#carmel area walking squid

[justmightexist1]

Welcome to the very first episode of Just Might Exist, where Lindsey and Erica discuss anything and everything that just might exist. Today, we're talking about two fearsome critters, the Fresno Nightcrawler and the Carmel Area Creature.

Submit your cryptid, ghost, or otherwise spooky stories to JustMightExistPodcast@gmail.com

Follow us here and on Twitter and Instagram for updates on the show! We can't wait to share our findings with you.

This link opens the episode on Spotify. If you’re having trouble or don’t use Spotify, click here to listen on anchor.fm

Sources:

Cryptid Wiki - Fresno Nightcrawler Cryptid Wiki - Carmel Area Creature Cryptopia - Carmel Walking Squid by Rob Morphy Gaia - The Armless, Faceless, Two-Legged Cryptid that Freaked Out Fresno by Paul Wagner The Fresno Bee - Bigfoot, Chupacabra, and … Fresno Nightcrawler? Walking pants bring Fresno freaky fame by Carmen George

[touristguidebuzz]

Heritage Tour in Bohol: One Day Itinerary

Out of Town Blog Heritage Tour in Bohol: One Day Itinerary

Heritage Tour in Bohol

The province of Bohol is known for being home to the internationally renowned Chocolate Hills. Because of this fame, however, I think that both foreign and local tourists have a limited and surface-level appreciation of Bohol. This is why I feel fortunate that I was one of the bloggers invited by Bluewater Panglao Resort (resort info) for a three-day, two-night vacation in Bohol.

Upon arrival at the airport, we immediately boarded our respective vans and proceeded to our heritage tour right away.

Balili House in Tagbilaran City – Heritage Tour in Bohol

Our first stop was at Balili Ancestral House in Tagbilaran. From afar, nobody would have guessed it was first constructed in 1934.

The elegant staircases that spill into the well-kept gardens, accompanied by the white façade of the house, hide all of the years that the house stood through at a distance.

Inside Balili House

Inside, however, it held many objects that prove the age of the house. Photos that dated back to the 1940s, furniture which were used by historical figures Manuel Roxas and Elpidio Quirino, and antique wall clocks are some of the relics that stood the test of time. The interior of the house let us travel back in time.

Casa Rocha-Suarez

A few minutes away from Balili Ancestral House is Casa Rocha-Suarez, which is one of the oldest houses in the area. Built between 1800 and 1830, the simple, two-storey wooden villa has been around since the Spanish era and has been the residence of at least five generations of the Rocha-Suarez family.

After the ancestral houses, we started visiting churches.

Cathedral of St. Joseph the Worker

First is at the St. Joseph Cathedral, officially known as the Cathedral of St. Joseph the Worker. The original structure, then a parish, was founded in the 16th to 18th century. Although the church has been there since its original construction, it has undergone several renovations for calamities and for expansion.

Baclayon Church

Another church that had undergone much reconstruction is Baclayon Church or the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary Parish Church. It is the oldest Christian church in Bohol.

In 2013, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Bohol, and this particular church suffered a particular amount of damage. This is why it had been closed since 2013 for restoration. When we got there, we saw that the restored façade is almost finished.

Alburquerque Church bohol

A short drive away from Baclayon Church is Santa Monica Parish Church of Alburquerque, which is more commonly known as Alburquerque Church. It was partially damaged during the 2013 Bohol earthquake as well, but fortunately, it had been restored quickly. The church had an exterior that I thought was very unique, with a single bell tower right in the middle.

Alburquerque Church has been declared an Important Cultural Property by the National Museum of the Philippines in 2013, and a year after, has been declared a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Institute.

Loay Church

Afterwards, we visited Loay Church. Like most Spanish era churches, this one had the shape of a cross. The bell tower was constructed as a separate building. It is one of the newer churches in our itinerary for that day, as it was constructed sometime in the 20th century, just before the Spanish colonizers left the country for good.

Appetizer

Chef Onboard

Grilled Squid

Baked Oysters

Grilled Garlic Prawns

Inside the Floating Restaurant

Loboc River Cruise

We had our lunch in a cruise boat in the nearby Loboc River. The tour started at the mouth of the river, which is actually one of the cleanest body of water in the Philippines. We had our lunch at one of the floating restaurants and it was a wonderful experience. We had the whole boat to ourselves too. The Filipino food tasted so close to home, and seeing the sparkly water while feeling the breeze added to the experience.

