Island Hopping in Panglao – Balicasag, Dolphin Watch and Virgin Island (Day 3 of my Bohol Trip)

GOD answered our prayers and the sky cleared up a bit on our last day in Bohol. Kuya Tatsky profusely remind us that the wave is still a bit strong so expect a little bumpy ride. But bumpy rides are nothing to us. After our Boracay “buwis-buhay” boat ride, a little wave here and there are nothing I guess.

So a little before sunrise we’re already up and excited. We waited for our boatman to fetch us on our Inn and we rode a tricycle to the place where our boat is. :) And since it is waay too early, we had a great view of sunrise. Aaaawww..

And of course, we goof around the area. Seeing small starfishes and loads of other sea creatures made us soooo excited for the day ahead. :)

DSC01976-horzIMG_0721-horzIMG_0724-horzIMG_0723-horz

We went to an area out in the ocean for Dolphin Watching. We noticed that there are other boats waiting for the dolphins as well. Our boatman is a very quite man but I could tell that he is good. He would tell us ahead of time if a pod of dolphins are in the area. And he would direct our boats a little bit near the dolphins but not too near to shoo them away unlike the other boatmen. I just hope that they would give boatmen some lessons or whatever. Just to make sure that they don’t scare the dolphins away. I mean, if I’m a dolphin and I’m swimming merrily in the ocean and then I hear a broom broom nearby, I’d go gaga! I swear. Boat’s engines are loud and I’m sure they frighten the dolphins to pieces. Oh well! Maybe that’s just me exaggerating. But I know you get what I mean. Anyway, we don’t have a nice camera with super zoom so we didn’t get a nice picture but we have a video. I’ll try to find a way to post them soon. Anyway, for me this is the best part of our tour. I love dolphins. I’ve got dolphin stuff toys, necklace, etc. I find them peaceful and calm and beautiful. :) And seeing them on the wild made me very happy. Extremely happy actually. There is really something on seeing them swim. I feel happiness deep within. Again I may sound like I’m exaggerating here but I am not. If I wanna be happy, I’ll just watch our video in Bohol where the dolphins are swimming merrily. I don’t want to see dolphins enclosed on those small pools. That’s why I don’t watch dolphin shows eventhough I love them. Baka kasi maiyak ako kasi kawawa naman sila. Para silang nasa perya! Char!

IMG_0733-horzIMG_0731-horzIMG_0737-horzIMG_0752-horz

After watching the dolphins, we went to Balicasag Island for snorkeling. I already forgot how much is the original price for the mini-boat rental plus the snorkeling guide plus snorkeling gear plus shoes. All I know is we haggled and only pay roughly around Php250. We refused to rent a kubo coz we only have limited time to spend. And since we are not on hassle-free-all-in tour, this is expected. But I still think we paid lesser than most. Iba na talaga yung may kasamang kuripot. Lahat ata tinawaran namin. :) Hahaha..

We all had a great time watching and feeing the fish. This is far better than my snorkeling experience in Boracay! The fishes are very colorful and we can’t get enough of them. We keep on taking pictures! :) And instead of the usual sand, Balicasag is srrounded by mini shells and coral pieces. And the colorful corals are just meters away from the shore! OMG! This island is soo beautiful. I just hope they maintain its natural beauty.

But there’s one thing Balicasag gave me as a souvenir. It’s a huge and not to mention painful and deep gash on my knee. Ako na nadapa sa coral! Kaloka! Have you ever heard of someone as lampa as I am?! Coral nalang nadapa pa ako. Kalurks! And the first thing I asked our guide the moment I hurt myself is “May sharks ba dito?!”. Nyahahaha… Knowing that sharks are attracted to blood and knowing that my knee is bleeding much, I just have to know right?! Oh well! It was still fun anyway and I still have the ugly scar that reminds me of my lampa moments under the sea. ahihihi…

IMG_0780-horzIMG_0783-horzIMG_0803-horzIMG_0806-vert-horzIMG_0815-horzIMG_0845-horzIMG_0849-horzIMG_0853-horzIMG_0872-horz

Our last destination is the Virgin Island. It is shaped like a sperm according to our guide and well, according to google maps. It is known as Virgin Island because nobody lives there and it is not frequented by tourist because it’s very difficult to go there specially during low tide. Our boatman and his assistant has to literally push our boat to the shore of the Virgin Island. And swerte talaga namin sa silent type naming boatman. Yung iba kasi ayaw talaga mag-effort na dalhin yung guest nila sa island. But our boatman silently pushed our boat to this paradise. We love you manong! :)

Anyway, what I love most about this island is the long stretch of powdery white sand. :) Sand bar much! And it’s very small you can actually go around the area in no time. And of course, this island has fruit shakes!!! I told you, bawat kanto ng Bohol may fruit shakes eh! This is where my friends and I goof around. Taking that infamous 10shots with our uber-mini tripod. Mga isang dangkal lang ung tripod namin. Harhar!

DSC02003-horzIMG_0907-horzDSC02005-horzIMG_1003-horzIMG_0923-horzIMG_0959-horzIMG_0972-horzIMG_0992-horzIMG_1030-horzIMG_1035-horzIMG_1051-horzDSC01999-horz

We paid Php1500 for our boat. Our boat could accommodate up to 8pax if I’m not mistaken. Mas mura kung mas madami! We also got the boatman from Kuya Tatsky. See?! Kuya Tatsky is really the go-to person if you wanna visit Bohol.

P.S.: Please click on the Bohol tag right after this post to see my full Bohol adventure.




Kuya Tatsky

Bohol, Philippines
(+639223671051)

2 comments :

  1. AnonymousJuly 31, 2012

    I just added your web page to my bookmarks. I enjoy reading your posts. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. reigningstillAugust 04, 2014

    For me, Balicasag is breathtakingly beautiful. But if you want a relaxing beach to hang out it Panglao would probably appeal to you more. Actually, it really depends. Both are awesome. One of the best in the philippines for sure

    ReplyDelete

My Instagram

Copyright © ReigningStill.