After the amazing Chocolate hills we drove on to the Tarsier Conservation area. I had to look up tarsiers, since I had no idea what that was. So they are basically miniature monkeys but with a tail. While walking through the conservation area I noticed not a single tarsier. The sculpture in front hadn’t prepared me for the correct dimensions of the animal.
entrance @Tarsier Conservation area
Only after noticing other people stopping and staring at some spots, did I realize that there was really something to see. The tarsiers are between 9 and 16cm, and look cute and horrific at the same time. Sorry for the grained resolution, but the zoom on my phone doesn’t work any better.
my first tarsier @Tarsier Conservation area
quite the long tail for such a small body @Tarsier conservation area
Especially horrific looked the one which opened its eyes. I thought a miniature Gollum sat in front of me.
‘Gollum’ was staring at me @Tarsier Conservation area
Once we left the conservation area, we passed through the Bilar man-made forest also called Bohol Mahagony forest. It was part of a reforestation program from 50 years ago. The white and red mahogany trees grow straight up and started to form a natural canopy. It looked quite beautiful, but if I want to see a forest I would have stayed at home. Of course this one looks different, but I have honestly no idea if there any other reforestation programs on the Philippines. Or whatever is the reason why this one is so special. Bilar man-made forest is 2km long and but I have no clue how far inland it goes.
Bilar man-made forest @Bohol
We left the forest and drove straight to a late lunch. It was typical Filipino food and the whole thing involved a river cruise on the Loboc river. To call it a cruise might be a little bit much though.
Loboc river @Bohol
river cruise @Bohol
We cruised for about 20 min on the boat until we came to a small platform. Here the Ati tribe performed a tribal dance spectacle. I am not sure how much of this was real and how much was done for the tourists. The tribe people mainly wore skirts made out of bast and were drumming. The passengers could get pictures with them while holding spears and one of the tribe’s people was breathing fire. It looked kind of comical, so I didn’t participate. On the other hand I don’t know if that is the only way how the tribe makes any money.
Ati tribe @Bohol
Last but not least we arrived at the church of Baclayon, which is the oldest Christian church in Bohol from 1596. Unfortunately we were late, probably due to the ATVs at the Chocolate hills, and it was closed. It has been destroyed in an earthquake in 2013 and restored, so it might have looked light and bright inside. But we could only take pictures from the outside.
church of Baclayon @Bohol
The monument of the Blood Pact Monument which commemorates the first international treaty between the Philippines and Spanish was the last stop, but by then nobody wanted to get out of the car. Not even the Filipinos. The monument was in honor of the first treaty between Philippines and Spain. Even tough it has been created by a local artist, all five men in this monument appeared to be Spanish. So I am not really sure what was honored here. Yours, Pollybert
