Chocolate Hills (Photos by Jeroen Hellingman,www.bohol.ph)

Gloomy weather and dark skies threatening to break into a drizzle welcomed us when we arrived in Tagbilaran City, the capital of Bohol. It was a refreshing and welcoming break from the scalding temperatures back in Manila, but I was so not looking forward to be rained on in this southern province that is known for its pristine, white-sand beaches to rival that of Boracay. But okay, had it not been for the balmy breeze that the weather bestowed us with that day; I might have felt awfully bad.

Life’s a beach

Fortuitously though, the sun granted our wish soon after we had settled in at the resort in Brgy. Dao, Dauis, Panglao Island. Called Flushing Meadows, the resort is a 25-minute ride away from the airport and seaport of Tagbilaran City. It has been operating for three years now and offers a breathtaking view of the Mindanao Sea and Pamilacan Island (where dolphins and whales are mostly spotted) from an elevated standpoint. It is built along a white-sand beach marine sanctuary and on an island bound by corals and rocks.

According to the resort’s sales and marketing manager Abigail Galguerra, the 1.8-hectare playground-resort was named after the sprawling park in Queens, New York, which is home to the US Tennis Open. She said that since the owners of the resort are hardcore tennis aficionados themselves, naming their business venture was a no-brainer.

Central to its theme of showcasing everything that is related to the sport, the resort’s rooms and executive suite are named after famous male tennis champs such as Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, and Andre Agassi, to name a few. Meanwhile, the function rooms are identified as tennis female players such as Venus and Serena Williams.

It’s getting hot in here

Never mind the humid and sticky air or the scorching weather that greeted us on our second day in Bohol. That’s what we had asked for in the first place. Well, we were more than ready to bask in the southern island province’s almost always sunny weather condition.

Situated in the Central Visayas region, Bohol is the 10th largest island in the Philippines. To its west is Cebu, to its northeast is Leyte, and to its south, across the Bohol Sea, is Mindanao. It is surrounded by 75 minor islands. Only separated from Cebu by a narrow strait, Bohol shares the same language with the Queen City of the South, but the Boholanos still sound distinct from the way Cebuanos converse.

The island is the ideal getaway for summer, for its climate is generally dry. Mang Bert, our tour guide and driver, said that their province is rarely struck by typhoons. Also, its interior is relatively cooler than the coast. The sun, however, still caught us when we decided to tour some of the province’s famed landmarks and attractions. And believe me…the sunglasses and the copious amounts of sunscreen didn’t help one bit.

Of friendship, a man-made forest, and limestone hills

Our first stop for the day was the Blood Compact (or Sandugo for pag-iisang dugo) site in Tagbilaran. It marks the location where Datu Sikatuna, a native chieftain, forged a blood compact with Don Miguel Lopez de Legazpi as representative of Spain. The historical event took place on March 16, 1565 and is considered the first “Treaty of Friendship” between Europe and Asia, between two different races, cultures, and religions.

Crafted by National Artist Napoleon Abueva, a Boholano himself, the bronze sculpture standing on a raised dais features five life-sized men gathered around a table with Sikatuna and Legazpi supposedly making a toast. Looking at it closely, you would notice, though, how Sikatuna’s image seems to be holding his cup in an errant manner.

Twenty kilometers from Tagbilaran is the Bilar man-made forest. It is a two-kilometer stretch of densely planted Mahogany and Narra trees located in the border of Loboc and Bilar towns. On either side of the road, you will only see thick green foliage gloriously growing straight up towards the sky. Actually, the trees’ branches and leaves almost obscure the sun’s rays in the area. It’s as if a huge green canopy has been put there to cover the blue heavens.

It was a national reforestation program launched in the 1960s under the Marcos administration that gave birth to the man-made forest. It required students to plant three seedlings after graduating.

Past the town of Bilar is Carmen, where the celebrated Chocolate Hills can be found. There are 1,776 hills spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometers. The tourist attraction and a National Geological Monument is a rolling terrain of conical karst (a landscape shaped by the dissolution of layer or layers of soluble bedrock) hills made from grass-covered limestone.

One can view the hills on an observation deck located in the Chocolate Hills Complex. The view deck is 210 feet above the ground and can be reached by climbing 214 steps. During dry season, the hills turn from green to chocolate brown — now transforming the area into seemingly rows upon rows of “chocolate kisses.”

Of floating restaurants and the tarsier

The town of Loboc is home to the winding and tranquil Loboc River. It is in the river where early inhabitants of the province made homes.

Guests and locals can either go on board small motorized boats or floating restaurants, which is a large platform supported two banca hulls, to take a scenic and windy cruise along the river. All floating restaurants dish out Filipino cuisine and local delicacies at a pocket-friendly price (R280 per head). As the boat takes off, the buffet begins and music from a local band wafts in the air.

On our boat, the band played “Imagine” by Beatle and rock demigod John Lennon. The music set the mood right. Throughout the cruise, I can’t help but think I was in nirvana or a place close to it.

Things got even better when we arrived at one of the semi-wild tarsier enclosures in the province. But apparently, since the nocturnal creatures have been known to injure or kill themselves when stressed, we didn’t get a chance to hold them.

The cute brown ochre fur balls known in the country as maumag are about the size of a human fist and will fit comfortably in the human hand. Currently, the local government is keen on keeping the Philippine tarsiers safe in their natural habitat.

Sun-kissed

Our tour ended with us all tired, sweaty, probably a pound lighter, and definitely darker. Feeling filthy from a day’s worth of exploration, we were raring to go back to the resort, satiate our thirst, take a cold bath, eat a decadent meal, and sleep the good sleep.

But the minute we stepped into our rooms, I couldn’t help but feel sad. Maybe it’s the solitary ambiance of the island (Panglao meaning mapanglaw or malungkot) or the exhaustion. However I figured that the sadness came, knowing that we’re bound to leave the almost always sun-kissed paradise. Yes, I am perpetually sentimental like that.

For more information on Flushing Meadows, you can visit its Manila Sales office, located at the 6/f, Zeta Building II, Building 191, Salcedo St., Legaspi Village, Makati Cit, call 892-4961, or log on to www.flushingmeadows.com.ph.