Day 30

Visited the Tarsier sanctuary at kilometer 14 between Corella and Sikatuna. These are one of the smallest primates in the world, will fit in one’s hand. They are so cute with their enormous eyes. Met Carlito “Lito, Tarsier Man” Pizarro who has made it his life’s work to save the tarsiers which are an endangered species. He’s been working with the project since he was 12 years old. He’s now 52. They have a 1 hectare fenced area with a few mostly female individuals surrounded by a hundred hectare additional site with up to one thousand more tarsiers. We snapped shots of three individuals and chatted with Lito, who has been published in Readers Digest, a National Geographic film, and other publications on his efforts.

Coming out of the sanctuary to the main road, Ole spotted a pathway across the road. We followed it into a jungle of different kinds of trees, butterflies, bumblebees and we heard several animal calls. A couple hundred steps took us to a clearing which was probably a rice field at one time. Ole played with the mimosa plant growing abundantly on the ground. Mimosa is a plant which when touched folds its leaves. Afterwards we walked for about 2.5 km on to Sikatuna Poblacion and then returned to Tagbilaran by jeepney where we watched a couple first run films in the local cinema. This was to get out of the heat. Thank goodness for air conditioned shopping mall. Last night in Tagbilaran, Bohol.