Second first impressions

While in Bohol, a typical question that was asked of me was if it was my first time to visit the province; to which I would reply: "Technically, it's my second time. The first time was when I was one-year-old."

But, of course, I have no memories of that trip, no first impression of the province apart from that impression of a first-time mother with a snivelling baby girl in tow - an impression that, for a long time, had me thinking what a depressing place Bohol must be.

I guess I can't exactly blame my mother for such a description of her experience. With airfares way too expensive for the family budget, we had to travel in a commercial passenger ship instead, a mode of transportation that perhaps would have only been tolerable to my father, a Philippine Navy officer at that time. My mother was seasick. I, on the other hand, was literally sick.

Besides, our family of three then had not visited Bohol in the best of times. The purpose of the trip was neither for pleasure nor enjoyment. We were coming for my paternal grandmother's funeral. I doubt my mother even had enough time to appreciate what Bohol had to offer its tourists. Or maybe the province had less to offer before.

Thirty-one years after, I finally set foot once again on the land of my father's birth, happily anticipating my second first impression of Bohol.



First things first: The wedding

Ian and my Singles for Christ sister, Mary's wedding ceremony was held at Tagbilaran City's Cathedral of St. Joseph the Worker which, thankfully, was not damaged by the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that hit the Visayas in 2013. 

The wedding entourage was big; the number of Ian and Mary's principal sponsors alone may rival the 20 pairs of Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera. But if any of their invited guests had expected the same Dantes-Rivera wedding kind of opulence, they would have been disappointed. 

Simple, elegant wedding details

The red ensemble of the entourage, red tulips on the bridal bouquet and the white fondant wedding cake ornamented with red flowers and gold accents make for the red-and-gold motif inspired by the couple's devotion to the Señor Sto. Niño. And like the child Jesus, Mary and Ian's wedding day is simple yet regal. An apt conclusion, I must say, to their long "courtship" which began way back in high school when the groom had an unrequited crush on the bride. 

"Sa hinaba-haba man daw ng prusisyon, sa simbahan din ang tuloy." So did Mary and Ian's story. At the altar, the couple laid their first draft before the Greatest Author, for Him to continue doing what He does best - writing, re-writing and polishing bestselling love stories like theirs. 

Confessions

I do have a confession to make, though. 

I think I had been more excited about the places I was going to see in Bohol than the Palugas' wedding which should have been the primary reason why I had gone on this trip in the first place. Hihihi.

Matet and I had arrived in Tagbilaran the day before the wedding. We didn't get to do much that afternoon except to explore two of only three malls in the city. And when I say "mall", don't think of SM Megamall; don't even think of SM Makati. BQ Mall and Galleria Luisa are way smaller in floor area than any SM mall I have ever been to and the brands that these malls carry are so much more limited.

A stark contrast to the limited brand offerings of its capital city's malls, on the other hand, is the almost limitless beauty that the province itself could offer to the nature lover - from hills to caves to beaches, rivers and all the plant and animal life in between.

I have another confession to make.

As a kid, I had thought the Chocolate Hills were really made of chocolate. Wouldn't it have been amazing if they really were? Top that, Hershey's World! LOL.

But even if they weren't really chocolate, these hills weren't any less amazing. Think: 1,270+ identical cone-shaped mounds of earth, creating a sea of hills over 20 square miles in area.

Trust our ancestors to weave the most creative legends about what they find in nature. The Chocolate Hills were not spared from such creativity. According to one of the stories surrounding its origin, once upon a time, there were two giants who fought for days, hurling earth and stones at each other. The earth and stones became these brown hills that we now see.

The scientific truth is that the Chocolate Hills are made of limestone covered in grass which, at the end of the dry season, turn chocolate brown; hence, the name. When we, the newlyweds, Matet and I, visited the hills last month, it was already the end of the summer season. That particular day, the sun was scorching hot and yet the hills were still not-so-chocolatey in color; in fact, they were more green than they were brown. Nevertheless, I didn't feel disappointed at all of my Chocolate Hills experience. By displaying them in their green glory, it seemed like Mother Nature couldn't stress the point enough: "My dear wandering daughter, these hills aren't really made of chocolate, see?"

