On a whim, I decided to head over to Bohol. I’d been in the ‘Boal’ for a couple of weeks and had thought about trips to Camiguin or Siquijor but in the end, it lined up perfectly to drive over to Bohol and join Jammy and Plastic Free Bohol for a clean-up collaboration. I was also keen to explore more of Bohol after my visit three years ago.
I had never done a ferry crossing on the bike and it was an exciting journey. I bought a small storage box for my bike and packed the rest into a backpack before setting off on the long journey. I first drove to Cebu City (2.5 hours), took the ferry for $20 to Tubigon (2 hours) and finally drove down to Panglao (1.5 hours) to arrive at my hostel, Alona Hammocks. I really enjoyed the freedom of being on my bike rather than a bus, car or taxi. I could stop wherever, whenever.
Alona Hammocks was a super chill and super cheap hostel near the beach. Open-air dorms (under a roof but no walls). My entire 5-night stay cost 150o pesos, which is about $5 USD per night. I highly recommend using this as your base for accommodation if you re on a budget while exploring Bohol.
On my first morning in Bohol, I woke for sunrise and jogged down to Libaong Beach, which is where we would be doing the cleanup. It was beautiful but clear that it would need lots of helping hands to clean the trash that littered the shores.
I’ve decided to add more raw shots into each weekly. That means at the end of each week I will look through my phone camera roll and add any photos to the weekly that help to describe the vibe of the week.
The Adventure Bag Crew turned up in force along with the Plastic Free Bohol regulars with over 50 people showing up to help with the cleanup. Heading off in all directions, we collected lots of rum bottles, cigarettes, and assorted plastics as we enjoyed the beautiful beach views along the walk.
Once back at the hub, we poured out our bags and sorted the trash. Bohol sends plastic bottles and glass bottles to Cebu for recycling but has no official recycling center of its own. Therefore we did our best to sort these plastics but unfortunately, the rest does go to landfill, which is a better option than in the ocean or being burnt.
We weighed each bag thanks to the Plastic Free Bohol crew and the total trash collected was 237 kilograms in just over an hour of cleaning. A great effort by a great crew and as always the positive vibes were contagious! You can check out the blog post review of the cleanup and see all of the photos by clicking the link: ADVENTURE BAG CLEANUP AT LIBAONG BEACH, BOHOL
With the cleanup complete it was time for some adventures. I ended up exploring a lot of Bohol in the short 6-day visit. From Candijay to Anda to Alicia, I cruised around the island clocking up 1000kms on two wheels throughout the week.
The highlights for me were the Cadapdapan Rice Terraces and waking up for a sunrise hike in Binabaje Hills. The driving around the north of Bohol, in particular, is amazing with rice fields on either side of the road for most of the drive no matter where you are. Here are my favorite photos from the week and also some raw snaps from my phone that paint the whole story of my week of travels.
