BOHOL VIGNETTES
A trip to Bohol always relaxes me. Notwithstanding that my colleague Vic and I had to be up at two in the morning to catch the first trip to Tagbilaran.
The city is growing fast. So much so that it is getting crowded. New stores, shops and eateries are sprouting, but alas there is hardly any good space to park except in the city streets. Since there is more traffic nowadays, you park at your own risk.
The influx of local and foreign tourists raised the number of vehicles as well. Tourist vans compete with tricycles in enticing arriving passengers at the port. There is a fleet of aircon taxis now, a source of amusement to locals who find it a needless luxury to get around the small city, and to people who still picture Bohol as a quaint place. But once you leave the city boundaries for the neighboring towns you’d appreciate traveling in airconditioned comfort as many roads in this island province are not paved. They are in various states of repair or improvement.
Our destination was Talibon, some three hours away in the opposite end of the island. Romy, the sales supervisor in the area and our designated driver, is proud to show off the beauty of the province. Its man-made and natural attractions. He already brought me to the smallest fort in the country. The monument overlooks the Mindanao Sea and made a fascinating backdrop for a group of bare-chested martial arts students training at the front lawn when we got there. In another trip we passed through the town of Carmen to see the famous Chocolate Hills. This national treasure is a geological wonder consisting of over a thousand hills straddling three towns.
In last Tuesday’s trip he took us through Loboc. Among the things it is famous for is the floating restaurant where tourists can dine on a raft as it goes upstream to a waterfalls. The other attraction is the tarsier, the world’s smallest primate. This nocturnal creature can fit snugly in the palm of a hand. With their big eyes and soft fur, they look as adorable as a stuffed toy. There were four of them in a cage in the yard. Beside it was a painted sign: “For Sale, brown – P100 and grey – P110.” In Tagbilaran shops are selling three-inch tarsier stuffed toys as car decors and souvenirs for the same price.
The young man who was their caretaker brought out a jar of timus. The carnivorous tarsier feed on insects. The caretaker buys them from kids. A small collection box by the cage bore a sign asking for donations for their feeding. As the creatures leaped from their perch to grab the tantalizing morsel from the end of a stick, the caretaker briefed us: “the tarsier has an average life span of 20 years, and they can jump as high as three meters …”
One thing I enjoy about Bohol’s countryside is the architecture of its centuries old churches. Every town has one and most have retained their original design and materials. To me they have the grace and character that modern and “modernized” churches lack. Maybe because the link to a different era remains vibrant. For the rich history and tradition imbued in its faded walls, cracked beams, and antique saints.
Indeed, much of Bohol remains steeped in tradition, religion, myths and superstition. Ah, the stories they tell. During a long night drive Romy entertained me with ghost stories. In this trip he did so with rib-tickling anecdotes. Passing through the thick forest of Loboc’s mountains he told us that trappers catch monkeys by putting a banana inside a mature coconut fruit. Once a monkey gets hold of the banana he’s stuck there, unable to escape as he is too greedy to let go of the banana. In one case, a big monkey got both his hands stuck in two coconuts. Underestimating the animal’s strength, the trapper quickly found himself pummeled by “Mike Tyson wearing coconut gloves.”
Towns and barrios here have such interesting names. Albor, is actually “Albuquerque” and Anda is “Andalucia.” San Miguel, named after Michael the Archangel, celebrates its town fiesta on May 8 instead of September 29. Just the same, a statue of their patron guards the church’s portals.
The Boholano dialect is rife with j’s but the town of Jagna is pronounced with an “h.” Jagna is also the source of the best-tasting calamay. During May you don’t have to worry about food for the entire month because there is always a barrio in Jagna celebrating a fiesta each day.
Here in Bohol fiestas are synonymous to “feasts” and everybody’s home is open to everybody. There’s so much food going around, don’t be surprised when a neighbor comes knocking in your hosts’ residence to invite you to eat at their place, too and asking the hosts’ permission to “borrow” his houseguests. Only in the Philippines.
January 7, 1999