EYES and TEETH

After we had our lunch by a road side cafeteria called TRES HERMANAS (three madams) -- the highlight of which was a forgettable kilawing kalabaw which loosely translated, is... raw carabao meat cured in vinegar (like cheviche)....yes, i know, you are having swirling images of this dish in your head. But it didn't actually LOOK raw... the taste itself  was not bad but not good either.. I tell you something,  faced with no options, -- you eat was is presented. (the rice was undercooked too...). It was my kids' SURVIVOR MOMENT.... hahahaha.

Not deterred, we headed down to the much awaited tarsier reserve.


The reserve itself was very well maintained and you can roam around the grounds freely searching for the tarsier. Most of them are located in the trees and you can search by looking for ones with COVERS on them. (like houses) or in our case, we would go where there was a huge crowd.

Actually, when you get an idea what the "houses" look like, it's very easy to spot and the whole area housed about 10-15 of these houses so you don't need to crowd in one place.

Tarsiers are native to bohol and are the smallest primates. The most notable feature is their HUGE eyes which are the same size as their brain.

my preciiiooouuuuusss..... hehehe.... kindda gollum like eh?

huge eyes (above photos by my friend, Lilibeth Lam)

They so small you can fit one in your hand...

These little buggers are so cute you want to touch one (which is a NO NO)... they actually remind me of koalas... the way they crouch and cling to the branch. Both of them are nocturnal too...

Rules of the reserve : DO NOT TOUCH the tarsiers. NO FLASH photography (since they are nocturnal,  they have sensitive eyes)
The reserve do not charge a fee and just have a "donation" box. (I dropped 200 pesos( $5-) for our group)

Next stop was the hanging bridge.

The only thing you get is the excitement of crossing the bamboo bridge over the height of the river and having it swing. There are two bridges. One is for crossing to the other side and the other is for coming back.

It was pretty hard to take pictures while crossing because of the swinging. I was scared I might lose a grip and my camera would go BYE BYE to the river. It was a good 20 feet high and my sandals kept on getting stuck in between the slats of the bamboo. The boys had a lot of fun jiggling the bridge though. (yeah, ok, they had a lot of fun scaring the heck out of their 7 yr old sister)

Once you get to the other side, there is not much to see. There are few merchants selling local peanut cookies and some coconut sugar. 

Since my friend already had come before, she knew this man who can UNHUSK a coconut with his bare teeth lived there. I think he was featured in several TV programs in several countries already. (do something ODD and you're sure to get on TV). If you have ever seen a coconut, you would know how hard it is to open (most people open it with a machete) and unimaginable to even try doing it with your teeth. 

Looking at him reminded me of the henchmen you see on TV... one of the "bad" guys -- one of those who is always the kidnapper/hold upper or henchmen of some corrupt person. hahahaha

We haggled with him for his "fee"- from 200 pesos to 100 pesos ($5 to $2.5) for him to "perform"

See him do his jawdropping stuff (hear me shout in amazement in the background) in less than 20 seconds.!!!!!

Maybe I should try too...

he actually gripped the coconut with his TEETH

There was more to see in Bohol and we weren't finished yet...

But I have to tell that in the next blog. (LOL)

Flying like superman (or woman)

I'm BAAAACCCCK!!!! har har.. tired from all the fun.... but gotta go back to work as usual..

so many thing to blog about... I have to do it in increments...

ZIPLINE- Cagayan de oro City (south of Manila)

 First of all, I went on the 840 meter zipline. It was an hour drive from Cagayan de Oro city... the place was called Dahilayan. 

On the way there, we passed through the Del monte plantation.... pineapples as far as the eye could see....

Getting to the park, we signed up and waited for our turn. There were three lines you can try. a 150M one, a 320M one and the big momma... 840M!!
We decided to get the whole 3 lines for 600 pesos ($15) and since the lines at the shorter ones were quite long, we decided to take on the 840M one first.

You have to ride up to the top of the hill via a jeep they provided.
I don't know which was scarier, the jeep ride up or the zipline down.. the driver of the jeep that bought us up there was weaving around the dirt road like he wanted to throw me off.... hahahaa-- madman!

The platform looked like some kind of launchpad, or suicide drop, depending on your disposition. Even the walkway added to the drama of the zipline. (a hanging bridge? GULP!)
I got strapped on the line... and the place was a loooong way up... (was getting nervous) and watching other people screaming their way down was not helping.

As they let go of my harness, I was thinking about all the things the safety crew told me:
-- no jerky movements
--when reaching the bottom, tuck your head in
-- dont move your feet

I sure wasn't going to move.... bec I felt that if I did, I would fall off the harness that was holding me...

And then I was FLYING. The trees whizzed past me, the ground was a long way down. I was nervous, thrilled, contemplating what would happen if my harness broke all at the same time.

840 meters was quite long... about one minute from the top to the bottom.... that 1 minute, seems like forever.. by the halfway mark, I was feeling easier and could appreciate the beautiful scenery around me. WOW. When the line ended, you get a feeling that you wanted the last part to last longer.


THER 320M AND 150M LINES

After which we did the shorter ones. the 350 meters and the 120 meters.. by this time, it was a breeze... ( no screaming )... 840m was cooler BY FAR.

Cagayan de ORO

Summer is scorching!!!! 38-40C  .. if it gets any hotter.. I'll try to fry an egg on the hood of my car!
(sizzle sizzle)

Speaking of driving, I renewed my driver's license this week. I should have renewed it on my birthday but got too busy. Thankfully, the Land Transportation office has set up satellite offices in malls.. They have one near my office and it is airconditioned, no lines and very quick. I would have died if I had to go to the main office.. (with the heat, lines and all).. Surprisingly, they took a pretty decent picture this time around... hahahahaa.... got to live with that pic for 3 years you know!-- maybe the airconditioning helped.. being stressed doesn't a good picture make!


I am super excited by my upcoming trip to Cagayan de oro...... whitewater rafting and zipline.. wooo hoo..giddy with excitement!!!!

I have discovered a new website. (Although I booked my travel before I found the site) I  may book my succeeding trips thru them...

Here are some of the things in store for me.... photos taken from the website..

Their prices are pretty good and they have amazing packages... (they have trips to other destinations also..)

http://www.philippinesbudgettravel.com/category/domestic/cagayan-de-oro/

They also post updates in their facebook page: PhilippineBeaches.org  
I obviously became a fan.


here is the official "visit the philippines" video... I think it is one of the best they have made!