Bohol on my mind

Touching down at the Tagbiliran port on a Friday evening was perfect. The sea breeze blew gracefully with an underlying message of fun and excitement up ahead. Its cold embrace that titillated my skin gave me warmth and comfort. As I started a brief walk toward a waiting vehicle that would bring me to my destination, I passed by Boholanos wide sincere smiles, so welcoming! Some of them managed to utter Maayong Pag-abot sa Bohol.

 

Dubbed by tourism mavericks as the land of history and natural beauty, Bohol captivated the hard to please person in me. Its capital- Tagbiliran City-is a booming metropolis with a fully paved and furnished port that is a great advantage to further their economy, as the influx of tourists and goods would be easy and hassle free. Yet Bohol has maintained the rural spirit with its residents so hospitable. The smiles on their faces projected it all.

 

It was my first time in that island famous for the tarsiers and Chocolate Hills. How I got there is a scene still fresh in my mind. A week ago, Madam Mayen asked me if I could join the STI group who would be doing a career factor challenge in that awesome province solely intended for media. Without even thinking, I answered in the affirmative with the hype and hoopla about this famous tourist getaway already flashing in my mind. I knew I would enjoy the trip and I was proven right!

 

From the port, we were treated to a multicab ride going to the school's branch in the city, about 10 minutes away. There certainly was no traffic jam this side of the planet so the ride was smooth and fast. There were three groups taking part in the challenge-yellow, blue and gray teams, respectively, all comprised of at least five members each. Getting to the school ahead of the other groups was part of the game.

 

Pushing our driver whom I called "manong" to drive as fast as he could, we got to our first stop in a neck-to-neck race. The instruction was simple: as we got inside the STI-Bohol's receiving room, find five student identification cards to be able to proceed to our next stop. Yet the job was time consuming so that our group was the last to fulfill the task. We got our envelope containing the next instruction: proceed to Crystal Coast and enjoy the rest of the evening.

 

It was a kilometer ride to the resort that would be our haven for two days. Amidst the noise of the vehicles engine as we drove through semi-paved roads (reminding me of countryside living), we were drowning in laughter and chitchat. Various imaginations filled in our minds but the writers in us took center stage. From planning about how we were to spend our night, we moved on to a common scenario of being kidnapped by members of the underground movement. What if in the middle of the dark road with only a pale light from lamp posts along the way, rebels would suddenly block our vehicle and forcibly drag us to the mountains? Wow exciting! My instant reaction was to go with them, provided they have a cable television in their hideout so I could comfortably watch the Bb. Pilipinas beauty pageant. We all laughed out loud. The next thing we knew, we took a left turn and in a few seconds, we reached Crystal Coast in barangay Tawala.

 

In this barangay lie the powdery white sand beaches in the municipality of Panglao. It boasts of crystal blue waters and a 30-minute ride by motorboat would bring you to either Pamilacan or Balicasag islands where one gets the chance to snorkel or go whale watching. Early morning, if you rise up ahead of the chirping birds, you enjoy the privilege of watching the majesty of sunrise. At dusk, foreigners young and old alike, comfortably lie along the clean stretch of beach enjoying soothing massage service by locals. At night, stargazing is a free treat for the romantic at heart or party animals could socialize at a nearby resto bar. In between these scenarios are the locals who greet you with a warm smile as they peddle their wares of shell accessories.

 

What I liked most in my almost two days and two nights stay at the resort was the warm treatment given to us by its employees. The meals were occasions I always looked forward to, as the food served were satisfying and well prepared. We were pampered and they were always there everytime we needed assistance. To say that they were very accommodating is an understatement.

 

Our trip to Bohol was supposedly a continuation of the Career Factor Challenge but the organizers decided to just give us a break by not pushing through with the original plan. Instead, they brought us to the famous Loboc River for a lunch cruise and later on accorded us a glimpse of the famous tarsiers. Baclayon church, a historical heritage, was another landmark we discovered along the way. A seven-kilometer ride southeast of Tagbilaran City, Baclayon church was built in 1596 by the Jesuits and is considered to be the oldest church in the country.

 

Relaxing and humbling are descriptions of how I felt about cruise in the river. We feasted on a sumptuous lunch while listening to the vocal renditions of Loboc choir pioneer member Badong Dagan. The scene was very romantic with trees and flowers abloom.

 

At the riverbanks were cute children in their naked glory, innocent, wet and happy as they dipped their fragile bodies in the water. Mothers comfortably settled in the background waving at us while washing their clothes. It was a humbling moment because as we satisfied our appetite, the children had nothing to fill their stomachs at past noon.

 

We could not stop supposedly to share with these children our food because we raced against time. The manager of the restaurant who arranged for our cruise who I would say forgot her manners rudely told us we could have a river cruise for not more than 30 minutes as we were already an hour late. How inconsiderate and insensitive of her!
Besides there were about four floating restaurants waiting for those who wanted to have a cruise like us.

 

Despite that bad experience with that restaurant manager, our disappointment vanished when we had a close look at the tarsiers. Their big eyes blazing, they were unperturbed with our presence. That encounter with the endangered species was followed with a pictorial at Baclayon church before we finally called it a day.

 

We spent the night with a videoke challenge that ended at almost midnight. Then we trooped to the resort's swimming pool until dawn before STI's Public Affairs Head Resty Bondoc invited us to go out for a meal as staying in the water that long made us hungry. Finding a restaurant that would provide us with a heavy meal was a hard task as there was virtually nothing open in the wee hours. (This is an immediate concern Tourism people should look into). In the end we settled with canned goods, pieces of bread and cup of noodles with matching bahaw at a sari-sari store nearby which was fortunately still open.

 

Despite everything, Bohol is still a wonderful place I look forward to visiting again. Her beauty is really alluring and her people very warm. They are effective guides for they readily give you useful tidbits especially on where to buy that pasalubong. And they knew their history! Besides, Bohol is just a two-hour comfortable fast craft ride from the equally beautiful island Queen City of the South, Cebu. Thus, I shall return.