Greetings from Bohol | Long Time Gone

***Yes, this is my first post from Panglao, Bohol.***

A relatively uneventful trip getting here. As mentioned, I had my driver pick me up at 7 am instead of 8, because I’d been warned that I was cutting it too close for my 1 pm flight. So, we arrived at the Manila airport at 10, and had three hours to kill. Oh, well.

***No traffic jams made getting to Manila quicker than expected.***

As I checked my bag, I asked the attendant about changing our seat assignments (Swan and I both had middle seats; she was one row behind me). Alas, the flight was fully booked, so it was not to be. We left on time, and the flight was just a little over an hour long, so it wasn’t so bad. I dozed for most of it. Landed at the small but efficient airport in Panglao and called for a Grab pickup to the hotel—only 75 pesos for the 3K ride.

Our lodging was not quite what I was expecting. The Facebook page says it is two minutes from the beach. Maybe so if you are driving fast. We did walk to Alona Beach later in the evening, and it was at least 2K. I also had it in mind that Nora’s Place was an expat hangout, but there wasn’t anyone around yesterday or so far today.

***The whole place to ourselves it seems.***

***A nice pool I likely won’t be using.***

The room is clean and comfortable as well. This is a “Filipino-style” resort, meaning outside food and drink are permitted, the rooms are family-sized, and for the first time in my experience, it has a fully-equipped kitchen.

***And the bunk beds we will only be using for storage.***

So, we had a couple of drinks at the hotel bar, but got bored pretty quickly and decided to make our way to wherever the beach might be.

***The sun was still up, but we encountered this full moon.***

***Ah yeah, that’s where we want to be!***

***Bohol is to diving what Siargao is to surfing. Those boats are almost all for divers.***

***A very pleasant stroll down a nice beachfront lined with bars, restaurants, and resorts. What is different is that there is no road along the beach, so no traffic. I like that vibe VERY much.***

I saw two or three places that I want to go back and try during this trip, but last evening we plopped down at one that looked cozy and had a friendly waitress beckoning us to have a seat.

***I asked Swan if she could tell me about the menu, please. She told me the men she pleases are none of my business.*** ***Joke, lang.***

***“Okyanus” is a weird name for a beach bar, but otherwise, I had no complaint.***

That was enough for our first day in Bohol, so we caught a tuk-tuk back to our lodging and called it a night. We’ll be going back for more Alona Beach fun this evening.

From the March 2019 LTG archives, I post about being proud of my kids and grandkids. Maybe they will miss me when I’m gone.

Today’s YouTube video talks about the cost of living for regular Filipinos and the harsh realities of not being able to afford things most of us take for granted.

Some moments of lightness.

Alright, time to get back to what I came here for, some new sights and sounds. I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.

Damn, I enjoyed the video almost as much as the song.

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