As I was sailing to Tubigon, my mind bubbled with curiosity about the place that was my ultimate destination - Danao. Being a Cebuano, the only Danao I knew was this city north of Cebu province. The Danao I was heading to was in Bohol.
The distance between Cebu City's Pier 1 and the port of Tubigon took the fastcraft a little more than an hour to traverse. The road trip from Tubigon to Danao took another hour and a half, by private vehicle; it would certainly take longer by public transportation. The ride was mainly smooth, just a little bumpy now and then as several stretches of road were undergoing improvement.
I left Cebu City at 3 p.m. It was almost six when I finally got to the Danao Adventure Park, the town's major tourist attraction. The place was in Barangay Magtangtang, some four kilometers from the town proper. As it was already dusk, there was not much to see.
The following day, the whole place revealed itself to me. Danao could be mistaken as a sleepy town. Well, it was always a fifth-class municipality - until a few years back. Being an interior town, farming was the primary means of livelihood of the people.
But it's different now. While the town may still bear a semblance of its difficult economic past, Danao has since jumped upwards to becoming a second- or maybe a first-class municipality. And, more, this impressive growth has been attained in just a short five years or so!
The key factor to Danao's brisk progress, according to a town official, is its Danao Adventure Park. The Park presently employs over a hundred: as administrative personnel, guides, cooks, photographers, restaurant and room attendants, etc. Local people run the entire operation, from the main receiving hall, to the kitchen, to the dining area, to the rides and the treks - everything!
The regular incomes of the Park workers create a ripple effect to the rest of the municipality. Small businesses are beginning to sprout, creating other income opportunities for everyone else. The Park aims to eventually be able to employ at least one person from every household in its 17 barangays.
At present, the Park reportedly contributes about 50% of the annual municipal income. It causes one to wonder: What's this fuss about the Danao Adventure Park? What does it offer that make visitors come?
Truly special adventures await everyone at the Danao Adventure Park. There's the Suislide, a zip-line that crosses a good distance over a cavernous canyon. It gives a breathtaking view of the river deep down below. Plans are underway to construct another zip-line that will be three to four times the length of the first one, which by itself is already drawing in a lot of visitors.
There's also the Canyon Swing, where a person is strapped up with a cable tied to one side of the canyon and then dropped several hundred meters down. After the initial plunge, the brave adventurer is swung around a few minutes more at the face of the steep cliff.
A lot of activities are available for the adventure seeker. There's also river trekking, river kayaking, cliff rappelling, caving and many more. Camping out is also allowed for those who want to savor more of nature.
The Danao Adventure Park also has something for visitors who are not much into extreme activities. As the Park covers the very area where the Boholano hero Francisco Dagohoy stood his ground against the Spaniards centuries ago, there are arranged treks that trace the secret footpaths used by the local revolutionaries then. It is believed that these pathways and the network of caves alongside them made it possible for Dagohoy and his men to keep the Spaniards off the place for nearly a hundred years.
There are tourist amenities at the Park. The main hall doubles as receiving area and restaurant, which has wi-fi facility for visitors who need to connect to the Internet. Several air-conditioned cottages and pension houses are just a short walk away.
I came to Danao, Bohol in time for the so-called Danao Revolution, a two-year-old sports and adventure event to commemorate the town's foundation day on July 9. Expectedly, a good number of people converged, over a hundred athletes and an even bigger number of spectators from the neighboring places. The organizers had a difficult time with accommodation.
Overall, the town has a hundred comfortable rooms for visitors, including home stay, at any given time. This number was apparently insufficient to accommodate everyone that day. It helped that many of the athletes preferred to camp out in the open spaces around; but still there was a shortage of rooms.
There was some inconvenience for sure. I say this from my own experience. Nevertheless, if there's another chance, I will go to Danao, Bohol again. That's for sure!
(E-MAIL: modequillo@gmail.com)