The Latest Exploration

Well it was my birthday last weekend and since we didn't really have anything planned we thought we might as well explore a part of the Island we had never been to before. We been able to drive North and South but never completely through the Island. We have actually attempted to a couple of times before but with never much succes, so off we went with plenty of snacks and determination with a destination in mind. Directly East of us and 4km from the coast of a town named San Carlos is a tiny white beach Island. We've heard it's beautiful and so we thought we should check it out for ourselves.

The drive through Negros Island is only about 150km from Bacolod City to San Carlos City. It was so remarkable! It's been quite wet these last 2 months and all the sugar cane is almost ready for harvest, the rice terraces were such a bright green and they looked like a rich velvet from the road. You drive up to the top of the mountains where you see tall overgrown coconut tree silhouettes outlining the neighboring hills, tradition bamboo woven houses on stilts and brimming mango trees. At one point Brayden needed to get out for a pee break and I walked across the street to look down the drop and there was this great waterfall tumbling down the opposite mountain, a hidden gem we wouldn't have otherwise uncovered.

When we were on Bohol Island during Christmas last year, we never made it to see the famous Chocolate Hills. They are a cluster of hills that are different sizes but each completely semetrical in appearance. While we were driving to San Carlos Ryan made a joke about a group of hills we saw off the road. They looked just like the pictures of the Chocolate Hills of Bohol and he said now we don't have to go see them, we have our own right here. Well I was researching it a bit and I found out they are actually called the Choco Hills... and are extreamly simular in nature so I guess he was right, if we go back to Bohol we won't have to make a trip to the Chocolate Hills!

On more then one occasion during our excursion we would see these motorbikes pass by with 4 or 5 adults squished onto the seat! I don't know how many times I have to see this before it's not so inconceivable! Somethings just never get old, no matter how long we've been here! But back to business... Once you get to the top of the mountain and start on the downward decent you look down on the coastline. There's a small town on the ocean with this small island that looks only a couple of feet away inticing you with it's white coast line on the South and North tips. We drove down to the pier where you catch a 20 minute boat to the island but no sooner had we been spotted then a small group of men started running towards our car at just a high enough speed to freak us out and make us drive away. Neither of us were in the mood to be mobbed by porters fighting over our 1 diaper bag! SO, off we went on our way home!!