TRAVEL & ADVENTURE
Loboc River Cruise; Presentations in each stopover; the writer on Loboc’ s hanging bridge.
recently fixed the terminal for the cruises to make it easier for tourists. We pay Php300 each for the eat-all-you-can buffet and an additional Php100 for the maintenance of the terminal and the boats( not to mention one of the cleanest public restrooms I’ ve seen in the Philippines, so yeah 100 bucks is no big deal).
The Loboc River Cruise is basically a cruise on the Loboc River while enjoying a buffet lunch that is serenaded by the locals. It’ s a cute idea by Boholanos and it makes good revenue for the barangay. We’ ve chosen to have a relaxing laid-back vacation in the right place. The line isn’ t long, and we are seated quickly, and the waitress gets our beverage order as we scan the buffet. Local dishes are represented here: Puso ng Saging( Heart of a Banana Tree also known as its blossom) mixed in coconut milk, pork bbq, gelatinous seaweeds dipped in fish sauce or soy sauce, Kangkong leaves, tiny crabs known as talangka, shrimps, pancit noodles, grilled Tuna, and some fresh fruits for dessert as well as sticky rice desserts.
On board is a band that plays some old tunes as cruisers enjoy the ambience of the tranquil river. There are stopovers wherein the locals entertain guests with a presentation such as a dance like tinikling, or play Filipino ballads for a donation. It takes almost more than an hour for the whole cruise, ending with a small falls cascading down from the rainforest.
The cruise sets the pace of our country tour of Bohol because, unlike our usual travel frenzy where in we try to absorb so many things at once, we hang loose this time enjoying the rice paddies, the man-made
Mahogany Forest which was planted in the 1950s by the Boy Scout of the Philippines. I regret not staying long enough, my traveler’ s curiosity wondering what else is up ahead where the tourist spots stop and ordinary island living takes place.
Bohol, although we didn’ t visit them for now, is dotted with Spanish fortresses and old ancestral houses with the street names still engraved in the
Taking a shot of the man-made forest before heading to Loboc.
walls. And it is an ideal place for an artist or a writer … or one with such a soul. For the adventure seeker it is the diving, the zip lines and the treks. But to have a taste of it all we will need more time. And coming with a group will help in the splitting of the van and boat rental.
There are
Sampling the Chocolate Hills
The Chocolate Hills in Carmen is quite frankly just like in the books. It still boggles the mind of geologists on how they were formed, but the Boholanos have their own idea. Legend says a giant fell in love with a young maiden. While on his palm she begged him to let her go since she was engaged to another. And with his compassion he frees her and cries. The teardrops are the hills that can be found in the towns of Carmen, Batuan and Sagbayan. According to textbooks, there are 1,776 of these almost perfectly shaped hills, which are made of limestone covered in grass, which turns brown on summers looking like rows of chocolate kisses. There is another lookout point in Sagbayan that shows a different aspect of the hills but it’ s much further away from where we were. Please note that building on top of the Choc-
“ stopovers where the locals present a dance like tinikling, or play Filipino ballads for a donation. It takes almost more than an hour for the whole cruise, ending with a small falls cascading down from the rainforest.” 1
60 7107 ISLAND TRAVEL