Our unforgettable Holy Week in Bohol’s Panglao Resort

Going on vacation (last week was Bohol, the other years were either Boracay or pre-SARS Hong Kong) during Semana Santa is an acquired habit I got from living in the city. In my childhood in Borongan Eastern Samar, Semana Santa was a time for prayer, recollection, introspection and fasting. Nanay told us not to over-eat, just enough so that we wouldn’t feel hungry, and definitely no meat. Penetensiya for all our sins, she would remind us. Our town was quiet during Holy Week. People literally talked in whisper. All activities were church-based. And we were told to be careful not to be bitten by insects, because wounds would be slow to heal. And as kids we were not to run around and play in the plaza as we would disturb the elders who would be in the nearby church praying and confessing their sins to the Monsignor. Oh, how every child looked forward to the sugat that happened at dawn of Easter Sunday, when an angel is lowered from the ceiling of the covered driveway of the municipio (there was no place in church where they could stage this breathtaking pageantry and the municipio was just in front of the church) to take the veil of the grieving Mama Mary who for the first time after the crucifixion would see her son, the risen Christ.

In a way, living in the city corrupted my religious background. In the years that past. I learned to pray while swimming in the waters of Boracay and definitely no tourist activity at 3 p.m. of Good Friday. Either we’re back in the hotel or we should be inside a church I muttered to myself last week while we were in Bohol for the Holy Week.

Bobby Garcia, Raymund Isaac, Bettina Aspillaga, Ramon Bagatsing, May Ratier, Bong Quintana and I decided to spend Holy Week in Bohol this year after having spent it in Boracay and other predictably boring places in the past.

Bohol is lovely. Its people are even lovelier.

Our group stayed in the Panglao Island Nature Resort, one of the best places in the island. It has five star accommodations with spacious, clean and comfortable rooms. It has a splendid view of the sea and the moon. The gardens are well manicured by amiable gardeners. One night, we strolled around the small village because that’s how Panglao Resort is designed. Only our sacriligeous voices disrupted the serenity of the place with flowers of all kinds abloom flirting quietly with the sensuous moon. In this resort, you can read Tolstoy and Lee Kuan Yew without distractions, you can talk to yourself in heavenly peace, you can have private conversations with plants, you can write poetry with butterflies, and paint the sky with the waters of Bohol sea. And yes, here in Panglao, you can pray.

In Panglao Resort, you can swim in the pool, sunbathe in your balcony (no one will see your unwanted fats, you see plants don’t gossip!), or kayak in the waters fronting the resort. But it’s not the best place to swim with seaweeds growing in abundance and sea urchins scattered everywhere. So you better know how to kayak because if you fall, you encroach into the territory urchins and weeds and sea snakes. Panglao Island Nature Resort will always be memorable not only because it’s a beautiful place but because of people like May, Marvin, Mr. Corrales who made our complicated lives simple and easy. Thank you, guys.

On our second day in Bohol, all of us in the group started to be restless. We decided to explore the place.

With the expert guidance of our driver, Mang Enteng, we had a most unforgettable exploration – that exposed us not only to the natural beauty of Bohol but also to the beauty of the Pinoy! Wow Philippines, as Dick Gordon would say! Here are some notes on this holiday in Bohol.

#1 The Dolphin Watch was pure magical theater. From the pantalan of Baclayon, we boarded a boat that brought us to the Pamilacan Island where whales and dolphins are seen in the waters that surround this islet. I will never forget the feeling of awe the first time I saw a group of dolphins dance in the air. They’re called flippers, our guide told us. And in the almost one hour of sailing around the waters of Pamilacan, and the breathtaking epiphanies of the dolphins, this vacation was worth every second of it. They are the biggest testament that God created a beautiful world.

#2 Our Dolphin Watch guides are former whale hunters of Pamilacan. If more of us visit Bohol – we will totally eradicate whale hunting because we will be giving jobs to these hunters. In the islands of Pamilacan, the wives of our guides prepared a sumptuous lunch for us. These women I learned, have been trained by DOT. But before the lunch, Ramon, Bettina, Bong and I played basketball against four little boys. We bullied our way around the court and won. It was truly fun.

#3 Bong and Bobby dove near the Balicasag Island. It was majestic down there, they said. While I snorkeled around our boat. This was a better snorkeling place than Boracay. In the island was a resort owned/managed by PTA. There was a streamer that welcomed General Manager Dean Barbers. I hope Dean and Nixon have sorted out their problems at the PTA. There’s so much work to be done. Food was great in the resort. (To be continued)