COLOURFULWORLD

Wednesday 6 February 2019

Philippines - Cave Swimming and visit to Bohol Bee Farm Resort

Thursday, 20th December 2018 -
Sadly this would be our last full day in Panglao Island.

Our usual driver/tour guide Reynaldo was meant to pick us up after breakfast and take us to a waterfall and then to some caves in the north of the island. 
During the night I was woken up by the sound of heavy rain, and in the morning the rain continued.
Karina called Reynaldo and arranged that he would still pick us up, but we would only go to the  caves. 
Isabelle wasn't feeling well with a bit of a cold and stayed in the Resort to sleep.
We "borrowed" umbrellas and towels from the resort and boarded the van.











Hinagdanan Cave (Ladder cave) was discovered accidentally many years ago, when the owner of the area was clearing the land for farming and found 2 holes.    He threw a stone and heard a splash, then he built a ladder to get into the cave, hence the name. 

We paid 50 Pisos (Aud 1,30) and a further 75 (Aud 2,00) for swimming and were allocated a very funny guide who offered to take photos of our group and even showed me how to adjust my camera settings to take photos in the dark cave.


The whole family, minus Isabelle




























The 100mt long cave has many stalactites and stalagmites and is lit by sunlight from holes above on the ground and is accessed via steep steps with a rope railing.

The holes above the lagoon, from where light enters the cave





























There are no changing facilities in the cave, so for those of us who didn't have our bathing suits on we went behind some rocks, and with someone holding a towel around us we changed.
The large lagoon with transparent water was quite inviting but we didn't wander far from the edges.
We swam for about 20 minutes or so, then changed back into our clothes and went back above to browse the little markets where we bought a couple of souvenir
t-shirts.


Swimming in the cave lagoon





On the return trip the driver was keen on showing us the Bohol Bee Farm Resort where we could get a coffee and visit the bee farm.  Apparently because of the rain we couldn't visit the bee farm as bees get aggressive with rain.

The resort pool, the Ice-cream kiosk and bottle lamp shade

We stayed a while and had a drink while listening to a piano player singing old songs. Reynaldo (driver) was even given lunch for bringing in customers.

In the complex we visited the Bee Shop where they sold honey, creams, and other local crafts. They had a bakery on site too, an ice-cream kiosk, a restaurant and even a well cared for vegetable and herb garden.

The piano player sang while we had our drinks















The sitting area and piano player, the restaurant with views of the sea and the wet deck leading to the beach

The herb and veggie garden and other small cosy seating areas around the Resort
This would be a nice spot to sit and watch the sea if it was a sunny day (deck by the restaurant)

I thought the toilets re-purposed as plant pots in the garden were funny.


We decided not to have lunch at the Bohol Bee Resort, so when we got back to the Panglao Bluewater Resort around 2pm we headed straight to the Restaurant Cabana.

It was still raining and the little birds that inhabited the thatched roof were flying from the pool to the empty tables picking on the leftovers.


We had to eat just under the eaves as the staff were setting the tables for another wedding later in the afternoon. 
With the cool weather and a breeze it wasn't too comfortable but we enjoyed a prawn curry  (3 or 4 big prawns only, but it was enough) and later had a slice or two of  Karina and Thomas Carrot wedding cake that had been stored in the kitchen's cool room. 
The serving staff was also given a slice, as they were always so friendly, and there was plenty of cake left over ...
We all realized how lucky we were with the weather on the wedding day just the day before, perfectly sunny and warm.


Preparations for another (big) wedding and 2 staff members carry the wedding cake
Prawn curry and Karina and Thomas wedding cake from the day before

After lunch we went to our room to get our bags ready for our departure the following day.

Later Karina, Thomas, Jose and Benoir played cards by the bar while I read one of the books Karina had lent me - "Blink - the power of thinking without thinking" by Canadian writer Malcolm Gladwell. Brilliant book by the way!

We had our usual Happy-Hour cocktail at 7pm, then caught 3 tricycles to the village to have dinner at the Bohol Bee Farm Restaurant at Alona Beach (a branch of the one we visited in the morning), where we had already eaten 2 days before. 
We had enjoyed the food and they were on board with Isabelle's gluten allergy so it was an easy choice.
They had this tiny cat who took a shine to me, I think they know the weakest link...cat lady of course! Compared to my huge cats, all Filipino cats I saw were really tiny. 

Alona Beachfront restaurants, the tiny cat at the Bee Farm restaurant and Thomas drew a K&T loveheart in the sand

And this would be our last night at the resort with wonderful staff who made sure guests enjoyed their stay and had a relaxing time. A fabulous 5 days with great adventures, a visit to the whale sharks, my daughter's wedding, hours sitting by the two beautiful pools, family time...

The infinity pool at dusk

The following morning we would be leaving the resort and flying to the Island of Mactan, across from the island of Cebu. Another adventure on a tiny Cessna Caravan plane.  I'll tell you all about it in the next post... 

36 comments:

  1. Fantástico aquele banho na lagoa da caverna, aproveito para desejar a continuação de uma boa semana.

    Andarilhar
    Dedais de Francisco e Idalisa
    O prazer dos livros

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    1. Foi muito bom Francisco. Obrigada e boa semana para si tambem.

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  2. So warm. It's so cold here. Beautiful shots.

    Have a fabulous day. ♥

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    1. Thanks Sandee. It's always warm in the Philippines.
      Here in Perth we've been through a few very hot days. Today is 37C (98.6F).

