A sanctuary from stress

Author: Chong Ardivilla
Column: Life & Entertainment

the first thing you notice about Bohol is the sea. It’s so blue and crystal clear, one can see the schools of fish flittering about.

One normally associates piers with the rancid smell of decay and neglect. Yet, in Tagbilaran’s port, it is the crisp sea breeze that welcomes the visitor—a stark difference from Manila’s pier, which is teeming with junk and unsavory flotsam and jetsam. Nor is it like the Cebu port with giant ships spewing oil on the waters, coating them with an ugly black sheen.

Cebu may have the hubbub of commerce, the grinding traffic, the belching smoke from rush hour, the parties, the swank places like Starbucks. But Bohol has its lush forests, clean streets, and old-stone churches. Its slower pace is just what the doctor would order to recover from a stress-engulfed life.

Visitors normally head to the resorts of Bohol. Travelers may want to consider staying at Metro Center Hotel right smack in the middle of Bohol’s capital. One of the island’s biggest hotels, it has a pool, a gym, with Wi-Fi Internet access, cable TV, and even a disco. You can even ask the reception to book a one-hour massage in your room for P250, roughly a four times cheaper than the usual massages in Manila.

From the owners of Panglao Nature Island Resort, Metro Centre is an exclusive patch of white sand beach with ritzy cottages reserved for members who shell out P7,000 to stay there. What’s more, as a guest of Metro Centre Hotel, all you have to do is pay P150 for a coupon and you can use the facilities of Panglao Island Nature Resort. The P150 is consumable so you can pool your coupons if you’re a big group and order food.

The beach looks fantastic. You can walk, if the tide permits, to the small island offshore and lounge on the hammock. If you want, you can swim or have a boat take you to a floating raft with a nipa hut and look at the sunset. The sky and sea are pristine blue that it is hard to look for the horizon until the sun dips into night. That place has an infinity pool, too, for those with disdain for sea water.

For those who would want to indulge in a package tour, pay about P2,500 and get to visit around six sites in Bohol.

Like the monument to the blood compact between Raha Sikatuna and the Spanish Miguel Lopez de Legazpi with the chronicler Urdaneta. Do check out the nifty details of Sikatuna’s armor. Also, note how different the way Sikatuna handles his mug as compared to the Western Legazpi.

Then there is the Baclayon church, the second-oldest church in the country, according to our guide. Outside on the church grounds, a nun sells religious paraphernalia. Of interest are the angel figurines with pouches. You tell the nun your exact birth date and she would sell you your guardian angel (after checking a chart).

And then there are the tarsiers. At the Loboc Tarsier sanctuary, these fascinating little creatures are quite the sensation with their cute and quiet demeanor. You can stroke their backs with a finger or two, just don’t touch their heads because their cranium is soft. Avoid using the flash when you take photos of tarsiers because the bright lights stress them out.

It would be nice to remind the visitors to talk in whispers because these are nocturnal creatures and they are having their beauty sleep during daytime. You can feed the tarsiers with crickets skewered on sticks. There is no entrance fee for this enclave, although visitors are encouraged to donate for its upkeep.

Once in Loboc, take a boat ride through Loboc River. Depending on your mood, you can choose the bigger vessel with the show band and dance floor, to dance to “Celebration” as you pass by one of the country’s last few remaining thick foliage of trees. Or, you can get a smaller vessel for a more intimate feel.

There’s also the famous Chocolate Hills, a natural marvel. No matter how we create skyscrapers, Mother Nature still wins as best architect and designer.

Included in the package tour is a trip to a place where one could see how bolos (hatchets) were made and a visit to a hanging bridge.

Substantial as it is, the tour package could benefit from visits to more places outside the regular tourist sites. Bohol tourism should take a cue from historian Carlos Celdran and his enjoyable yet informative way of showcasing Manila in one of his walking tours. After all, a beautiful place is made more memorable with the stories a visitor can gather. And it would be nice to know more quirky yet useful information on this island beyond the fact that it is the birthplace of film actor Cesar Montano.

It certainly would be nice to visit more churches, which are testament to Bohol’s significant place in our history. The early Spanish friars exerted their presence by having a building frenzy of almost to a ratio of one church per town.

History buffs may also want to include a visit to the town of Dagohoy, named after one of the country’s heroes, Francisco Dagohoy sustained the longest revolt against the Spaniards. He rebelled against them after Spanish friars refused to give his brother a proper burial. He caused Spanish authorities grief by organizing armed conflict against the abusive colonialists. Bohol may want to play up more on its historical significance to the country as well as its natural splendor.

Bohol is a must in a Filipino’s travel itinerary. Nothing beats the serene look of people as they marvel at Loboc river’s unsullied and pristine condition. Nothing beats the wonder on one’s face reflected on the huge tarsier eyes.

A calm, clean sea that makes you believe that you can walk on water. Flowers actually blooming. The soft rolling of the waves. And the wind reminding you what you have been missing from all this time in urban decay.

Source: Manila Standard Today

Copyright © 2005 - 2010. Telebisyon.net. This article is a copyright property of Manila Standard Today. This page serves as an archived copy of the article written by Chong Ardivilla. All rights reserved. No part of this website shall be copied or reproduced in any means possible without explicit permission from the owners.