TAGBILARAN CITY, BOHOL — So much to see, so many places to visit. How can you do that in 72 hours?
Easy does it: Budget your (limited) time. Don’t curl up in your cozy bed at the sprawling 108-room Bohol Tropics (fully booked during the Holy Week) located in the heart of the city; go out and explore the place even if you’re doing it for the nth time.
That’s just what our group did, what kept us busy, busy.
On the night of our arrival, we took the Loboc River Cruise which was made romantic by the on-board serenaders, with the mood enhanced by the round lights on both banks (where Cesar Montano shot some scenes of his movie Panaghoy Sa Suba) that gradually changed colors (from white to blue to pink to green to orange). We learned that those lights, donated by the family of Ben Chan, cost millions. The boat stopped at the end of the river where a group of home-grown Filipiniana-dressed singers regaled the visitors with native songs and a Tinikling Dance. Anybody was welcome to dance.
Next day, Maundy Thursday, was reserved for Visita Iglesia. We covered only seven churches instead of the usual 14 (representing the Station of the Cross), including (in this order) St. Joseph (The Worker) Cathedral in this city, Our Lady of Assumption in Dauis, St. Augustine Parish in Panglao, Immaculada Concepcion in Baclayon, Sta. Monica Church in Alburquerque, Holy Trinity Church in Loay, and St. Peter The Apostle Church in Loboc.
The Dauis church was built around a deep well (Mama Mary’s Well) that predated it. Water from the well (located at the altar), said to have been discovered in the 18th century, is believed to have cured the terminally-ill, the recent one being a doctor with stage-four liver cancer. That’s where we bumped into Albert Martinez and wife Liezl and their children Alyanna, Alfonso and Alyssa. Liezl was carrying two bottles of the “miraculous water” which were given free of charge (but, please, don’t forget to make voluntary donations). We learned that Vhong Navarro and Angelica Panganiban shot some scenes of their recent movie, Star Cinema’s Bulong, in the Dauis Church.
Sta. Monica Church was part of My Only U, another Star Cinema movie; while the traditional Easter Sunday Salubong between Virgin Mary Son Jesus at Holy Trinity Church is a “must-see.” Ask Judy Ann Santos who went there purposely to witness it.
Baclayon is famously known as the hometown of Cesar Montano who proposed at sunset to his then girlfriend (now wife) Sunshine Cruz at the lighthouse that is a stone’s throw away from the church, with the angelic voices of the Loboc Children’s Choir as soundtrack. Very romantic! Now with three lovely daughters, the couple would take a breather at their tree-lined sanctuary.
At Bee Farm (call 0917-3041491 for inquiries), owned and managed by Vicky Wallace with the help of her son Abdul (one-time Ginoong Pilipinas contestant), we had buffet lunch at a long table with a panoramic view of the sea. “Everything that the bees eat, we humans can also eat,” Vicky told us on our first visit, and “everything” includes bougainvillea served as salad. Bee Farm offers an all-organic menu (even the bread was made of squash, not flour).
On the way back to Tropics, we stopped at the Butterfly Farm where the guide educated us about the different kinds of butterflies (dozens and dozens of them!) and how they reproduce (very interesting!); at a Tarsier Home which featured other friendly creatures like an iguana and a big snake (mouth scotch-taped, don‘t worry!) ready to have their pictures taken with you; and, of course, at the Chocolate Hills (1,700, count ‘em!) which was made more breath-taking by a rainbow that framed it during a slight drizzle. We didn’t leave the place without climbing the 273 steps to the peak of one of the highest hills (so named reportedly by American soldiers because the hills reminded them of Chocolate Kisses) from which you could see forever.
To cap the busy, busy day, we had a dinner of chicken at Payag where, according to Raoul Tidalgo, he saw Anna Bayle and Floy Quintos during Anna’s visit a few years back, “drinking SanMig Light.” Like the other places, Payag was packed full with hungry visitors.
Done with our religious obligation, on Good Friday we hied off to an out-of-town beach where we bumped into Ogie Diaz who said he was with the group of Vice Ganda (on the same plane with us from Manila to Bohol).
On Black Saturday, we took a quick side trip to Cebu on a fast-ferry and, as usual whenever we found ourselves in the Queen City, prayed at the Sto. Niño Cathedral where Annabelle Rama would hear Mass every now and then, flying to Cebu early morning and flying back to Manila after saying her regular novena to her favorite Child.
Back home on Easter Sunday, with half of our group gone to Samar, we felt sufficiently recharged, set for the usual grind (back to the salt mines, as they’d say), dreaming of the next break when we could spend another busy, busy time in Bohol.
(Note: For inquiries and reservations at Bohol Tropics, call PLDT [+6338]4113510 to 14 or Globelines [+6338]5018992.)
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