Christmas in Bohol

The staff at the hotel went out of their way to make Christmas Eve a special night even though there were only a few guests.  There was even a ham.  No funeral potatoes though- only rice or pancit.

The girls were happy to see this little guest at the restaurant.  It was an outdoor restaurant, otherwise I would not have been playing it cool.

There was even a live band.  A little James Taylor, a little Eagles, a little Christmas.  Kate requested Feliz Navidad and was thrilled when the band complied.  Of course she's so shy she maybe clapped one time and barely mouthed the words.  They sang "White Christmas" and I was hit with a wave of severe homesickness and nearly cried.

Christmas Eve.

Kate was worried that Santa wouldn't find us in Bohol, but apparently he has some killer GPS.

Official Christmas Portrait.  Poolside looking out to the ocean.

We spent Christmas Day at the ocean, then at the pool, then at the other pool, and eating buffets in between.

We toured Bohol the day after Christmas.  This was in the Baclayon Church and the girls made sure to pray for Uncle Burke and Uncle Mark here. 

It's possible an error was made.

This is the Baclayon Church.  It was built out of coral in 1727 by the Jesuits.  We had a tour guide for the day- he spoke maybe 20 words of English, so it wasn't the most informative tour I've ever been on.  "Baclayon Church," he would say, then get out and disappear somewhere. And that would be the beginning, middle, and end of any tour we were going to get out of him.

A view of the countryside.  And some telephone wires.
It served to remind us we weren't completely removed from civilization.

Our next stop was some crazy little zoo where you could hold a python.  The keeper informed us he was very safe since he had already eaten 2 live chickens during the night.  Kiki was sad about that because she "wanted to see him eat an alive chicken."

The iguana was next for some manhandling.

The view out of the back of the zoo.

Feeding the monkeys some bananas.

They threw the bananas on the ground and begged us with their eyes to free them from bondage. 

Kiki just couldn't leave without another python cuddle.  You should have seen the crowd taking pictures of her as she laid by him.

Next stop was a tarsier preserve.  Tarsiers are little tiny primates- about 5 inches long.  They are extremely sensitive and will commit suicide if held or kept in captivity. 

We ate lunch on a river cruise down the Loboc River. 

Kids were free and Kiki returned the favor by eating nothing but meat. 

These are called the Chocolate Hills because they are usually brown in color.  Let's blame global warming for the vibrant green.

The last stop of the day was a butterfly farm.  Kiki was game to hold anything the guide put in her hand. 

A quiz:  How many people are on this motorcycle?
If you answered anything less than 4, count again.
Maybe look for the tiny baby legs.

We spent this morning at the beach again.

The tide was very low which meant the girls found lots of ocean life.

Never alone on a deserted island.

A teeny tiny hermit crab.

So if your kid is really grumpy at the airport and massages are 80 pesos (less than 2 bucks) the solution seems pretty obvious.