Beautiful Bohol
The election mess was forgotten for a while as soon as we landed in the isle of Bohol. This was the much anticipated high point of our vacation. The last time I was in the Philippines, our Palawan adventure was easily the superstar, but my mom and dad weren’t able to come along. Dad was unfit for that sort of travel and Mom had to stay and take care of him. But since my father died, my brother and I made a conscious effort to take her along to most of our gimiks. This time in Bohol, Mom was able to come with me, Martin, my brother and his wife. And what a time we had!
We sampled the typical tourist attractions simply because it was a good way to get to know Bohol. I would recommend it to anyone. Upon our arrival , we immediately went on the city tour. We marvelled at the famous Chocolate Hills — serene and majestic in the sunlight — and gawked at the cutest ‘Boholano’ ever, the Tarsier, one of the world’s smallest primate. Martin found it so interesting (this in addition to his typical curiosity in our house lizards, spiders and cockroaches) with its big, round eyes and gentle nature. He was quite convinced that they were nailed to the trees, because they didn’t move an inch despite all those big, gawking humans crowding to have their pictures snapped with them.
We also had an eat-all-you can lunch (yep, we are indeed in the Philippines, I thought happily) in a floating restaurant and was serenaded with songs as we cruised the Loboc river. We visited the St. Peter Parish Church in Loboc, the second oldest church in the country, and I conquered my fear of heights (just on that day mind you) by crossing the Tigbao Hanging Bridge. We also spent some time in Hinagdanan cave, an underground cavern with a large number of stalactites and stalagmites that leads to a small pond.
Martin had a taste of the bizarre — Pinoy-style — when we went to see ‘Pronie’, the largest python in captivity in Bohol. The locals swore that Pronie was actually not that large, but the larger ones died already. Well, 12-metre long Pronie looked pretty impressive to me! But what was most unexpected was the presence of a local transvestite who welcomed the visitors with lots of flare, wit and Pinoy sassiness to boot. She sang and danced and greeted tourists in several languages (Dutch too!). The way she told Pronie’s tale made it all sound so exciting, which doesn’t quite fit the seemingly bored subject. Oh well, at least the python remained agreeable enough to let visitors have their picture taken inside the cave with it.
After a whole day of getting acquainted with Bohol, we finally went to the resort where we would spend the next six days. Alona Beach looked postcard perfect with its white sand and clear waters. We couldn’t wait to take a dip even if it was low tide and getting dark already.
We stayed at the Alona Tropical Resort, one of the less expensive resorts that actually provide good accommodation and excellent service. I highly recommend this place. This is the only resort along Alona Beach that honours full 20% discount for senior citizens. No fuzz, no excuses. They simply followed the law. Not unlike the pizza place at Peter’s House, whose owner rudely treated my mother and us simply because we were aware of the Senior Citizen’s Law. She basically refused to honour it because she didn’t know it existed. Haughtily she informed us that she has spent years in the hotel and restaurant business and not once heard of such a law. What can I say? It’s impossible to show the light to one who refuses to open her eyes. Just like what Mark Twain said: "It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so."
Six days spent snorkelling, island-hopping, diving, dolphin-watching, gazing at the stars at night, eating all the seafood we could eat — these all made our Bohol trip a topper. But at the end, it was simply experiencing this kind of beauty with my whole family that made it memorable.
Labels: Alona Beach, Bohol, vacation
