Funemployment Diary, Entry #11: Beach Bummin’ in Bohol

I’m still in the Philippines, but as I write this, I’m no longer in Manila — I’m at Amorita Resort, located on Panglao Island, just off the island of Bohol (the map above shows my location). Bohol is in the Visayas, the cluster of islands between the Philippines’ two big islands: the northern island of Luzon (where my home city of Manila is) and the southern island of Mindanao.

We boarded an early morning Philippine Airlines flight at the domestic terminal of Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport, which took us to Tagbilaran City, the air gateway to the island of Bohol.

Tagbilaran airport’s (airport code TAG) terminal is a single-storey building, so there isn’t a jetway. You board and debark the plane Beatles-style, using an old-school stairway. Here’s a shot I took as I got off the plane:

That’s the end of TAG’s single runway, just under 1800 metres (5,800 feet) of asphalt. It’s long enough to handle the Airbus A319 that took us there, but just. The only airport I’ve been to recently with a shorter runway is Toronto’s Ilsand Airport, but it doesn’t accommodate jets — not even the “puddle-jumpers”.

Once you get off the staircase, you walk a very short distance on the tarmac to the terminal. The nice thing about this layout is that you get a really good look at the jet, which is a bit of a treat for me, a planespotter since the age of eight.

They’d never let me get this close to a jet at Pearson or O’Hare!

I had to get a self-portrait with the plane’s tail, showing the Philippine Airlines logo.

Here’s TAG’s baggage claim before they unloaded the plane’s cargo hold:

And here’s baggage claim after they unload:

Sure, it’s not all fancy-pants like Heathrow, but it gets the job done. It didn’t take very long to get our bags.

Next stop: Amorita Resort! Here’s the view from their open-air, roof-topped dining room, which overlooks their swimming pool, which in turn overlooks the beach…

Here’s a closer look at the pool and Bohol Sea:

This is the view of the beach from the pool. A staircase just to the side of the pool takes you right down to the beach:

Here’s another view of the dining room. It’s rather like the dining room at the resort in the film Forgetting Sarah Marshall:

Another look at the beach:

If you look away from the beach, you’ll see a number of boats anchored a short distance from the shore. Many of them are used to carry divers to their destinations.

I here until Thursday afternoon (or very early Thursday morning, if you’re in North America). I’ve been poking about the resort — it’s great — as well as the beach, which is far better than what I’ve become accustomed to in North America. More notes from Bohol soon!