The Sidetrip : Panglao Island

The North Face: Thrill of the trail Bohol series was awesome. It was nice having those experience. Straggling to run on a muddy stones, rough roads and crossing a couple of rivers.That was one hell of a run! Although I was tired at the end of the race, thinking back about it, I felt I had accomplished another challenge.  After the TNF: Thrill of the trail race, we meet up with my friends and decided to go for some side-trip. Bohol is one of the tourist spot in the Philippines. The place has a lot to offer. One of the place in Bohol where tourist often go is the Panglao Beach.

taken during low tide.. but still the beach is beautiful.

How to get there: GETTING TO BOHOLComing from abroad, you have two options: you can fly to Manila or Cebu. Cebu is the most convenient, but only a limited number of international flights will arrive there. Coming from Europe, you'll need to have a stop-over in either Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or Hong Kong, however, it will save you the hassle of going through Manila. Among others, the following airlines fly international routes to Cebu: Silk Air, Malaysian Arilines and Cathay Pacific.If you come via Manila, you'll probably want to take a connecting flight to Tagbilaran, which takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes. It is also possible to take a boat to Bohol, but will take 25 hours, and is only advisable if you have plenty of time and enjoy a trip on sea, or have to travel on a rock-bottom budget. If you come from Manila, you can also go to Cebu by air, and then continue by boat. There are numerous daily flights from Manila to Cebu. The flying time is about 50 minutes. The transfer by taxi from the airport to the pier takes about 30 minutes in normal traffic conditions, and should cost 165 pesos. The following airlines fly from Manila to Cebu: Philippine Air Line, Cebu Pacific, Air Philippines, Asian Spirit, Astro Air, and Grand Air. If you come via Cebu, you can also take a short 25 minute flight, but you'll probably want to take the one and a half hour trip with a fast boat to Tagbilaran. The regular boat to Tagbilaran will take about four hours. It is also possible to take a boat to Tubigon and Talibon, which may be more convenient if you want to be on the west or north coast of the island. The most economical way to get from Cebu to Tagbilaran by boat is to catch a ferry to Tubigon, and continue by bus from Tubigon to Tagbilaran. This is sometimes both faster and cheaper than taking a boat directly to Tagbilaran. 
GETTING TO PANGLAO BEACHFrom the port of Tagbilaran, you can take a taxi to Panglao Island or a couple rides of tricycle/jeep. As for a budget conscious like us, we take a tricycle ride to Island City Mall. Fare ranges from 7-10 pesos. From Island City Mall we can toke a jeepney ride to Panglao for a fare of 50pesos.
If you're in bohol and worried where to stay,  check out this website http://www.bohol.ph/article75.html. They have lots of places to offer. 
Our Stay :We arrived in Panglao around 6PM. We are on a tight budget, so we looked of a place that will cost us a little. Fortunately, We found this house. One big room cost us 1,200pesos. We were also given the right to use their dining room and kitchen.
After unpacking our backpack, we proceed to the kitchen to cook dinner. Then went to the dinning hall to eat. But the best part that night was the drinking session. Although I didn't remember that much about what happen that night. I'm pretty sure it was a lot of fun. Basing on all the stories my friend who didn't drink told us, it was indeed a funny and amusing night. There was a lot of bloopers happen and almost all got drunk. That includes me of course. ^_^ 
The next morning, my whole body was screaming for more sleep. But my friends keep telling me to get up from bed and enjoy the beautiful beach outside. Even though I'm to tired, I tried my best to get out. And I'm glad I did! The view from our terrace was wonderful. How I wish I own my own resort like that. It was so peaceful. The only thing I hear aside from our voices was the sounds of the waves and the wind.There were a lot of things we did at the beach. One of these was playing Frisbee. Sure it was exhausting, but we had a great time playing. With the long shoreline because of low tide, it give us plenty of space to play games.
A couple of my friends knows how to skim. I wanted to learn how to do it, so they volunteered to teach me. They really look good doing it. As for me, it was a disaster. An hour pass and I still don't know how to do it on  my own. It was so hard. and my patience were tested. It really take a lot of guts to do it, and I guess I don't have that. ^_^Beachenering wouldn't be complete without  sunbathing. We wanted to have a visible tan lines. So after taking a dip in the water, we lay in the sand  and expose our body to the sun. After an hour, we got what we want, a nice tan lines.After spending the whole morning at the beach, we decided to pack our things and leave the beautiful place. I don't want to, but  what choice do I have.  We need to go back to Cebu.
We head back to Island City Mall in Tagbilaran to buy some "pasalubong" (gifts) for our families in Cebu. What else would be the best pasalubong to give to your family than buying them Bohol's best delicacies? Bohol is known to have the most delicious Calamay and peanut kisses. I suggest you would buy some of these when you travel here.After buying pasalubong, we took a bus going back to Tubigon. The boats from Tubigon to Cebu is less cheaper than Tagbilaran to Cebu. It cost us 50 pesos for the bus to Tubigon and another 50 pesos for the boat from Tubigon to Cebu. The one hour travel from Tagbilaran to Tubigon was worth it. Hope I can go back there next year.