The summer heat never prevented the imaginary wings on the boy’s ankles from flapping, and this time, he set his sights on the turtle-shaped island of Bohol for a four-day, three-night journey
Vince, an eight-year-old student at Collegio de San Lorenzo, had never been on an airplane before. But his fears yielded to the beckoning call of tarsiers, hills, beaches, caves and Bohol’s other natural treasures
Minutes after the airplane touched down in Tagbilaran, the pale cheeks of the young adventurer glowed rosy pink. With this writer as a local guide, we immediately rocked and rolled to the boy’s first mission: The Hinagdanan Cave in Bingag, Dauis
A must-visit for a Bohol first-timer, Hinagdanan (a Visayan term for ladder) is an underground cavern teeming with stalactites and stalagmites. When Vince descended the pit, natural light streamed down from two small crevices from above and bats squawked and swooped down the underground pool
After the caves, Vince checked out the beaches of Panglao Island. An excellent swimmer, he showcased his skills in the water with his audience mainly being a school of fish. His inquiring eyes captured every moving creature beneath the clear waters: Sea creatures he had only seen in glossy postcards or clips from National Geographic Channel. Also, a stroll along the white sand beach under the umbrella of tall and leaning coconut trees was an eye-popping experience. Boy, he had never personally seen so many girls in bikinis before!
From Panglao Island, we hopped to Balicasag Island on a 30-minute boat cruise. Balicasag is a haven for international and local scuba divers and snorkeling aficionados. The protected marine sanctuary can rival the best diving spots of Palawan or anywhere in the world in terms of diversity of coral reefs and fishes surrounding the island. Since we forgot to rent the right swimming gear, and hence, unable to snorkel, we did the next best thing, and probably most foolish, too – we swam with our orange life vests on and pretended to be dolphins
Then there are the Chocolate Hills, two hours’ drive from downtown Tagbilaran. We opted to enjoy these gigantic heaps of earth by visiting Sagbayan Peak, the highest peak in the area which has been converted into a state-of-the-art mountain resort. From the viewing deck, one is surrounded by the majestic Chocolate Hills. No doubt the dexterous hand of God can create humongous artworks and such are the hundreds of unexplained and seemingly symmetrical hills
Well, even on the way to the hills, Vince was already mesmerized by the mere sight of nipa palm plantations in the town of Maribojoc, the haunting beauty and serenity of the blue sea along the coastal roads, the dense and undisturbed mountains in the municipality of Loon, and the long stretch of Indian trees on both sides of the road in Calape. Finally, he was blown away by the grandeur of the Chocolate Hills themselves. The sidelight of our day was when Vince scouted and haggled for souvenirs in the shopping booths at Sagbayan Peak. In one booth, the saleslady was trying to convince us to buy the locally manufactured hammock. She swore on the durability of the material and even dared the little boy to lie on the hammock and take a quick swing. The daredevil that he is, Vince politely obliged. As soon as his butt touched the swing, the string attached to the post snapped, sending him to the ground. Always a good sport, the young traveler let go of a big laugh while the embarrassed lady offered any item in the booth for free to compensate for her miscalculation
We saved the best activity for our last day. Vince’s ultimate goal was to let the smallest primate in the world rest on his forearm, and to cruise along the tarsier’s natural habitat, the greenest of all green rivers in the entire archipelago. The tarsier is an endemic species of Loboc and Corella, Bohol. Deep in the Loboc and Corella jungles, these nocturnal creatures thrive and roam free, away from man’s intervention. For tourism purposes, a few have been bred in captivity along the Loboc riverbank. With sticky appendages, these cute little "monkeys" can be mistaken for stuffed toys. The handler permitted one tarsier to rest on Vince’s forearm for a few seconds. The tarsier’s large brown eyes are perfect for hunting insects at night while its head, capable of rotating 180 degrees, can spot a prey behind it.
We took a boat ride along Loboc’s green river in the ardent hope of catching sight of even one tarsier in the wild. But they were so elusive that day that we failed to see one, though we suspected that somewhere in the ravines, pairs of large brown eyes were watching us and chuckling, "Hey, look at those idiots, they cannot see us!"
As much as the young explorer wanted to experience more of Bohol wonders, Vince packed his things, his two rolls of film, and bid us goodbye after four days in Bohol.
He has surely earned bragging rights to tell his classmates when school opens in June about his great summer adventures.