A natural wonder of more than 1200 hills

Balicasag finds: Sea turtles and blue starfish

Island-hopping is a must-do activity in Bohol. For that reason, our tour guide, Roy, included two islands on our itinerary.

In Panglao, we chartered a boat going to Balicasag. The island has a typical Maldives feel - crystal clear water and white sand. But unlike in Maldives where an island is either a resort or a local village, Balicasag has both.

Obviously, Matet would not miss out on snorkeling; she had bought a GoPro camera specifically for this purpose. I, however, was undecided up to the last minute when we were already boarding the paddle boat that would take us to the dive spot. "Kuya, pwede ba talaga akong mag-snorkel? Hindi ako marunong lumangoy. As in hindi talaga," I repeatedly told our boatman-cum-dive guide. He reassured me that I could do snorkeling even if I didn't know a single thing about swimming.

When it was my turn to go down the boat, life jacket, snorkeling gear and all, I didn't want to let go of the boat's outrigger. I was literally hugging it the whole time. I felt as if the current was pushing my body to a face-up position. I had no strength to push against the current and keep myself in the face-down position which I prefer. So I kept barking orders at the boatman: "Kuya, paki-baliktad ako!" In true diva fashion, yes.

I am able to laugh now at how I had made a complete fool of myself (Matet has captured the whole scene on video.). Completely taken out of my comfort zone, back then, I felt I was at the mercy of the waves. You can probably guess what that does to a control freak like me. In my case, my inner diva takes over. People who don't know me well and see me at that state can easily perceive me as nothing more than an unreasonable, demanding brat. I'll leave them be; anyway, "those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

With the little courage I could muster, I went underwater (while still holding on to the outrigger). I saw the sea turtle that Matet was so ecstatic about, some blue starfish and other small fish and corals. I know that what I've seen pales in comparison to what real divers have seen but for what I had managed to do that morning (sans the diva attitude), I definitely gave myself a figurative pat on the back.

After a delicious lunch, we hopped over to Virgin Island. Its sandbar is the third I've seen. Yet no matter how many of these sandbars I've seen in a lifetime, the beauty of these masterpieces of nature remain timeless to me.
   

An endless stretch of sand and sea makes one think: 'May forever naman siguro.'

My kind of bar

We chilled out at the sandbar (Not literally as the temperature was probably over 40 degrees), drinking fresh coconut juice while snacking on banana-cue.

In this island, abalones were on sale for 50 pesos a piece. Matet and I each bought one and had them grilled. Although it is considered a delicacy in Singapore, I've never eaten abalone because it is sold at very high prices there. Apparently, it tastes a lot like the common squid. My Singaporean boss claims, on the other hand, that there are different grades of abalone and hence, different selling prices for each grade. Eh di wow.


Usahay, nagadamgo ako
 
Our tour of Bohol also included two of the 11 major rivers in the province.

First stop: Loboc River.

Green is not usually my favorite color but I made an exception for this

A delicious buffet lunch, live acoustic music, gentle green waters - a foolproof formula that has elevated Loboc River to the status of no ordinary river. Whoever conceptualized the now famous Loboc River Cruise is a genius. The positive reputation of this river cruise among local and foreign tourists alike precedes itself.

Chilling out with my Chucks

There was no running commentary throughout the river tour. We were left to quietly appreciate the seemingly endless stretch of green water and green trees and take unlimited videos and selfies. If you feel like it, you can also sing along with the acoustic band who sang mostly familiar English pop songs. The song that drew my attention was, surprisingly, a Visayan song, "Usahay". I didn't understand a single word of the lyrics but the way the melody tugs at the heart's strings, I had no doubt that it is a love song. I searched for the lyrics and the origin of the song and yes, I was right, it sings about a poignant love.

