We are about to embark on a trip to the Philippines, an archipelago of 7000 islands in South East Asia. It is famous for sugar powdered beaches, limestone cliffs, coral reefs, exotic animals and happy, smiling people.
Manila
Our trip will start in the busy capital of Manila, also called the Pearl of the Orient. The city was colonized by the Spanish in 1571. Since then it has grown into a hustling and bustling mega city with more than 14 million inhabitants. We will spend a couple of days here to explore some historic sites such as the walled city of Intramuros with buildings such as the Manila Cathedral, Fort Santiago and other Spanish fortifications from the 16th century.
Boracay
From Manila we will fly to the small island of Boracay, with its gorgeous White Beach and a large number of resorts, restaurants, bars. It also offers plenty of outdoor activities, such as snorkeling, diving, kayaking, sailing etc. This is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Philippines.
Bohol
After relaxing in Boracay for 5 days, we will continue to the island of Bohol. This is the home of the famous tarsiers, a small primate about the size of a tennis ball. They are actually one of the oldest primates on the planet, dating back at least 55 million years.
The tarsiers have the largest eyes of any mammal relative to its body size. The eyes are in fact so large that they cannot rotate. Instead, the tarsiers can twist their heads up to 180 degrees. Babies are born with their eyes open and are ready to climb trees within an hour of birth.
Also, Bohol island is home to a natrual wonder known as the Chocolate Hills. These are a large number of rounded hills that go brown in color during the dry season, making them look like giant chocolate truffles.
Cebu City
We will also spend a couple of nights in Cebu City, the second largest city of the Philippines. It has a number of sights such as Fort San Pedro, Basilica Minore del Santo Niño and Magellan’s Cross, where Ferdinand Magellan planted a cross in 1521 and claimed the Philippines for Spain.
Coron
Finally we will travel to Coron in Palawan, which is supposed to be an adventurer’s paradise with plenty of options for kayaking, snorkling, wreck diving and island-hopping. We are planning to ride in Bangkas (traditional Philippinean boats) to nearby natural wonders such as Kayangan Lake, Barracuda Lake, Banol Beach and the Twin Lagoon.
Check back for updates
Finally we will spend a couple of nights in Manila before we will return to Trondheim in Norway on December 9th.
We will try to update our blog with photos and travel stories are our trip progresses, so please check back and stay tuned for more content from the beautiful islands of the Philippines.
