Why travel!

After many years of being stay at home people, my family and I have recently jumped at every chance to be “domestic tourists.” While we certainly enjoy the adventure, I‘ve also learned or discovered issues and concerns that tend to be forgotten because they are simply far from the seat of government.

Recently, I went to Bohol without any idea about our destination and itinerary. It was enough that I was with my wife and daughter, and that we were going on a fun trip with friend and columnist Andrew Masigan, his wife Sandee, their daughter Amanda and mother-in-law Deedee Sytangco. Between the seven of us, I was certain that there would be no dull moments.

I suspect that Andrew did not share my enthusiasm, or the prospects of being holed up with six equally strong-willed and opinionated travellers, because at the last minute Andrew and his entire family came down with the flu.

Ultimately our trip “organizer” Pete Dacuycuy, who has spent many years helping and promoting various hotels and resorts around the country, stepped in to save the day. No one even thinks about it, but Pete’s work is certainly crucial because he links the industry with the media which is how new or emerging destinations come to be known of. With individuals such as Pete, not only do hotels and resorts get exposure, they also save a lot on what otherwise would be an expensive and continuing necessity.

Once again the Beltran trio flew off to Tagbilaran airport, rode a van for a 35-minute trip to the Bluewater Panglao Beach Resort. If the name sounds familiar it’s because Bluewater Panglao is the third offering from the same company that built Bluewater Maribago Beach Resort and the Bluewater Sumilon Beach Resort in Cebu.

Building on its heritage and reputation, the 10-month-old Bluewater Panglao offers the same class of facilities and services that loyal customers have come to know in Cebu. You know it’s first class when the girls go gaga over the five-star bathroom and fight over who uses the centerpiece bathtub first. The bedroom had ample space for an extra bed and a crib that was mistakenly prepared for an infant, and the main attraction was the “floating bed” which had no legs but lay on top of 3 horizontal beams bolted into the wall.

With the help of Addie Gallares, our host and resort manager, we soon discovered Bluewater Panglao’s attraction. To begin with, the resort’s design is clearly a design statement that incorporates form and function as well as nature. The 54-room facility, its two free form swimming pool and its Aplaya Restaurant are beautiful as well as functional. Everything was elegantly simple.

If you love plants and gardens, I have to warn you that Bluewater Panglao has one of the best well laid out and cared for gardens I have seen. Considering that the resort is by the sea their choice of plants and mix of colors show that a lot of thought was put into the project.

The next day we took the “countryside tour” of Bohol. I was initially wary of the trip because I was never impressed by pictures of the Chocolate hills, bug-eyed prototypes of Yoda called tarsiers, and having lunch on another floating tourist trap up and down a river. However I’ve also learned to go with the flow and found out you’ll learn something new.

The roads and highways in Bohol are better paved and better made than Metro Manila. I learned that despite of all their claims, the three big radio stations of Metro Manila can’t be heard in Bohol. Driving all over Bohol we learned that Bea Zobel Jr. has been actively encouraging the people of Bohol to preserve the many old but beautiful houses in the province.

We visited the ancestral house of the Clarin family and it was only then I learned that the Clarins produced the first governor of Bohol, 2 senators and a mayor. I learned that Baclayon church is considered the second oldest in the Philippines. We drove through a man-made forest 3.5 kilometers long and 857 hectares big and felt like we were somewhere in Japan or the US. So many tourists both foreign and local actually stopped for pictures proving the cult saying: if you build it, they will come.

When we reached the area of the Chocolate Hills, I was awed before we even got to the observation deck where you climb some 214 steps that also served as a free checkup of your state of health. All the photos I ever saw of the Chocolate Hills have not done justice to the real thing. The only difference was that in the rainy season, they are not chocolate but “Greenhills,” still they are a sight to see.

When we visited the tarsier conservation farm, we were led by a guide through a one-hectare enclosure where every morning they spend an average of three hours searching for 8 tarsiers so guests won’t waste time looking for them. You can’t touch them but you can take pictures. That in itself is the great challenge — to walk away with a prized shot.

Once you get to the famous Loboc River, pay attention to the Loboc Tourism complex. The place is very organized, large, air-conditioned, provides free wi-fi and short term use of two computers for tourists to check airline and boat schedules, bookings or upload photos. When you cruise through the river, you discover that the four-kilometer stretch of the tour is all lit up because Carlos Chan of Oishi and Ben Chan of Bench reportedly donated the funds.

By the way, there are so many foreign tourists in Bohol, especially divers. They obviously know something many Filipinos don’t. Discover Bohol!

* * *

E-mail: [email protected]