Panglao Island

Tubigon – Alona Beach, Panglao Island – 75 km
The following morning, a short ride took me to Alona Beach, which gave me plenty
of time to stop at interesting sights. The road followed the coast past small
villages, each featuring a fascinating history and past vast areas of mangrove
swamps.

The mangroves were the habitat of a species of crab-eating macaques. These
monkeys live in matrilineal social groups with female dominance, and male
members leave the group when they reach puberty. They are clever and have
been seen using tools to obtain food and, while taking pictures, the buggers stole
my water bottle. I could’ve sworn they were laughing as they sat high up in a tree
clutching the bottle.

A bridge connected Bohol to Panglao Island from where a good road ran the
twenty-five kilometres to famous Alona Beach. Panglao Island was the first place,
since arriving in the Philippines, where I saw European tourists. All things were,
understandably, pricier than elsewhere.

The following day was spent at the fascinating Tarsier Sanctuary. The Philippine
tarsier is tiny, measuring approximately 85 to 160 millimetres (3.35 to 6.30
inches), making them one of the smallest primates. As a result, they were difficult
to spot and even harder to photograph. Nearly the size of a human fist, they could
easily fit into my hand. The intriguing thing is their eyes are fixed in their skull and
can’t turn in their sockets. Instead, the head rotated 180 degrees. It’s said to have
the largest eye-to-body-size ratio of all mammals. The tarsier is a nocturnal
animal, and the big eyes provide excellent night vision. The tarsier may be tiny but
has a home range of one to two hectares, a lot of ground for such a small animal.
The females give birth to one thumb-sized baby per annum and carry their infants
in their mouths! These little creatures are now, sadly, endangered.