Saturday, 15th August 2005, we took a day trip to Bohol. Charles was fascinated by the boat! We hired a minivan so as to be sure of getting back in time for the return trip, then set off for the Chocolate Hills. OK, it was the wrong season - the vegetation on them was green, not brown as it is from December to April - and the wrong time of day (they are apparently at their best at sunrise), but still they are a remarkable rock formation, well worth the visit. We climbed to the top of the `public' hill, David lugging Charles all the way - he has developed a perverse lazy streak, most odd for a two year old, and is demanding to be carried most of the time. But he did manage to walk down 130 of the 214 steps set into the hillside (David counted them, not me!!).

On the way back we stopped at the Philippine Tarsier Foundation. For anyone who doesn't know, Tarsiers are tiny primates with huge saucer-shaped eyes, which are active at night in the Philippines' native forest. Obviously there isn't much of that left so there aren't many Tarsiers either, so there are strenuous efforts being made to preserve what is left of this precious and irreplaceable ecosystem. Fortunately, it is evident that Bohol is benefiting from Tarsier-driven Eco-Tourism, so there is a good economic as well as ecological reason for the people to devote serious effort to this conservation. We took a boat trip down the river into the Tarsier's habitat, which is wonderful and spectacular. Further on we visited the `Blood-Compact Site' at Bool, where the Spanish general Legaspi and local chief Rajah Sikatuna drank a cup of each other's blood as a token of alliance in 1565. Finally we stopped at Baclayon to visit the Church, built in 1596 and in some disrepair. Some restoration has been started, mainly at the altar end; it is being done well, and much needed. All told, a very interesting and successful day.