Province of Bohol Things to Do Tips by yellowbell

Loboc River Cruise and Floating Restaurant

If you want to sample local Filipino food and be entertained by a local singer/pianist, try boarding one of the floating restaurants that cruise Loboc river. It's not as grand as the floating restaurant of Hongkong but a fun way to see simple living in the countryside.

It's an enjoyable one hour cruise where you'd see village people doing their daily chores, mini falls, and kids jumping from coconut trees to swim in the river. (What a refreshing way to beat the humidity but I'd rather try the natural spring water pool near Loboc river.)

Lunch and cruise per person - P250

If you don't want to have lunch, just rent a boat for P700-800 (sorry I'm not sure how many people can the boat take in - maybe around 4-6)

Baclayon Church/Museum

Baclayon town (six kilometers from Tagbilaran city) was founded by Jesuit priests in 1595. Baclayon Church, oldest stone church in the Philipppines, was made into a Parish of Immaculate Conception in 1717. Its walls were made of coral stones cut into blocks, piled on top of each other and cemented together with egg whites. Construction of the church was finished by the natives in 1727.

Visit the church museum and find religous relics, priestly vestments embroidered with gold threads, mass songs written in sheepskin. There were so many religious statues that I missed looking out for the statue of the Blessed Virgin (said to be given by the Queen Catherine of Aragon) and an ivory statue of the crucified Christ looking heavenward. It also says in the guidebook that there's a dungeon reserved for natives who violated Roman Catholic laws. Maybe it's a blessing that I skipped that one!

Walk into the innermost part of the museum and you'd come to the tribuna, an enclosed space that has a top view of the altar. During the Spanish era, only government officials and rich people can stay there for their private devotion.

Peer from the church museum window and you'd see the coastline.

Entrance fee to the museum is P25.