text by:Prime Sarmiento
photo by: Nina Sarmiento
This is Part 2 of a two-part weekend guide for solo female travelers. Read part one of the female traveler's guide to Bohol here.    
 
Art Tripping
 
1. Baclayon Church

The province is home to some of the most beautiful and centuries old churches built during the Spanish colonial era. Whether you are a Catholic or not, visiting some of these churches (in Bohol or elsewhere) will give you an insight on the country's culture and history. One of the churches that you may want to visit while in Bohol is the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception located in the town of Baclayon. Made from coral stones and millions of egg whites, the 18th century church is also home to an old convent-turned-museum which exhibits centuries-old religious relics.
 
Clarin Ancestral House

This is one house that will take you back in time, reminding you of how a well-to do Filipino family lives during the 19th century. The house was built in 1840 and this owned by family of Aniceto Velez Clarin, the former governor of Bohol. This is a typical house during the Spanish colonial era: two-floor, big square wooden house with long slanting roofs covered with nipa leaves, wide windows with shutters decorated with capiz shells and a coral stone foundation. The house is full of antique intricately designed furniture made from narra, jars, lamps and antiquarian books.
 
The National Historical Institute declared it as a heritage sites and is the most visited of all ancestral houses of Bohol. The house stands in the town of Loay, about 18 kilometers from Tagbilaran City.
Food Tripping
Eat a flower salad at the Bohol Bee Farm

Yes a salad, made not from the usual lettuce and arugula leaves but from colorful petals of organically grown flowers! This is the signature dish of the farm's cafe and while this may sound weird, the flower salad, paired with honey mustard dressing, is not only filling but delicious as well! If this is not your thing, there are other things to order here including fresh lemongrass juice and ice cream made from malunggay! Walk off the extra calories by taking a tour of the farm which includes a small apiary where a farm guide will talk about the many uses of honey and bees. And don't forget to shop in souvenir center where the farm sells bottles of honey (of course!), bags, personal care products, jams and breads. Proceeds of the sale go to the local communities.
For lunch, you may want to take an hour-long cruise at the Loboc river, where you can enjoy a buffet meal (the menu is made up of seaweed salad, grilled fish, rice, green mangoes, clam soup, some pork and meat dishes) while on a short cruise.
 
If you're hankering for some comfort food, head straight to Chicken Ati-Atihan in Tagbilaran city where you can dig grilled chicken, mounds of fluffy white rice, deep fried chicken skin (very sinful but tasty!). If you're staying at the Alona beach resort, you may want to order thin crust pizza at Hayahay.
Beach bumming at Alona resort in Panglao island – about 40 minutes away from the airport, Alona's white sand beach is the place to swim, relax and escape!

Travel Notes:
How to get there: Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines have daily flights from Manila to Tagbilaran city. A round trip airfare costs about 8,000 pesos (roughly 200 U.S. dollars).
Entrance Fees: Most of the tourist sites in Bohol charges about 30 to 50 pesos (about one U.S. dollar) entrance fee. There are restrooms, cafes, parking lots and souvenir shops at the Chocolate Hills complex, Clarin Ancestral House Simply Butterflies Conservation Center and the Baclayon Church.
 
Where to stay: I highly recommend Alona Studios Apartment Hotel in Panglao Island. It's clean, safe and have a friendly staff. The hotel charges about 2,000 pesos per night (or about 40 U.S. dollars).
 
Mr. Entol is the hotel's administrator and one of the hotel's drivers. He's very reliable,polite and efficient. You can contact him through www.panglao.se
How to go around Bohol: Buses and tricycles abound in the province. But if you only have a weekend to spare, I suggest that you get your own van and driver (most hotels in the province offer this service). Cost is about 2,000 to 3,000 pesos a day (50 to 70 U.S. dollars).