Zipling Over Loboc River, The Philippines

While in Bohol last summer we went zip-lining over the Loboc River. It was amazing. It was the kind of zip-lining that the Dauntless do in Divergent, so ya, it was pretty much awesome. And we could totally fit in with the Dauntless. If you're unfamiliar, it's the zip-line style where you lay down so

it seems like you're flying.

We had an easy day planned & heard that the zip lining action was pretty affordable & just down the street from our Inn, so we had the front desk call a tuk-tuk for us. Our tuk-tuk driver was great & told us all about the places we past on the way & even waited for us while we zipped. <Zipped. The new verb pertaining to zip lining. The above was our view,  heading down the road towards our zipping adventure, in case you were curious about our view. ;)
 
Here we are, on the tuk-tuk! Throwin' up the Asian Deuce. You know how we do.
When we got there, we were blown away by the gorgeous views. You guys, these pictures are completely unedited. Not that I ever really edit my pictures anyway (I know, I'm a terrible blogger) but even if I wanted to, I wouldn't have to, because the view was just THAT beautiful & flawless.

There were two choices, to either take a sky lift up & zip line down or to walk up & zip down. We decided to just walk up & zip fly our way down as it was cheaper & we're more for the action & exercise. We made our way up & waited our turn.

The entire group in front of us were Korean so we loved connecting with them over our time in Korea. We also loved hearing their wimpering as they were loaded into their harnesses. Pshhh. Probably Candor or Abnegation. (Okay, for real though, I was starting to freak out a bit the closer it got to our turn & their girl wimpers were what I was feeling inside. I even made Zachary check that all my harnesses were hooked when it was my turn. Better safe than sorry, right?!)
These girls were awesome, though. The one on the edge did the superman pose, like so, almost the whole way. So did Zachary, which was precious.

Finally, it was our turn!! Check out our view & ride in the video below. 

                      

If you ever have a chance to travel to Bohol make sure you put zip-lining over the Loboc River on your list of things to do! 

Simply Butterflies Conservation Center

Bohol Butterfly Farm in Bohol, Philippines, is just a short 10 minutes from the Chocolate Hills, which is one of the great things about Bohol, you can get all the "must see" sights in in just half a day. Leaving the rest of your time in Bohol for relaxing and soaking in the culture.
Bohol Habitat is a conservation center for over 150 butterfly species, half of the 300 species found in Bohol. Bohol Habitat has a butterfly enclosure, butterfly garden, nature trails and a restaurant serving some of the best food we had in the Philippines for only 99 pesos.
Entry into the Habitat costs less than $3.50 per person and includes a tour through the Habitat, a hilarious and friendly tour guide and a delicious lunch.
Our tour guide showed us how to properly handle a butterfly by holding their wings together, close to their bodies. You could definitely tell that these beauties were used to being held.

I loved holding these gentle giants. They're so light and fragile.



Zachary and our tour guide checking out the flower garden. For info on visiting the Simply Butterflies Conservation Center at Habitat Bohol check here. Also be sure to check out Trip Advisor here. 

Entrance Fee: 40 pesos
Lunch: 99 pesos
Time Needed: It takes a short 30 minutes for the tour and lunch.

Open Daily 8:00-4:30
Poblacion | Bilar, 6317, Philippines

The Monkeys of Loboc River Resort

 

I've never seen a monkey up close besides for at the zoo. It's been one of my unspoken bucket list things. Really on my list is to hold one, and get all snuggly,  but this was good, too. At our resort in Loboc, they had a tiny little island on their property. It was surrounded by a small river. A river big enough to keep these, afraid of water monkeys, on their little Monkey Island. Before you get all PETA on me and talk about how messed up it is to trap monkeys on a small island, just know these guys are happy & fed very well. Also, anyone from a country that actually has monkeys roaming around will tell you that most of them are pests & little thieves. To spare everyone at the Loboc River Resort & all the neighbors from being attacked by hungry monkeys, the resort trapped them on their little island, and feeds them every day. If a guest is so inclined, they can go with for the feeding time. Reader, I was so inclined. I was VERY inclined. I was jumping up and down with excitement inclined.

 Z and I jumped on that little boat there, to make the very, very quick trek across the tiny river to Monkey Island.

 Z on my lap, of course.

 

This was what they looked like as soon as we hit shore. This being an every day routine, they knew what was coming, lots of fruit goodies! Food! They were very intent & jumping around all over the place in anticipation.

 

Oh ya guy. The food is coming. 

 The resort had set up several little pedestals that we'd put food on, to avoid monkey fights. Only one monkey dared to by on the pedestal at a time. They'd jump up & grab the food super quick. Sometimes so quick, they'd not even grab something but accidently knock it off. They were skiddish little things.

 This guy was the king monkey & was the only one daring or brave enough to take the food directly from my hand. He didn't do this casually either. He'd eye me for a minute or two, until he stuck his hand out super fast to grab what I was holding & run off as fast as possible. Several times he was in such a hurry to grab it he ended up just knocking it out of my hand, then looked at me, like  I was the crazy one about to try and mess with him with my food flying everywhere, when really he made it fly. Crazy monkey. The other monkeys were afraid of him. Any time any of the little guys would grab food, they'd look to see where King Monkey was, to make sure he wasn't about to attack them or steal their food.

 

This was by far one of my favorite pictures. He was watching King Monkey in the tree, while searching with his hand for the mango peel. He couldn't bare to take his eyes off the tree while grabbing for it.  He finally found it with his hand, stuck & stuck it in his mouth, all without taking his eyes off King Monkey. Monkey King must be pretty mean by the way these guys were acting.

 Thankfully, he usually always had food, so the other ones could get their own.

He was always looking hard for more food & to make sure I didn't make any sudden movements.

This was the closest most of them would get before they'd quickly reach out to get the food I was holding.

You guys, if ever you get the chance to feed or interact with wild monkeys, take a good camera with a fast shutter speed. Our big camera was out of battery so we just took our small one, and I was disappointed with how blurry most the pictures came out. Those monkeys move fast & aren't stopping for any picture! I was beyond ecstatic to be a little more up close and personal with these little creatures. They were fascinating & not in the least bit cuddly, but it was wonderful. Thankful. Also, please notice Zachary isn't in any of these pictures. That's because Zachary just sat back watching his wife try to become a Monkey Whisperer and convince the King to climb on my shoulders, or let me touch his hand or something. Zachary could have cared less about the monkeys there. Crazy, right?! But hey, at least he's supportive. :)