The latest about Bohol

I was in the next door island of Bohol two weekends ago, at the invitation of Bohol Beach Club through its dynamic Manila pr Nana Nadal.  I immediately confirmed my attendance as I had not been to Bohol after the earthquake and the typhoon. And my curiosity was aroused by the New Bohol Beach Club, pre-launch Manila/Cebu press briefing after the hotel's 9-month major renovation in its rooms and facilities.

Bohol Beach Club is significant to me as we brought my sons there when they were about 7 & 8 years old, with their yayas. We went to Bohol by land, through a ferryboat that comfortably accommodated our station wagon.  We did this three or four times, as we found the pristine white sand an ideal playground for the boys.   That was in the latter part of the 80s. (Bohol Beach Club started operations on May 8, 1984 -- the first resort in Panglao Island -- a fulfillment of its founder Anos Fornacier's vision. Fornacier is considered as the Father of Bohol Tourism.) Now my sons have little ones of their own. I wish to bring them all there this December, for our annual Christmas family trip. It will be nostalgic for me and hopefully magical for the little ones, as the sand is as white as  I remember on the 250 meters wide beachfront, and they made a fish sanctuary of the pristine waters. The tiny swimmers will be entranced by the underwater scenes, while the inviting huge swimming pool at the center of the property is an alternative water venue.

The New Bohol Beach Club soft opened last December with just 88 rooms (80 Deluxe Rooms and 8 Beachview Suites), affording guests with much-needed privacy amidst landscaped gardens. Diving instructions are available, also a free glass-bottom boat tour over the fish sanctuary. Likewise offered are dolphin watching and Balicasag island hopping with fish feeding. A tour to Oslob (Cebu) for whale shark -- butanding -- feeding is also available. And of course, several island tours to choose from.

What's a trip to Bohol without the Loboc River Cruise with lunch? We did that upon arrival and my heart felt so heavy looking at the devastation of the irreplaceable Loboc Church with all its antiquities. The white elephant of a bridge that would have ended right at the belfry of Loboc Church is now used as a passageway to the boarding gates of the cruise catamarans...serving a purpose at last! The lunch is really quite appealing to city folks like our Manila media counterparts, as well as visiting foreign tourists. But I miss the "haranistas" onboard who used to sing Pilipino standards while we ate. It was a modern singer this time, maybe thinking of the young Manila media participants. I feel however that the modern songs jarred with the bucolic scenes around us.

What's a trip to Bohol without checking out the Blood Compact marker? In February 1565, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi sailed from Mexico to look for the Spice Islands after Ferdinand Magellan's failed attempt in 1521. With 5 galleons and some 500 soldiers, with Fray Andres de Urdaneta, they landed in Samar and had a blood compact with Datu Urrao, then proceeded to Limasawa and another blood compact with Datu Bankaw. When they rounded Cebu, the natives were quite hostile, so they found an alternative route and landed in Bohol, where the blood compact took place between Legazpi and Datu Sikatuna. But we found out from our informative tour guide that the place where the statues of the blood compact is set up is not the actual site of the historic event.  He brought us to Baclayon where the small marker is found, with an ancient well nearby.  This is the NHC (National Historical Commission) authenticated site of the Sikatuna Blood Compact.

The great devastation of Baclayon Church and its museum, equally ancient and once magnificent, caused in me a spiritual gloom for what can never be retrieved. Our patrimony forever lost! But warming the heart is the ever hopeful Boholano spirit among the locals, who welcomed us in typical Boholano hospitality and candor. Climbing up those over 240 steps to view the world-renowned Chocolate Hills -- many of them intact and as lovely as ever -- made our day.

Yes, Bohol is recovering from the natural tragedies...and the beach areas in Panglao were spared of any devastation. Tourism is on the rise, thank God.

Noteworthy are the toilet facilities in the various sightseeing areas we visited, quite impressive -- clean toilets, with toilet paper and other amenities, presence of maintenance crew and the venue is air conditioned! Even their temporary passenger waiting area in the devastated pier in Tagbilaran, is also air conditioned with clean toilets. Bohol is world-class ready for tourists, more than Cebu, sad to note. Despite our pioneering Suroy-Suroy Program for tourists, we should do something to improve what toilet facilities there are, as well as put up more toilets at sightseeing areas.

Visit Bohol and be impressed!