A Trip Realized

Fox and the Firefly Cottages in Loboc, Bohol.

Two provinces, one long weekend, and an experience of a lifetime.

Going on a backpacking trip all by myself was a scary yet enticing thought that didn’t think I’d get to experience. But I’ve done and all I could say is that I really enjoyed it, flaws and all. However, sleeping in a self-made tent and cooking my own dinner on top of a campfire in the middle of the woods would have made the trip feel more complete but unfortunately, none of that didn’t happen. Hehe.

When I decided to go on this trip to the beautiful Visayan city of Cebu and its next door island neighbor, Bohol, I knew I’m entering into unknown territory. I’m spending at least Php10,000 of my own money for travel, food and other expenses and up until now, I still don’t know how much I exactly spent. But in the grand scheme of things, all of that didn’t matter if you get to enjoy the trip itself (Provided, of course, that you spend money wisely so you won’t go home penniless).

Looking back, the trip was a fruitful eye-opener. I got to see some neat cool sights and sceneries that I never would have seen elsewhere, especially in Bohol where you could really witness firsthand Mother Nature’s beauty. I can only do so much to capture those moments but I realized in the end that some of the more beautiful ones are better left not photographed by a camera’s lens.

Loboc River

Drawbacks will always be present, no matter how big or small they are. Sometimes, unfortunate things occur but you can always learn and grow from it to become a much better person. There were a couple of such incidents that happened during the trip but luckily, I was able to bounce back from them that in the end, they didn’t really matter. You just learn from it and move on.

I’ve met some wonderful people along the way: The lovely locals, the fascinating foreign tourists I shared a dorm with in Loboc for one night, and a cool native-level Tagalog speaking white man who owns the lodge I was staying in. I actually felt like a foreigner in my own country but I made sure to at least greet people with a few key phrases I know in the local vernacular, like “Maayong buntag” (Good morning) and “Daghang salamat” (Thank you).

Such a rich culture and history that the Visayas (Central Philippines) have that I wanna discover more of it, hence as early as now, I’m planning on saving up for another trip, probably to Bohol this time, to fully enjoy what I got a taste of.

Hanggang sa uulitin!

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