Ermita Ruins in Dimiao

After our cruise, we proceeded to Dimiao Church. The church is still under renovation and the main door is still closed. We used the backdoor to checkout the interior of the church. It looked small at first, but entering the halls made me shrink. It is believed to be constructed during the latter parts of the 19th century, although there have been records of activities there in 1750.

Ermita Ruins in Dimiao

We also visited the Ermita Ruins of Dimiao, which is located right beside Dimiao Church. The Ermita Ruins are often referred to as the “honeycomb tombstones”. The very few archaeological excavations conducted on the site reveal very few information on it, and thus the rows and rows of what appears to be honeycombs are deduced to be tombstones, since they are located near ruins that appear to be mortuary chapels.

Carmel Hill

We headed to Balilihan afterwards, where we visited Carmel Hill. There is a centennial watchtower looming over the top of the hill. The short walk up and down the stars pumped up for our last destination of the day, which is Balilihan Church.

Balilihan Church

The bell tower is what greeted us when we dropped by Balilihan Church. It had a very green environment and nobody would think the huge building is a church if it weren’t for the cross. It looked like a rather modern villa compared to the other churches we saw that day.

After crossing out the last church on our list, we finally headed to the heavenly Bluewater Panglao Resort (resort reviews), our official accommodation for the long heritage tour. It felt nice checking in smoothly after a long day.

My Room at Bluewater Panglao Resort

The staff were all very great people, and my room is so awesome that I wrote an entire article just for it. For now, suffice it to say that I couldn’t ask for more in here—the rooms went well with the hospitable, seaside atmosphere of Bohol. You may contact them at +6338 416 0702 (telephone) and +6998 588 3439 (mobile). Their e-mail is panglao@bluewater.com.ph.

Boodle Fight Dinner

For dinner, we had a memorable boodle fight by the beach. It was the perfect way to end the day. The mood was so festive, and I felt, at that very moment, that I gained a deeper appreciation of Bohol’s history, culture, and tourism beyond Chocolate Hills. I was geared up for the following days.

See Also: Travel Guide: Top 10 things to do while in Bohol

Heritage Tour in Bohol: One Day Itinerary Melo Villareal

[chineseamericantraveler]

Day 22: June 2 - Barcelona

Today, we woke up in the afternoon again, however this was because we both woke up definitely more sick. Throats were scratchy and it was a bit concerning, but not enough to search for anything (yet). 

Not discouraged by our increasing malady though, we decided to go to the famous street of La Rambla around 12 PM and get lunch at Mercado de La Boqueria for lunch. La Boqueria was definitely an amazing experience. First walking around, it was a grid of stalls, one after the other, full of people and vendors. There were bright colors everywhere and all kinds of smells. 

The most common type of stalls were the fruit stalls, selling various fruits. They had everything from your typical apples, bananas, and oranges, to unusual fruits like lychee, dragon fruit, and passion fruit. They also sold fruit juices, plastic cups upon plastic cups of brightly colored juices over ice. Everything from mango juice, to coconut juice. 

Another common type of stall were the seafood stalls. In Spanish, one word for “seafood” is “fruto de mar”, or fruits of the sea. I think the French/Spanish have the right idea (similar translation in French), because those stalls had every type of seafood you could ever want, including razor clams, to eel, squid, HUGE tuna bodies, and sardines. 

Last, the most common type of stall were the chocolate and sweets stalls. They would have square containers outlining their stall space filled to the brim of nuts, dried fruits, and/or spices. Some would have sections of nuts, and sections of confections like chocolate covered almonds, bonbons, truffles, gummies, and many other types of candies. 

 Some of the things Katie and I partook in were (over all the times we went to La Boqueria): - banana and strawberry juice for me - strawberry and mango juice for Katie - we shared a “taco” (really more of a burrito) over some paella-like rice, lettuce, and tomatoes - a bag of chocolate covered filled truffles (11 euros for me) - a bag of chocolate and cream covered almonds (5 euros for Katie) - watermelon juice for Katie 

After we got some juice and a “taco”, we walked around La Boqueria for a while before proceeding out of the crowds and decided to take a gander at La Rambla itself. The street was more of a pedestrian area than a place for cars, but traffic moved on both sides of the middle section where numerous restaurants had set up seating areas. Many of these restaurants offered “great” deals on paella, drinks, and other foods, but we passed them all to go to the waterfront. 

