January 10, 2017
Bohol is the island east of Cebu. I adventurously took a motorbike and then a shipping ferry to get there. I stayed in Panglao near Alona Beach known for its white sand and turquoise water. The main attractions are the Chocolate Hills and the tarsiers, which are a day trip from Panglao. I hired a motorbike sidecar for the day and ventured through the beautiful countryside and bamboo forest.
The tarsier is the world’s smallest primate and also endangered. There are a few hundred at the sanctuary I visited. There’s a short loop that takes about 15 minutes to walk around and see the tarsiers that are watched by sanctuary employees. Most are sleeping since they’re nocturnal but the ones that are awake have these huge eyes for their small heads and they stare at you like they’re sacred to death. Part of the reason that they’re endangered is that they keep committing suicide because they’re so scared of humans. After visiting, I feel like in order to really protect them they should be closed off from human viewing. Poor little guys.
The Chocolate Hills are a short ride past the tarsiers. There’s a long staircase winding up to a viewing platform to see the Chocolate Hills. After walking up and checking out the view, that’s it. Would have been nice if there had been a hike or other activities aside from the viewing platform.
