As mentioned in the previous post, our plan next day was to explore the neighboring Bohol Island. However, the weather had a different plan, and when we woke up the next morning, it was pouring rain outside.
Apparently the little guys are VERY vulnerable and can even commit suicide (!!) when they are upset. Talking about being sensitive to everything :-)
After seeing the tarsier sanctuary we decided to ride back to the guest house; we lost so much time on detour that it was about to get dark soon.
On the way, we stopped at the bakery we found earlier and bought all kinds of freshly baked pastries to take with to watch the sunset. Dima was very happy!
And the sunset set was gorgeous too :-)
The next day we decided to try and get to the Chocolate Hills again. There was no rain that night and we figured that the water should subside already.
When we got to the same point where we got stuck the day before the water was completely gone and that was good. But as we drove further we were shocked to see the scale of destruction the flood caused.
Houses, roads, parks, everything was covered with a thick layer of mud.
Really horrible to see... These were poor people already, but even those little belongings they had, were probably permanently destroyed by the flood.
Some were i bit more lucky, but most of the houses were in very bad shape. It was so strange to see so much damage here, and not even a trace of damage from heavy rains in the place where we were staying.
Although later we met a couple of people from the resorts that were directly on the beach and they told us that their rooms were flooded too.
Also the roads were covered with thick layer of mud, making them very slippery and dangerous. We saw a couple of motorbikes just sliding all of a sudden and falling right in the middle of the road. We were lucky to get through without ending up in the mud, but it was scary.
Further into the hills the roads became more or less dry again and we could pick up the speed.
At some point we were driving through the Bilar man made forest of Mahogany trees, which was quite impressive.
It stretches for a couple of kilometers and the temperature here drops at least 10 degrees once you enter, compared to the rest of the island.
Finally, after riding almost 3 hours, we got to the Chocolate Hills.
The road goes through the part of the hills and all the way to the parking lot and the viewing deck.
The local kids signing Christmas Carols... ))
The best view of the hills is from the viewing deck, but it was partially destroyed by the last year's typhoon. They are rebuilding it now, but the top is still very much ruined.
To get there, you need to clime quite a few stairs. Dima didn't want to, so I went alone.
Once on the top, you get 360 degrees view of the hills.
They look a lot like the pieces of the chocolate bar and once it gets really hot and the grass becomes brown, the resemblance is even bigger.
There are more than 1300 of them shaped almost identically.
The weather was still very nice, so we decided to come back to Alona beach and spend the rest of the day there.
Next: Panglao, Balicasag and Virgin Islands - Part 2
At first we still had hope that it was one of those quick tropical storms that will pass in an hour, but then our guesthouse owner said that the typhoon warning was issued for the whole day. We had nothing else to do but to stay in and be bored.
We didn't have any food in the room and still needed to eat, so after borrowing two colorful umbrellas from the owner, we went to our restaurant on the beach. It was almost empty but working nonetheless.
Despite the typhoon warning, there was almost no wind, just a lot of rain. While we were eating the rain became less intense for a short time and we decided to walk on the beach a little.
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Some people were still swimming despite any warnings :-)
Then it started to rain hard again and we went back, ending up spending the whole day in our little hut. Just one day of rain made us feel like this weather would never end, so we were really hoping that the it will improve the next day.
And luckily for us it did!
The next morning, the sun was shining intensely and there were blue skies as far as we could see. So, we rented a motorbike again and started heading for Bohol. The places we wanted to see that day were the Chocolate Hills and the Tarsier Sanctuary. It was about 65 km to the hills, so we figured it will take us about 1,5-2 hours to get there.
Riding a motorbike is the perfect way to explore the islands.
You can take all the small roads and really see where and how people live.
Half way to the hills we saw a bunch of people in the middle of the road. When we got closer, it turned out that because the heavy rains all day yesterday, the local river flooded the road and the water level was too high for the motorbikes to pass.
The first flooded part we saw wasn't too bad, and some motorbikes were actually high enough to pass, but it turned out that ahead there were 2 more parts of the road that were flooded so much more, that even the cars couldn't pass through. The was one more alternative road to the hills further away, but the locals standing around said that it's flooded as well...
Also while we were standing there, deciding on what to do, one of the motorbikes died trying to get across. So, we decided to leave the idea of going to the hills today and go to see tarsiers instead. For that we needed to take the unpaved road in the palm forest, but at least it was too far away from the river to be flooded.
It was a bumpy, but quite beautiful ride. I think we were probably the first tourists to ever take this road, because the locals from the villages we passed were staring at us like they've never seen a tourist before.
Still, they are so very friendly, because when at some point we stopped to look at the map, all passing by people also stopped to ask if we were OK and if we needed any help. So sweet!
It took almost an hour to ride 12 km on that road but we made it in the end.
Riding a motorbike is the perfect way to explore the islands.
Also while we were standing there, deciding on what to do, one of the motorbikes died trying to get across. So, we decided to leave the idea of going to the hills today and go to see tarsiers instead. For that we needed to take the unpaved road in the palm forest, but at least it was too far away from the river to be flooded.
Still, they are so very friendly, because when at some point we stopped to look at the map, all passing by people also stopped to ask if we were OK and if we needed any help. So sweet!
It took almost an hour to ride 12 km on that road but we made it in the end.
The tarsiers are very rare and there are only a few of them in the sanctuary. They are nocturnal animals, so we were lucky to see one awake and up close.
On the way, we stopped at the bakery we found earlier and bought all kinds of freshly baked pastries to take with to watch the sunset. Dima was very happy!
When we got to the same point where we got stuck the day before the water was completely gone and that was good. But as we drove further we were shocked to see the scale of destruction the flood caused.
Houses, roads, parks, everything was covered with a thick layer of mud.
Also the roads were covered with thick layer of mud, making them very slippery and dangerous. We saw a couple of motorbikes just sliding all of a sudden and falling right in the middle of the road. We were lucky to get through without ending up in the mud, but it was scary.
At some point we were driving through the Bilar man made forest of Mahogany trees, which was quite impressive.
Finally, after riding almost 3 hours, we got to the Chocolate Hills.
To get there, you need to clime quite a few stairs. Dima didn't want to, so I went alone.
The weather was still very nice, so we decided to come back to Alona beach and spend the rest of the day there.
