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Hills, Rain, Sand and Sea
All work and no play makes one a dull boy. So to break the monotony of work, I welcomed the offer of a vacation from Arlo. Last March 13 to March 17, we opened the summer season in the island of Bohol.
Lately, Bohol has attracted backpackers, Pinoys and foreigners alike, because of its picturesque terrain and warm people. I was so thrilled to go with a seasoned traveller like my boyfriend. Writing for a travel show for quite a while now, he planned the trip from the plane tickets, itinerary and lodging for five days
Forums and blogs helped us in our planning stage. We have to be mindful of our budget without sacrificing comfort. Oops Bar and Restaurant was recommended by Walter. The Bar and Restaurants has six cottages (fan rooms) made from sawali typical of the houses in Bohol. We stayed in a single detached bahay kubo with its own bath and toilet. The place was simple and well ventilated.
Going around Bohol's tourist spots is in our list of activities. There are vans and cars that can be rented for the whole day that will take you to old churches, Loboc River and to the famous Chocolate Hills. But it doesn't mean that it is the only way to go about the tour, right?
Arlo challenged me to rough it and I step up to the challenge. Going around the island by a motorcyle made it feel like Roman Holiday (feeling Audrey Hepburn) in the tropics. You get to enjoy the sun and the wind as we visited hills, the river and the tarsiers.
I was a bit worried going around on our own. We simply have to follow a map and ask the Boholanos for directions. It's a good thing that the roads are already concrete and the points of interests are just along the way. Sometimes, you have to go through some alleys but just following the road won't get you lost. There are other vans going there so you just have to follow.
We stopped at the Blood Compact monument but I have observed there was another marker claiming it is where it happened. Talk about historical rivalry, eh? We again saw Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, who succeeded to claim the archipelago for Spain. Our last encounter with the "Adelantado" (a title he was given) was in his sarcophagus in San Agustin Church in Manila.
Our next stop was the Baclayon Church. It's a really old church made from coral stones. Dramatically located by the sea, it was used as a watch tower for incoming pirates. Next chuch was dedicated to San Agustin, it's the Albuquerque church. These churches are open that you can enter anytime and take pictures. They still have the pulpit where priests stand for their homily. The last church we visited on our day tour was the Loboc River. It was dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe. It's bell tower is detached from the main church. It was across the street beside the Loboc River. They say that the sound would travel faster in water. It serves as a call for the people whenever there are pirates attacking the island back then.
We had lunch at the Loboc River serenaded by a local singer. He sounds really good and sang Visayan folk songs, OPM and old classics like "Moonriver." Song and dance number from locals where also a part of the Loboc cruise as we stop by the river bank to watch them perform. Food was great but it makes me wonder why the island failed to develop their own cuisine. We thought that the land was not as suitable for farming as the plains of Central Luzon.
On our way to Carmen, where the rolling Chocolate Hills are, it started to rain. Rain drops can really be painful when it seems to prick on your skin when it falls really hard. We have to stop twice before getting there because it's getting hard to see already. Along the way, we saw the Bilar man-made forest. It was enchanting to say the least. The canopy of trees brings drama as you traverse the road. It is like enterring a time warp and it's so romantic.
We arrived at the Chocolate Hills by 3pm. Since the clouds didn't seem have any interests in stopping bringing in the rain, we stayed only to take some pictures and leave. We didn't want to on the road before it gets dark. I was also worried that Arlo might be getting tired.
I was praying really hard because we have to pass by the blind curves and ravines before getting to Loboc. Plus, it was raining so hard. It's a good thing that there are other riders so it made me feel at ease. We noticed that other foreign tourists chose to rough it like us. It only stopped pouring torrential rains in Baclayon Church which is our second stop.
We went home tired but we really enjoyed the moment.
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