Of Churches, Conchs, and Caves: Panglao Church, Shell Museum, Hinagdanan Cave, Bohol Bee Farm

 

It has been oft repeated that time flies when your enjoying. Sure enough, in a blink of an eye, three days has already passed by. We woke up for the fourth day in Bohol. There is still a lot to explore but with so little time left, we made do with what is readily accessible for us. With some assistance from the resort, we have managed to book a tour which would take us to some of the non-marine tourist destinations within the island of Panglao: from the centuries-old church, to the ancient cave, and to museums.

Panglao Island

Located in the southwest portion of the province of Bohol, Panglao Island is most notable as a tourist destination famed for its numerous beaches. The island is divided into two municipalities, Dauis and the namesake Panglao. Among its beaches, Alona Beach is arguable the most visited though other beaches such as Doljo and Dumaluan have their own offerings. The island serves as a jump off point to several diving spots, among them the ones around Balicasag Island.

As for the name, I've found conflicting etymologies ranging from words meaning to the open sea (panglawod), a fishing tool (panggaw), and lonely (mapanglaw).

For visitors with more time to spare, a day tour of the island is also offered especially by the many tricab drivers, many of which are stationed near the beaches. Our host resort arranged the tour for us and as we made our way to the reception area, a tricab was already awaiting for us, ready to take us around the island for the day.

Panglao Church

Our first stop for the day was Saint Augustine Church otherwise known as Panglao Church. With the shores behind it, the church faces a large plaza covered in green, almost like a park on its own. An image of St. Augustine stands in front of the complex greeting church goers as they come in.

Façade of Panglao Church

It was a Saturday morning so no mass was being held as we entered the church, which made it easier for us to navigate the entire area. The front area features several retables which house images of saints. The ceiling is covered by paintings: the altar area with that of the saints while that of the nave with the Sacraments highlighted in contrasting copper and blue.

Interior of Panglao Church

The current church was constructed in 1894 though an earlier church stood on the spot before it was destroyed in 1886. It was again damaged by the 2013 earthquake that rocked the province of Bohol and was afterwards subject to a restoration work through the efforts of the National Museum of the Philippines.

What remains of the original 17th century church is the stone bell tower that stands at the far end of the complex. Some old bells also line the front of the church.

The original bell tower of the church

We stayed for around half an hour before we got back to the tricab for our next destination.

Shell Museum

Next on our itinerary was the Nova Shell Museum which boasts a large collection of shells gathered from throughout the Philippines, majority of which coming from Visayas. The museum charges an entrance fee of Php 100 per person. As we entered the building, numerous shells immediately greeted us, many of which are enclosed in glass cases. As we wandered aimlessly among the vast collections, Kim, the museum guide, offered to give a tour to describe some of the exhibit.

Entrance to Nova Shell Museum

Among the prominent specimens are the fossils of three giant clams (Tridacna gigas), locally known as taklobo.

Giant clams, Tridacna gigas

There are also pearl clams of varying colors. Kim told us how the inner color of the clam affects the color of the pearl being created inside it.

There are also colored scallops and nautilus as well as extreme specimens.

The museum also boast its most expensive specimen of the rare Salmiana slit shell (Pleurotomaria salmiana) which came from Balut Island in Davao Occidental and priced at a whopping Php 150,000.

Pleurotomaria shells

One of the smallest shell in the Philippines, Rotaovula hirohitoi, named after the Japanese Emperor Hirohito, an avid shell collector would require a magnifying glass to see its details. The specimen costs USD 1000 accordingly.

There are also specimens of bioluminescent sponges, shell carrying shells, and poisonous mollusk shells.

The museum was found by Quirino Hora who spent 50 years collecting shells and other marine specimens, some of which are now displayed in the museum which was opened around 25 years ago. It is quite fitting that two shells in the collection are named in his honor (Bursa quirihorai, Primovula horai).

Nautilus and other shells from the collection

It was an interesting tour and we learned a lot about shells in the short time that we stayed in the museum. I would highly recommend the museum to any marine biology enthusiasts.