"Usahay, nagadamgo ako
Nga ikaw ug ako nagkahigumaan
Nganong damguhon ko ikaw
Damguhon ko kanunay sa akong kamingaw"

Midway through the cruise, we stopped by a floating stage set up for a lively cultural performance by locals who expect nothing but donations if you would be so generous as to drop some money in their box. Tourists can even join the merrymaking. I was pretty confident that no one would remember me in this province even if I did come back for another visit (which I will definitely do) so I didn't pass up on the opportunity to try dancing the tinikling.

Meanwhile, much to the chagrin of my mother who had requested for photos, the charms of Abatan River proved difficult to be captured on camera - at least not with an iPhone camera. Shrouded by the shadows of the night with only the moonlight to guide our boat, we cruised this river which, according to Roy, is the deepest in Bohol. But the brightness of the almost-full moon was our undoing that evening when we were in search of fireflies among the mangroves growing along the river. We did manage to find some trees with branches lit up by these creatures. These luminous insects were like lights on a Christmas tree.

The scientific phenomenon of bioluminescence accounts for why fireflies glow. But, locals believe that fireflies are nature spirits. Roy caught a firefly and told us we could make a wish on it. Whether there's truth to that or not, I believe my wish had already been fulfilled earlier that morning anyway.


The greatest of these

A first-time trip in Bohol would be incomplete without seeing at least one tarsier. The province is one of the few places in the world where the tarsiers can be found. In Loboc, we visited the Tarsier Conservation Area, its local government's contribution to a worldwide effort to save this unique animal from extinction.

Tarsier: 'Looking for me?'

Tarsiers are known to have the largest eyes of any mammal in relation to their body size, with each eye actually heavier than their brains. For a primate with an extra-large pair of eyes, ironically, the tarsius will lose in a staring contest with the Homo sapiens. That is because tarsiers are incredibly elusive and are shy among humans. They are basically nocturnal animals; so unfortunately, that morning, we only found sleeping tarsiers among the tree branches. Visitors of the conservation area are advised to maintain silence as much as possible because any kind of noise is disturbing to the sensitive tarsiers.

In as much as I had found these animals cute, if I had left my heart in Bohol, my heart would not have been for the tarsiers.

The dolphins took it.

No, I willingly handed my heart over to them, dolphins.

Earlier this year, in Maldives, I had joined a dolphin-watching cruise with a fond wish to see these animals in their natural environment. Sadly, I didn't get to see any then. So on my fourth morning in Bohol, I made the effort to wake up very early to do a second attempt at ticking this off my bucket list.

While our boat was still a long distance from the spot known to be frequented by dolphins, Roy was already emphatically pointing them out to us, "Ayun! Ayun sila!" The lack of sleep and hunger (We had left the hotel without eating breakfast.) left me feeling particularly dejected because I couldn't see a damn thing ahead except waves, waves and more waves.

In a matter of minutes, a string of thoughts ran through my head: "May nakikita ba talaga si Roy? Wala akong makita. Lord, nag-effort naman ako'ng gumising nang maaga, sana naman makakita ako ng dolphins, di ba? Bakit wala akong makita? Ano ba dapat ang makita ko? Hindi ba ito katulad ng kung anong nakita ko sa dolphin shows sa Subic at sa Sentosa? Was I expecting something that was totally different from what the actual thing is? Is it for the same reason kaya wala pa rin akong lovelife hanggang ngayon? May ine-expect akong something na hindi naman pala dapat i-expect?"

I could have gone on and on, wallowing in self-pity and self-doubt, but there it was, right before my eyes, that which I have been longing to behold - love.

I mean, dolphins. Fifty, sixty or maybe even more than that, in front of the boat and on both sides of it.

Well, the dolphins could really have been love personified, because seeing so many of them diving in and out of the water made me want to smile and cry at the same time. Then a part of me wanted to shout for joy and another part of me wanted to keep still in silent reverie. I realized I was in the middle of a great big ocean, the depths of which I know nothing about, but I've briefly forgotten all my fears. Wasn't this what it is like to be embraced by your One Great Love?

That wish I whispered to the firefly of the Abatan River - I knew, at that moment, it had been fulfilled even before my lips had uttered the words.

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

- 1 Corinthians 13:13