When I was planning my trip to the Philippines I knew the Chocolate Hills located on the island of Bohol was going to have to be one of my necessary stops.
A day before leaving for my island hopping adventure we found out that my tickets had the wrong last name on it. The travel agent my cousin used had changed my last name from Cortez to Cruz and they refused to change it. We panicked. Thankfully my cousin had a brilliant idea! In the Philippines you can get onto a domestic flight with a photo employee ID. Yes this is totally illegal, but we made an employee ID with my brand new last name.
The catch? I spoke no Tagalog, and there was no way they would believe that I worked in the Philippines once they heard my American accent. Thankfully my aunt was traveling with me and she said, "Let me do all the talking!" Well, it worked, and I got onto 4 flights with my employee ID. The only minor blip was when my aunt was speaking with the flight attendant, another airport employee approached me speaking in Tagalog. I pretended to have a nasty sickness, shook my head, pointed at my throat, and projected the most convincing cough I could muster. Per my family's strong request, I had to be a mute for my "safety."
When we arrived in Bohol I felt an immediate rush of humidity. I am not used to humidity, and I had spent a month in chilly China beforehand. As the day progressed, I only started to feel worst.
When we arrived to the Chocolate Hills I was welcomed by 214 steps to the observation deck. I wanted to cry. The last thing I wanted to do was exhaust my already exhausted body. I pushed through the pain and quickly climbed up.
The Chocolate Hills consist of 1,260 grass covered limestone hills scattered over 20 square miles. During the dry season the grass turns brown making the hills look like mounds of chocolate.
As soon as I saw the Chocolate Hills, I had a quick surge of energy, lasting a short 5 minutes. Then it was back to feeling yuck, and then it started to rain! Humidity + Rain = ULTIMATE MISERY!
On the other side of the observation deck were ramps to hike back down to the bottom. The views were just as beautiful.
I felt so defeated as I got back into our van. My aunt assured me that food would make me feel better, so we went on our river cruse along the Lomboc River.
I ate a few bites of food, and then had to place my head down on the table for the remainder of the cruise. Everyone else around me were singing and dancing, and I felt like death. I was kinda jealous at all the fun they were having.
When we reached the resort I started having chills, spiked a fever, and then began the worst, nastiest coughing spell ever, combined with some shortness of breath. My aunt asked reception if there was a hospital in town, and they said that we would have to leave the island in order to reach a hospital. I am pretty sure I had pneumonia. Thankfully, before leaving for my island hopping trip I had stocked up on antibiotics. Despite having to stay indoors during my stay on a beach front resort with a PRIVATE BEACH (WAHH!), I slowly began to feel better.
Even though I felt like I was on my death bed, I still adored Bohol, and it had so much to offer beyond the Chocolate Hills.
...and now I want some Chocolate.
Date Accomplished: March 27th, 2012
