We spent a week on Panglao Island, off the island of Bohol. Panglao itself is really touristy, and we arrived during the first weekend of the Philippine school summer holidays – so it was very busy. However, we found a nice hotel and chilled out for a few days, during which we were paid a visit by a large crab which Emma spotted trying to claw its way up onto her bed!

Panglao Island, Malapascua before it, and Moalboal before that, have all really been pretty much the same. They’re all beach towns, with lots of tourists and lots of restaurants serving a mix of Western and Eastern dishes. Not that we have not been enjoying it, but at the end of the day – we really could’ve been in Spain, France, or anywhere else – as the beach-front tourists town is essentially the same across the world.

However, a chilled out few weeks on the beach has been a great way to start the trip. Getting anxious for a little more adventure…we hired a motorbike for the day, and set off around Panglao Island and Bohol. We visited a cool underground cave which was linked to the sea and had a quick swim (after getting a little bit lost on the way there!).

In the afternoon we were hoping to head to the tarsier sanctuary, the Luboc river and the Chocolate Hills. Unfortunately, the rain came on a bit heavy around 1pm so we ran for shelter in a bus stop for an hour or so until it passed:

We made it to the tarsier sanctuary and saw these cool little dudes:

After that, we had a really nice drive through the country, before arriving at the river, and making our way back. I really felt that the whole day was a completely different experience to the rest of the trip so far. It felt like we were doing something new and seeing things which we wouldn’t normally see.