kfast) at Dumaluan Beach Resort II . Mang Gerry advised that we could also get some grocery items in Tagbilaran before we head off to the resort. Advised us to get instant coffee, bread, noodles for snacks, etc. to avoid astronomical costs at the resort. So we visited one of the malls in the city called BQ Mall to get our grocery items.It was almost 7pm and the resort was calling me if we were arriving( they wanna be sure; for there are many walk-ins in the resort waiting for any cancelled reservation), I assured them that we are arriving in a few minutes (no way in hell, would we cancel the reservation...)
We checked in at
about 715pm, we head off to our room to organize our things and have a few minutes of relaxation. The room was ok for the price, aircon, a big bed and they also gave us an additional mattress and pillow. No TV (hey its a vacation; though it was NBA Playoffs 09 - Go MAGIC!!!). There was a small veranda in front, and hey at this price its already worth it. The resort is in Panglao Island, where the best beaches are in Bohol. The resort is in the Dumaluan strip just beside Bohol Beac
h Club. It was already dark so we can't really appreciate the view of the beach but my kids saw the swimming pool and was hell bent on taking a night dip. After a light snack (dinner) we decided to take a dip at their pool. Night swimming is good until 10pm only, as courtesy to other rooms encircling the swimming pool. After swimming we all rested for we have an early morning (530am) appointment with the dolphins and the islands around Panglao with Admiral Dodong no less.Day 3 - Dolphin Watching / Island Hopping
Dolphin Watching
I set the
alarm for 5am but I beat it by about 15mins. I was up and drinking coffee, then I decided to wake up the gang already. Dodong, our guide/boatman, already texted me that they would be at the beach front at exactly 530am.After a light breakfast, we set off to the beach to meet our boat named "Kenneth". The resort is on the eastern side, so there's no picturesque sunsets but early morning sunrise for us. It was low tide that morning and we walked a few meters to our boat where we were met by Dodong and helped us aboard "Kenneth".
We are to take about 40 minutes to the dolphin site, where we could already see some other boats heading that way. The waters were calm and in no time the hunt was on for them dolphins. The dolphins are usually gone when it reaches about 8am, an early voyage is imperative.After about a few minutes in silence waiting for the dolphins to show-up , my kids were getting impatient a grumpy due to the early morning wake up call and no dolphins to show up. Just then, suddenly a group of dolphins (3 or4) on the left side of the boat announced their presence. We've
seen dolphin shows in HK and Subic, but seeing them in their natural habitat is something else. Its so hard to get pictures but fortunately we got one or two good ones(meaning showing their dorsal fins). All in all, the dolphin thing was exciting, we were actually jostling for positions with other big boats with other tourist to get a glimpse of those dolphins, as Dodong aptly called it on some unlucky days where you can't get a glimpse of them you'll end up watching other boats its called "boatwatching" instead(officially a BUMMER!!!).Balicasag Island
After about 10-15 minutes and no more dolphins were showing up, we
decided to head off to one of the best snorkeling spots in Bohol which is Balicasag Island. It took about 20 mins and we're there. The view is beautiful, water is clear, though the beach is coral beach best advised not to walk barefoot on it. Dodong was asking if we would want to hire some snorkeling gears but we declined since my kids don't like the idea and plus they got hungry chasing them dolphins earlier.
There was a small carinderia in the island where we got to have breakfast of hard-boiled eggs and corned beef with rice, paid P250 for it. Afterwards, we explored the beach and my kids got a kick of gathering dead corals along the shore. Its a great place to have photo ops. There is also a lighthouse within the island just a few meters walk form the shore, unfortunately the coast guard won't allow you to enter. I bet, it would have given an awesome view of the islands of Bohol and Cebu.
Kids enjoying at Balicasag coral beach
Balicasag IslandAfter some more photos, we decided to head off to anoth
er island called Virgin Island. As per Dodong, there's no people inhabiting it plus it has this great sandbar that extends like a boomerang form the main island. After about 20-25 mins from Balicasag, Dodong stopped the boat a good 500 meters from the island itself and we went off on this sandbar which has about knee-deep waters at that time. Dodong assured us that it was perfectly safe for us to walk thru the sandbar going to the island. It was like paradise, the water was clear, the sand we were walking was powdery white, man what a sight. 
Dodong accompanied us to guide and take those photos while we were trekking towards the island.Upon reaching the island, there were already many tourist enjoying the place as well. According to Dodong, Cesar Montano shot some parts of his film "Muro-Ami" on these island. My kids saw many orange/black starfishes around and Dodong even dived one for us to take pictures of closely. The view was simply breath-taking, we got to take so many pictures here. This island is not really on the regular dolphin/snorkeling tour but he decided to take us there and boy were weever thankful for him.
After exhausting ourselves in every imaginable photo poses possible it was almost lunchtime and we decided to head back to the resort for lunch.
Dodong's(0929-4102709) charge for the whole trip was only P1,500. Resorts would normally charge you P3,000-P3,500 for the same itinerary. Do contact him in advance if you want to have the best deal for the dolphin watching/island hopping tour.
The Lunch
Totally exhausted and hungry from the early morning voyage. We
decide to take our lunch to Dumaluan 1's DBR grill the price there are comparatively lower than that of Dumaluan 2's resto. It just a few steps away from the resort itself. We got to have choices of grilled pork belly, chicken and sinigang. We tried their grilled chicken, pork belly and Lapu-Lapu sinigang (really good). They would let you use the cottages in front of the grilling station. We spent only P450 for the whole thing. Rice is a modest P15 for those who like extras. We brought along our mineral water and asked for ice and drinking glasses which they obliged.
After lunch we decided to have a look at the beach, it was noontime so its quite hot and the water was relatively high. Since we got up at about 5am, we decided to take a well deserved afternoon siesta and just go to the beach later in the afternoon when its not that hot and its already low tide.
The Beach
We woke up at about 5pm and headed straight to the beach, the water has receded already and we can see the long beachfront ahead of us. The sand is powdery white, the water very clear as crystal. The kids were making their own sandcastles as expected and collecting corals as well. Now we know why the Dumaluan strip is very popular among visitors, the beach is calm, long beach front and less corals on the shore.We spent our time walking and admiring its beauty the setting was so pristine, almost looks like a poster done in photoshop.
We took our dinner and the kids were on their nocturnal dipping spree again at the pool. My kids got to meet friends in the pool sort of a pool buddy. They were some kids from Parañaque, so they could actually talk with each other in Tagalog. So unfortunate that the following day we would be returning back to Manila, back to traffic, back to pollution and yes for the kids..back to school. 
My kids and their new friends
My kids and their new friendsThe return back to Manila or so we thought.... on my next post :-)
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