Bohol is an island province in the Philippines.

I had been there several times pre-COVID but only for a few days at a time. I recall enjoying the short visits but never thought to spend any real time there.

Then, while freezing in Georgia, I asked Chat GPT for places in the Philippines that had good off-shore snorkeling, beaches I could swim laps in, waterfalls to hike to, and a rural vibe while still being close enough to modern amenities, such as a mall.

There were a few places on the list, but Bohol was the one that stuck out for me, so I decided to spend a month there as a test run.

I was not disappointed.

There are a lot of beaches in Bohol. This is White Beach. It was not my favorite beach in Bohol, but it is the most photogenic one that was near where I stayed.

Hinagdanan Cave is probably the easiest cave pool to access in Bohol. Apparently there are prettier ones in Anda, but I didn’t get that far.

I think these cave pools are technically called cenotes.

I visited during the week and it wasn’t too crowded.

Lechon is a famous food all over the Philippines and is popular to cook for any special event. I think these guys were having a birthday party.

Poor little piggy. Delicious though!

Sikatuna’s Mirror of the World kind of reminded me of Vegas, just because it has replicas of famous landmarks.

It was an okay place to visit. Apparently it is better at night when they light everything up.

My favorite was the Bohollywood sign.

This little guy is a Tarsier and is about as big as my thumb.

Tarsiers are endemic to the southeastern part of the Philippines. They eat insects and have the largest eye-to-body weight ratio of all mammals.

Although there are many waterfalls in Bohol, the only one I visited was Pahangog Twin Falls.

I think it costs about $3 to get in and that comes with a mandatory guide.

All the guides are men from the local village. My guide was in his mid 50s and had only ever left the village a few times in his life to get something from Tagbilaran, the main city of Bohol.

On my last day in Bohol I got this dragon tattoo. I think it brings everything together nicely.

The artist was really good. It took about four hours and he even came to my place to do it. It only cost $130.

To me, Bohol could be the perfect place to live. As I write this I am in Cebu City to catch the plane back to Australia. I’ve only been here a couple of days but am not enjoying the city bustle.

In Bohol I once opened my door and there was a baby goat just chilling on my doorstep.

I already plan to go back in February to see how it fits for a longer stay of several months. It’s possible I have found where to build the Goldilocks Pyramids Homestead.