Hinagdanan Cave

It was around 9:45 in the morning when we reached the first natural tourist spot in the tour, Hinagdanan Cave.

According to local history, the cave was an accidental discovery when a farmer discovered two adjacent holes while cleaning an area of his farm. Upon dropping a stone to determine its depth, the sound of splash indicated the presence of water. The present entrance was discovered much later and ladder (hagdan) was needed to get inside the cave. The early inhabitants then sourced it drinking water from this cave.

There is bound to be more tourists in this spot. An entrance fee of  Php 50 is charged while a separate swimming fee of Php 75 is required from those wanting to take dip under the cave pool.

The cave is not that large that we have to wait for a few minutes in the cave entrance before we could get in, all the while seeing previous guests are coming out complaining of the humidity.

When we finally had our turn, we had to pass by a narrow, dimly-lit descent. The cave is no longer pristine as indicated by the concrete stairs and path and metal railings as we make our way to the main chamber. However, the long stalactites at the ceiling of the cave attests to how ancient the cave was. There is indeed a wide pool covering the floor of the cave where some visitors were afloat, taking refuge from the heat, though it was not as hot as the some exiting guests claim.

Had we known that the cave pool was better than expected, we might have also taken a dip. Maybe next time.

We didn't stay for too long: the cave is small and leaves nothing for further exploration. A few camera snaps later and soon we were making our way back up.

The way back to where our tricab is parked is lined by several stores offering souvenir items, from T-shirts to keychains.

Bohol Bee Farm

It was nearing 11:00 in the afternoon when we finally reach the last part of our tour, Bohol Bee Farm. We were a bit excited because we had never been to an actual bee farm before. Therefore, it was a bit of a let down when we learned that Bohol Bee Farm is now only a bee farm in name only after it stopped its bee farming due to the pandemic and has since transitioned to food production, crafts making, and resort business.

Much like in the Shell Museum, we first wandered aimlessly not knowing what the farm offers. Then a staff recommended us a guided tour at Php 50 per person which we took. Thus one by one, we were introduced to the different production lines.

First we are shown the ice cream production where some workers were preparing durian fruits. Unfortunately, the ice cream machine was not ready at the time so we have to buy from their store to have a taste of their ice cream, flavors ranging from the typical chocolate and mango to the not so typical such as malunggay and peanut kisses.

We tried durian and malunggay.

We were then introduced to the crafts making facilities where they make products such as bags and wall decorations using raffia, a fiber made from the buri palm tree.

Weaving using raffia fiber

We then passed by the furniture shop and bakery before we are treated to free samplings of their food products such as calamay (dessert made from sticky rice and coconut milk), tira-tira (coconut candy), and cabcab (cassava crisps).

Calamay making

They also showed us their garden where they grow some of the herbs, such as basil and tarragon, that they use in their restaurants.

The tour lasted less than thirty minutes and ended on their souvenir shop where there is a wide selection of products, from food to bags and decors.

We helped ourselves to some pesto and malunggay spreads as well as a squash muffin.

It was nearing lunch time so we just took the opportunity to dine in their restaurant where we had sisig and ribs to go with our muffin. We ate to our hearts content atop the canopy all the while having a nice view of Bohol Sea. A heavy rain passed by as we had our lunch. The combined view of the sea and sounds of the waves below and rain falling made for a pleasant experience.

Lunch at Bohol Bee Farm Restaurant

Wrapping Up

By no means did our Bohol journey ended here. Nevertheless, our blissful escape was coming to a wrap. Within the next hours, we would soon be back to the resort and would then shop for souvenirs for our families home. We would walk along the sands of Alona Beach taking in the view of the sea and would have our home-cooked dinner afterwards.

Sunset at Alona Beach

I'd say we made the best of our time in Bohol but there are still a lot more that we haven't done. Maybe next time we can visit the cave pools of Anda, the rest of the peaks of Jagna, the island of Pamilican, or the falls of Candijay. There is no shortage of places and experience to look forward to.