Philippines - Tagbilaran City

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David here...

The 2 hour ferry journey over to Bohol and Tagbilaran was alright. We were given water and a biscuit and entertainment was provided by a film being shown (aptly, Battleships). My only complaint is that if you have signs up saying no smoking and mention it in your safety video, enforce the rule. As we approached the pier area to dock, a huge Brahminy Kite (in Australia apparently it's known as a Red Backed Sea Eagle, which seems more apt for such an impressive bird) swooped alongside us. We'd seen these birds before, on Koh Chang, but not this close. It used the air currents to circle round and then dived down towards the waters surface to catch a fish. As it flew back up it dropped the fish. It was an amazing sight to see.

Walking down the pier we were touted all the way for trips to Alona Beach and to our hotel however it was only a 20 minute walk away so we resisted. We coped with that with ease however what we didn't bank on was that it would be raining. We'd already planned to stop off at a cafe for a rest but expected it to be due to the heat. So we took shelter from the rain in Tuko cafe, a lovely little place where we had a couple of cappucinos. By the time we had finished the rain had stopped and we walked the final 10 minutes to our hotel, the Matig a Seaside Pensione. It was very basic but clean and with a roof terrace we could use.

By this time it was 17:00 and we wanted to freshen up and head out. We had already decided on the place to eat that night in advance, the Black Forest Hut. We had read that it was difficult to spot as it had no signage but did wonderful German food cooked by the German owner and his wife. Well, we walked to the spot it was supposed to be and could only see a grill place, so we kept walking. Finally giving up after a further 10 minutes walk on top of the 20 we had already done. We walked back trying to figure out what to do next and finally spotted the place next to the grill, tucked back a little. This place is small as well, only 4 tables.

Fortunately there was only one other couple in there who obviously knew the owners and were quite loud and boisterous. The owner asked us where we came from and said he had spotted us walking down the road. He thought he was funny saying we should also look left when we said we hadn't spotted the place. Suzanne did really well not to retort back with 'you should update your signage'. Once we ordered our meals (Cordon Bleu for me and Jaeggar schnitzel for Suzanne) everything calmed down a touch. I had an extra strong German ale but only one before switching to San Mig and our meals were delicious. We were left alone during the meal to enjoy the food, both dishes with mashed potato....MASHED POTATO! A luxury for us and it was great. After the meal we were given some little German style Christmas biscuits to enjoy. We also got talking more with owners about our love of Germany, hatred of Brexit and various other things. In the end, we really enjoyed the food and the company. The evening was finished off on our hotel roof terrace with the bottle of red wine we had bought in Cebu City.

The next day we were up at 07:15 to head out to the bus station out of town as we planned on going to Bohol's main tourist destinations in one day. We were to start at the Tarsier sanctuary, then onto the Loboc river cruise and finally on to Chocolate Hills, all by local jeepney, a type of bus jeep combination vehicle. We drew back the curtains to find it chucking it down with wet snow, or as everyone else usually calls it rain! As we were going to get a trike to the bus station (motorbike and covered sidecar type vehicle) and then a bus we decided to brave it anyway. We flagged down a trike easily and got to the bus station for 40 pesos. Once there we asked about local buses and were directed to a small parking area with jeepneys lined up. The next one wasn't due to go until 09:30, almost 90 minutes away. We ummed and ahhed and decided to jump on and wait with the other local people who were already waiting. Must mention that all this time we were being hassled by trike riders trying to get us to pay 200 pesos for them to take us. The jeepney cost 20 pesos each, actually for us 15 pesos as he didn't have any change so gave us back extra. The jeepney eventually did leave pretty much full at 09:00. We got off 30 minutes later opposite the muddy road to the Tarsier sanctuary.

The sanctuary charges 60 pesos pp to enter and you are not allowed to make a noise or use your camera flash. Obviously the no noise rule doesn't apply to you if you are an obnoxious French tourist and you want the creatures to look directly at your phone for you, pr*ck! Anyway, you are taken round by a guide for your group, so there was only the 2 of us and our guide walking together but it is a small area and there are lots of groups. I reached into my bag to grab our camera and remembered I'd locked it up the night before and had not retrieved it. I did have the tablet and Suzanne had her phone but the zoom on those devices just blurs images. I was so angry with myself for forgetting the camera as Tarsiers are so small and very cute. The pictures would've been amazing. The guide showed us the 6 in the sanctuary that had been found that morning to show guests (they only have 8 in total).

While walking round the rain had started again and it was muddy. We made our way back to the roadside to get a jeepney to Loboc and it got heavier. We finally decided that as we'd forgotten the camera and the weather was poor, we'd cut our losses and head back to the Island City Mall and take shelter, have a nice lunch and take our time going back to the hotel. Chocolate Hills would have to be attempted at a later time. Two jeepneys passed us, both full, so after about 40 minutes we began walking towards town, 13km away. Luckily after about 20 minutes of walking another jeepney arrived and this time had space to take us back into town. It rained on and off for most of the day, but we'll never know if it was the right decision.

We were hot and thirsty by this point so went to Bo's Coffee in the shopping centre for a cappucino before looking for a cheap place to eat. What we didn't think about was that this was now lunch time on the Friday before Christmas, the place was rammed. We gave up and walked to a restaurant we'd earmarked for our evening meal, Persona Mesa. It was a little posh but very nice. Our Lechon and ribs were very good and it was nice to have a beer to quench our thirst. We then bought a bottle of wine, headed back to the hotel, picked up some laundry (missing a sock) and played cards on the roof terrace drinking said bottle of wine.

The evening meal was at Massimo pizzeria, again a little posh but pretty good, the bruschetta in particular being very tasty. As we were travelling the next day we resisted buying anymore alcohol and relaxed in the hotel room until sleepy time. The next morning we got up early to hit the supermarket for supplies over Christmas. We also managed to draw out enough money to pay the balance of the hotel we were in and the next stay and to give us spending money over the festive period. We arrived at the supermarket and it was rammed, being Christmas Eve and this was at 08:30 in the morning. Anyway we bought the alcohol we required (3 bottles of wine, a bottle of rum and 2 big bottles of beer) and some Diet Coke and Pringles. We were set for Christmas now! Back at the hotel we even found that the laundry had found and delivered the missing sock! Nice of them. We stayed at the hotel until check-out time before flagging down a passing trike to take us the 18km to Alona Beach.

We had stayed 2 nights at Tagbilaran City specifically to see the Tarsier Sanctuary and Chocolate Hills. It was a little disappointing not to have managed both of these things as it meant we would have to try again over Christmas and from further away. You can do it as a tour but it is more expensive. There is not much else to do in Tagbilaran so we felt lucky that we had the roof terrace to sit on the overlooked the sea as without that we would've been cooped up in the hotel room a lot more.

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