We made our way past Plaça del Portal de la Pau, a small roundabout before the waterfront before stopping momentarily on Rambla de Mar, close to a bridge that connected Spain to the Centre Comercial Maremagnum. With our feet hanging off the platform populated by seagulls and people, we watched tour boats come in and out of the little port, enjoying the sun and the sea breeze. The weather was great that day, supposedly in the high 70s F. Sitting in the sun was simultaneously very warm, and yet cool-ish due to the sea breeze that was able to cool our sun-warmed skin. 

It was a very calming experience and I could already feel myself falling in love with Barcelona. Samanta, our Airbnb host, said that Barcelona was her favorite city because they had everything. Mountains, for skiing were close by, the city was close to the water so they had beaches and great weather while being in Spain, it was a metropolitan city so there were plenty of visitors. I had to say I was agreeing with her on a lot of accounts, especially this afternoon. 

Eventually though, I got thirsty and we decided to cross the bridge to the Centre Comercial, around 3:30 PM, sat on the other side of the bridge for a little (this time on a bench instead of the edge of the platforms), where I bought a water bottle. At some point, we decided to walk inside of the mall, withdrawing some money from our dwindling bank accounts, and then stumbled upon a Lush store. Lush is a store that I got introduced to in the States in the International Mall with my mom, where we bought our first tubs of face masks and moisturizers. 

Here, in Spain, I showed Katie a few of Lush’s most well known products before a salesperson descended on us. The woman, who happened to be very nice (and spoke English), demonstrated on Katie’s arm an exfoliating body wash and moisturizing gel that left one of her arms baby soft, while the other was normal feeling. But as Lush always does, the price on each of their tubs of handmade products always leave the middle class staggering and so Katie was hesitant to buy something. I was not so conservative, and decided to purchase a vanilla scented solid perfume (so I could smell like something other than sweat sometimes). In turn, the saleswoman gave us a couple of small samples of some of Lush’s products before we decided that staying in the store any longer could mean trouble for our wallets. 

Once free from the mall, we walked back towards La Rambla around 5 PM, stopping momentarily to rest our tired legs and feet at “Ideal Restaurant” for a tempting promise of a mojito and piña colada in cups bigger than our two hands. We were sorely disappointed at our first sip and realization/speculation that the drinks probably didn’t even contain alcohol (the mojito was basically green colored sprite with lots of mint leaves, and mine was basically pineapple juice). We were even more disappointed at the expensive price that I don’t really want to reveal that we paid… 

Sore about the impulsive buy, we decided to smooth things over and go back to La Boqueria where Katie bought her chocolate and cream almonds. We sat for a little bit on La Rambla afterwards, before returning to our Airbnb place around 6 PM to navigate to the Búnquers del Carmel, a recommendation from Samanta and Daniel. Though the couple told us that it was about a 10 minute walk from the apartment, they didn’t really tell us that it was more of a hike than a walk, as we climbed many stairs and many inclines (that probably were around 45 degrees). 

Even as our breaths were stolen by the spontaneous hike, our breaths were even further stolen by the drop-dead gorgeous views of Barcelona. The Bunkers of Carmel were a definite hit with the younger population of Barcelona as most sitting areas were occupied by 20-somethings of all nationalities, though we happened to seat ourselves close to a big group of French nationals. Many groups and couples brought food and drinks with them to eat while admiring the view and talking with friends. Of course, there was a fair amount of people just there to take pictures of the panoramic views of Barcelona. We, as people who fell into the latter category, sat on a stone wall and structure and just talked. 

We eventually caught the attention of another American from Orlando, Florida also on a Europe trip! Melanie was super nice and super friendly and definitely enhanced the experience of sitting on the bunkers. We talked for a good hour or two, exchanging travel stories and itineraries. We even invited her to have (late) dinner around 10, but she declined as she was planning on going to a social club. We parted ways, each going down the opposite side of the mountain as the other, and Katie and I gave up on trying to navigate our way to a restaurant in the heart of Barcelona. 

We returned to Las Delicias, a popular restaurant with the locals and were seated (after some confusion) closer to 11 PM. We ordered more jalapeño poppers, mussels in sauce, and bread smeared with tomato. Delicious food but a little too late for our taste... though that didn't stop is from getting some crème brûlée as dessert. It was close to 12 when we finally returned to our Airbnb place for some much needed sleep for our tired bodies. We would be leaving for Valencia tomorrow!