."
she nodded and said, "enjoy the island, maggie. if you need anything, you know where i am."
and that was what i did. the first day. and the next. and the next.
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