Hard to get to Dumagete, Harder to Leave

Next on our itinerary was Dumagete on the southern coast of Negros. However, we had a problem in the that the ferry from Bohol to there wasn't running that week. So after some discussion we decided that we had to backtrack to Cebu and get a ferry from there. We stayed the night in Moalboal a village almost completely dedicated to diving. Nick had stayed the week before and a friend of his was doing his dive master there. We had a good night playing pool in their favorite bar before heading to Dumagete the next day.

I really enjoyed my stay in Dumagete - so much so I left a lot later than I had expected. The town had a large university and s o the atmosphere was really cool. In amongst a lot of chilling out I did some cool stuff as well as having some good nights out.

I visited Centrop (The Center for Tropical Conservation Studies) where they are researching and breeding some of the Visaya's endangered animals including the warty pig, spotted deer and bleeding heart pigeon. We even got a personal tour by the zookeeper! We also visited the Marine Labs of the university which had some interesting displays and some live specimens. It'd be a nice place to work :)

I also got to some diving whilst I was there. We went to dive an island called Apo which is a great example of how MPAs and ecotourism can work. I also did a 'muck dive' in Dauin which there is dark sand beach.

Finally I went to visit the twin lakes and some water falls on a day trip.

As well as the sights I think the thing I will remember Dumagete for is the cake! There were loads of great (and cheap) cafes and bakeries which you could get amazing gateaux and muffins.

Dumagete was where Nick (and also Helen who had joined us on a holiday from the Thresher shark Project) and I said our goodbyes and I headed off to the next stop on my journey.

Abi
xxx

Beautiful Bohol

So I have put up the photos from Bohol but not explained what I've been up to - so here goes!

We (Nick and I) got the ferry from Cebu to Bohol at lunch time. The terminal was pretty well organised and it was a bit like going to the airport with checking in and whatnot. The ferry was also pretty comfortable but we were disappointed we couldn't go outside. When we arrive we went straight to or accommodation Nuts Huts which were in the interior of the island. Once we were dropped off it was a bit of a trek on a dirt track to get there and then lots and lots of steps but it was well worth it. We stayed in a traditional wooden hut which looked out onto the Lomboc river. The river was the gorgeous shade of Wedgwood green.

The only thing which spoilt the tranquility a few times a day were the cruise boats the went by on the river. They were set up for tourists to have dinner whilst listening to some dodgy live music - that we were also subjected to. We went for a swim in the river up to the falls and we even saw one boat with a wedding reception on it!

Whilst on Bohol we got up to all of the typical toursisty things including going to the Chocolate Hills - which looked exactly like the photos. We also went to see the Tarsiers at the Tarsier Sanctuary. It was a really good day and we got to see the little primates really close up. There was also a film telling you about them and Nick and IU went on a massive trek inside the protected forest area.

After Nuts Huts we moved on for a night at the Bohol Bee Farm. This was an organic farm that was set up by a local woman. Originally she also kept bees there but most of the hives have been moved to another part of the island. The room was really nice as was it's surroundings. We had a tour of the farm where we saw where the herbs, fruit and veg were grown. I got to hold a frame from the bee hive and didn't get stung and we had a go on the loom that the ladies were using to make cloth for the crafts. The food at the Bee Farm was amazing. the best thing were the salads as they all came with lots of edible flowers in them :)

After that we tried to make our way to the next island our trip.

Abi
xxx