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  3. I am pleased that you are reading Malcolm Gladwell, a profound Canadian scholar and thinker. He and my wife attended Elmira District High School together and he was present at their last reunion.

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    1. How amazing David! I've only read Blink and David & Goliath, which my daughter had at home in the Philippines, and loved them. My library doesn't have any of his books but I've checked the online catalogue and there are others that have his books, so I'll have to put in an order. He must be a very clever guy!

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  4. The bee farm resort looks like it would be brilliant in fine weather. Cave swimming has never occured to me, in spite of the anniversary of the Thai cave rescue. I am thinking the water would be very clean and pure.

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    1. Thanks Andrew. The Bee farm resort was very funky, it would be nice in a sunny day.
      Luckily I don't think we went as far out into the cave as those Thai school boys :) The water was very clear.

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  5. Hmmmm, rain, at my parents' house I slept under the roof with a window the rain drummed on. I miss that.

    The guide sounds great! And the water looks wonderful. And the piano player, I love that.
    And that free lunch, nice gesture.
    The book sounds interesting.
    Awww, and the cat. Hope to visit the one here today.

    Glad you had such a good time and weather!

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    1. Thanks Iris. Hope your visit with to the vet's cat was wonderful :)

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  6. What an absolutely incredible final day to spend in the Philippines. Seems you had the most wonderful holiday ever. And of course, that cake looked amazing.

    Do people still have a small cake for the top that they keep frozen for a year and eat it on their 1st wedding anniversary? They used to do that here in the states, but I haven't been to a wedding for several years, so have no idea.

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    1. I kept the top of my cake but it was a fruit cake. Not sure if it's still done, but that was a carrot cake probably not suitable to freeze, but nobody thought about that either. Thanks Elizabeth :)

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  7. Another event filled day Sami. Oh my gosh you were brave just to go inside the caves never mind swim in there 😱 I'm such a namby pamby 😊 See you tomorrow!

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    1. It was a small cave Grace, and I could stand where I was swimming so it didn't bother me, but it was deeper in the middle and I didn't go there.
      See you Friday afternoon :)

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  8. Looks an amazing place, Sami! I'd love to go swimming in the caves. As for the herb garden... it's given me some ideas!

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    1. Thanks Carole, glad you got ideas for your garden :)

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  9. Um país com riquezas naturais incríveis muitas vezes muito mal aproveitadas.
    Bfds

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    1. Bem verdade Pedro. Felizmente parecem ter bastante turismo que ajuda muita gente. Bom fim de semana Pedro.

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  10. Dearest Sami,
    That was another adventure and yes, when you have to deal with the tropical rain, it is a big strike against any plans!
    How was the water temperature inside that cave? Might have been cool too.
    Very unique and a special adventure.
    Glad you all enjoyed these five special days and by the way I think that our cat siblings, the four from original five, are also more like the smaller Asian cats. Tiggy-Tiger only weighs 7 lbs (450 gr/lb) so that is tiny.
    Sending you hugs,
    Mariette

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    1. Hi Mariette, the water in the cave was cool but not cold.
      You cat is really tiny then compared to my gigantic cats who weigh about 6kg (13lbs) and they have lost 2kgs (4,40lbs) on their diet!
      Have a lovely weekend :)

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  11. Wow! That cave looks amazing, and to be able to swim it too? Very cool! I had no idea that bees get aggressive in rainy weather. You know I love my trivia, so this is great info to to keep in my head. Yay to ice cream, and curry. I really enjoy the taste of any type of curry, and have been making more of it lately. Hugs...RO

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    1. Hi RO, at least that is what we were told about the bees and rainy weather, but this is what I found online: "Bad Weather. One thing new beekeepers quickly learn is that honeybees prefer calm days with abundant sunshine. They do not care for cloudy, windy, or rainy weather. These types of conditions as well as other weather extremes greatly affect the bees’ temperament. Thus, it is never recommended to go into a hive on less than optimal days.
      I love curry too :) Have a lovely weekend.

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  12. That's one skinny cat -- I hope he's getting enough to eat.

    It looks like a great day. The photos from the csves turned out surprisingly well and it must have been fun to swim. I love that you shared the wedding cake with staff. It all looks lovely, even with the weather -- and yes, you did luck out with the ceremony!

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    1. Hi Jeanie, just now that I was preparing this post for reposting to Throwback Thursday, did I see I never replied to it, sorry.

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  13. Wow - we have always wanted to explore the Phillipines a little more, looks a great place. I do have an inner shudder about caves though know after the football team rescue, I bet the water was wonderfully fresh to swim in though! Note to self keep away from bees in the rain!
    Wren x

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    1. Hi Wren, sorry never saw this comment from ages ago :) Hope you get to visit the Philippines sometime.

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  14. What a fantastic final day, you manage to get so much into 24 hours :)
    Love all of your photographs.

    All the best Jan

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    1. Thanks Jan, sorry for such a long delay with the reply.

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  15. Oh dearest Sami! I personally would like to thank you double, not just for joining timeless Thursdays this week, but for taking me back to Bohol! I love that place so much and I am so happy the family enjoyed it too! I was able to get a taste of Bohol Bee Farm's homemade ice cream Oh my, It was super good! Very fruity indeed as they say it was sweetened with Honey!

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    1. Thanks Stevenson, sorry it's taken a while to get back to Timeless Thursdays but I've just been so busy!
      We loved our time in Bohol too and yes the ice-creams at the Bee Farm were delicious, we used to eat one every night :)

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