bohol, philippines

we spent thanksgiving in the philippines this year.
there was no pie, no turkey, no leftovers, and no family.
but
there were beautiful sunsets, geckos in our room on the beach, mango smoothies, and massages.

our beach hut

we went to go see the tiny tarsier monkeys, but you're not allowed to hold them anymore
because too many people were smuggling them in their pockets.
didn't get any great pics of the real monkeys, but i think this monkey is pretty awesome.

the chocolate hills are naturally shaped like hershey's kisses.
sage wanted to sit on them...

nate wanted to jump over them...

and when it got to my turn, sage was d.o.n.e.

so we snuck in a quick family shot before the crying ensued. it was bright and hot.

this woman named her pet turtle after my uncle matt, who was a missionary on this island years ago.
she makes fresh, tasty empanadas from scratch and wouldn't let us pay for them.
she even sent us home with a bag of snacks. all the people we met were so humble and kind.

acuna's empanadas and pastries

who needs snorkeling when you can go in a glass-bottom boat and see the same thing?

my kind of laying on the beach: hammocks

to me, the best part of traveling is seeing different cultures in action.
we saw the rice paddies mid-harvest, men carrying palms on their bare backs,
cows and roosters roaming everywhere, naked little kids running through the fields,
and the lush, green landscape of the island.
i hope we can come back to bohol.