The only time I learned a little bit more about Bohol was when I had my first job straight out of college. The job was with an international airline and the province was part of the territory I had marketing supervision on. From my younger years until then, all I knew about Bohol was the Blood Compact or Sandugo (Visayan for One Blood) between Spain, the Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi and Bohol chieftain Datu Sikatuna. This dramatic episode was to seal the first ever treaty of friendship between the Spanish conquistadores and the Filipino natives.
Even with that airline job, I would get to visit Bohol only on day trips, to meet with some travel agents and a few potential travelers. I never got to see anything else of the province.
Some three years ago, I had to escort a foreign dignitary on another day trip to the province, although this time, we were on a helicopter that hovered over the island’s topography, for us to get a better idea of the development in its white sand beaches. Since we were already up there, we decided to fly over the world-famous Chocolate Hills. That was all I saw of Bohol.
A few days ago, a very good friend treated me to an all-expense paid trip to the province as his advance birthday gift for me, knowing fully well that I am still a stranger to the place. He also invited a few other close friends of ours to join in on the fun. Naturally, I jumped at the golden opportunity and joined the small fun-loving group on a three-day holiday in The Land of the Blood Compact. This time, I made sure I’d get to have a closer look of the attractions Bohol is known for.
First on the itinerary was an evening cruise along Loay River where tourists are enthralled by the sight of thousands of fireflies inhabiting some trees. After a sumptuous buffet dinner on the riverboat, our group prepared ourselves for, what everybody told us, a magical night. The darkened boat sailed along the river at a leisurely pace, and we were reminded not to use our camera’s flash when we see the fireflies. Sure enough, after a few minutes of sailing, we saw a large tree festooned with what looked like a million flickering miniature Tivoli lights. A similar sight showed itself on the other side of the river, and another one a few meters beyond, and yet another one, etc. There were about eight trees like that throughout the cruise. These magical sightings made for a beautiful evening!
We set off early the following day as we had to travel more than an hour to get to Carmen town, where the Chocolate Hills are. We had a very efficient, knowledgeable and effective tour guide, Cathlynne Guigue, who could talk a blue streak about anything and everything—politics, culture, comedy, history, music, social events, geography, anything under the sun. We even teased her that what she knows could make her eligible for the position of Tourism Secretary.
When we got to our destination she gave us two options—to content ourselves with the view of the hills from the ground, where our van was going to park, or climb the 217 steps to the Viewing Deck, for the 360-degree view of the 1700-plus limestone hills, spread over an area of 50 square kilometers.
I decided to push myself to the limit and conquered the 217 steps for that priceless view of the world-famous hills. It was an awesome feeling, one of those precious moments when I am overwhelmed by the sight of God’s creation. I could sit there the whole day and wouldn’t get bored. Everywhere I turn, those cute little mounds showed me how special I am for having been born into this wonderful world.
Another attraction I heard so much about was the Man-Made Forest, which is between Carmen town (Chocolate Hills) and our next stop, the Tarsier Sanctuary. Since it was along our way, we decided to stop and experience the splendor of this much talked about forest, 1800 hectares planted with mahogany trees. Driving through it was surreal because the green, refreshing canopy formed by the trees over the road made me feel like I was on my way to a secret Shangri-La, as described by James Hilton in his book, Lost Horizon.
When we finally got to the Tarsier Sanctuary, we were repeatedly told by Cathlynne, our guide—no loud conversation, no flash cameras, and we must not touch the Tarsier or anything near it. These are nocturnal animals and are in various stages of rest during the day. They are also loners and position themselves very far from one another. If their routine is disturbed, they commit suicide by banging their head on the tree trunks. Aware of such warnings, we walked through the forest-like Sanctuary silently and carefully, making sure we do not shake any branch or leaf along our path.
Just a few steps from the entrance, we right away saw one, fast asleep. A few meters away, there was another one, wide awake, but we had to be careful not to disturb it as we didn’t want it to commit suicide before our eyes. Even with such big round eyes, these lovable creatures can’t see anything on both sides of their faces as they have straight vision. But such deficiency is compensated for by a very sensitive sense of smell and hearing in a body frame which is only five or six inches long.
A fun adventure, similar to those extreme rides at any of the amusement parks in the US, was our trip to Balicasag Island. We were on a small speedboat, which had to tackle humongous waves along the way. Tossed several feet up in the air many times by the waves, the boat would fall down on the rough sea with a loud thud, accompanied by a big splash of sea water. This went on for about 15 long minutes. Scary, but fun…and very wet!
This visit to Bohol finally made me acquainted with everything I needed to be familiar with, as far as the island’s tourist offerings are concerned. Well almost, as I still have to try all the delicacies the province is known for, but that will have to be for another topic, another day. Meantime, as the Boholanos would say, “Salamat Jamo” to my host and dear friend, Johnny Litton, and to our efficient tour guide, Cathlynne Guigue, for this chance of seeing the province up close.
For feedback, I’m at [email protected]
YOUR FRIDAY CHUCKLE
BARACK OBAMA: A good wife always forgives her husband when SHE is wrong.