Serene River Cruise at Loboc, Bohol

One of the things worth spending the time in Bohol is definitely a river cruise in Bohol. I absolutely enjoyed every minute of it. A lunch date coupled with a romantic cruise is all we needed to relax from the busy schedule we had for the day.

This was our view from the boarding dock. Peaceful and full of life that is in Loboc Church. Sad to say, it is another treasure devastated by the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit Cebu and Bohol just last month, October 2013. 

This is how the cruise start: While waiting for the guests, the hosts prepare the dishes at the single boat tied at the rear of the restaurant. And when it's time to refill buffet trays, the person at the single boat hands out the dish to the main. Finally, by the time everyone was sitting comfortably at their chosen seats, the journey may commence.

Loay Bridge

Before we even started the tour, I got to take some photos of the dishes served at the buffet table. It costs P250.00/head to avail of this lovely cruise. Dishes range from local colorful Boholano cuisine to celebrated Filipino dishes, suitable for meat lovers & vegetarians as well.

The food was okay, not that great in fact. Or maybe I'm just used to Kapampangan cooking, where every dish tastes good, sumptuous for most in my province. But it's always good to experience different local dishes all the time. I know I have no right to complain, I'm just giving everyone a headsup on what to expect.

Found these resting pods too cute, built on stilts and seem to be cool enough to spend siesta time or delight a cup of coffee even on a hot, summer day.

Here we go! Oooh! I'm so excited! What you see up ahead is another cruise already advanced to see more of the lush scapes. I thought there were only about 5 cruises held simultaneously, with no cruise leaving at the same time :)

Officially gratified. This time it's the bewitching landscape nature's arranged using bushes, nipa palms, banana groves, the sky and the river itself gave me an awe I'll remember forever. 

At about a third of the cruise, we met these lovely ladies enjoying a boat ride. You'd come across a lot of foreign tourists in Bohol. They love it here and I perfectly understand why :)

These kubo's are placed on different parts of the river. You'd hear the ukuleles playing louder as the boat got nearer. What do they have to offer is exceptionally unique.

Alas! Another welcoming committee of this beautiful paradise! They were singing merrily for us. The vacation feel really kicked in for the reason that I didn't understand a single word on the lyrics of their song. 

We jumped in and joined the fun for photo-ops. So nice of them to lend us their ukuleles. 

To help their community, they're selling colorful handmade crafts. Foreign tourists appreciate handcrafts like such more than we, local tourists do - normally because we can buy these in our local markets. 

At the end of the raft, this beautiful scenery is perfect for portraits! It really felt like vacation this time of the trip. No history, just nature and culture :)

Little angels dancing their own version of "tinikling" accompanied by their own local music. Didn't understand a thing but I enjoyed every minute of it.

Advancing further at the turning point of the journey, we came to see these mini wonders. Waters flowing abundantly out from the mountains.

Zooming in, getting closer and closer by the second...

Heading back, I'm still savoring the seascape as I'll be bidding good bye in a little while.

Hello Loboc Church

These men with their guitars play their music the whole day to please tourist to and from the cruise. Donations and talent fees are encouraged to help them in any way.

Leaving for now... See you again on my next journey! 

Thanks again for reading my blog!

-xoxo Mel :)