Bohol Island, Philippines Experience
Mel Fonollera, blogger
Revised August 12, 2017
Bohol island is different from the other islands in the Philippines. It remains verdant and in pristine condition, as if untouched by human hands. Lush forest still covers the mountains; and along the shoreline thick mangroves abound as well. The green hues of vegetation on land and surrounding blue waters of the sea offers a feast to the eyes with enthralling contrast.
How is this wonder of nature's art even possible? With people living below, consuming natural resources to the brink of exhaustion. Nature as a resource, as always, is at the beck and call of man to be extracted as he pleases. That is not the case for Bohol. Imagine man and environment existing harmoniously side by side. That's only the view from the air, wait till you see what's in store when you travel inside Bohol. I only got to see two spots but it was worth seeing.
I dozed off when the plane left Manila. Then what seemed like an hour, I suddenly woke up from my sleep when the pilot spoke over the speaker and announced that the plane will be landing in Bohol within 15 minutes. I had the window seat so I took a peek outside. As the airplane approached the tip of the island, I saw the lush and green color of Bohol. I whispered to myself - is this real? I must be dreaming.
I was surprised because in most of my previous airplane trip, I always see sparsely covered mountains with streaks of open land as if looking down on top of a head festered with aloepecia. It was my first time to visit Bohol and I was mesmerized by the abundant colors of green.
We landed at Tagbilaran Airport on time. The airport was small unlike other airports in major cities. I noticed the surroundings are clean, people are friendly and laid back.
We reached the forum site late in the morning and the participants were already present. The organization that invited me aimed to provide capacity building in marketing especially for local government units to empower local organizations in Bohol to provide meaningful livelihood for their community members.
The forum lasted for a day and it was a bit tiring. I was told that our hotel accommodation was on top of a hill overlooking the famous chocolate hills.But it was dark and it was hard to see from outside the van.
Revised August 12, 2017
Bohol island is different from the other islands in the Philippines. It remains verdant and in pristine condition, as if untouched by human hands. Lush forest still covers the mountains; and along the shoreline thick mangroves abound as well. The green hues of vegetation on land and surrounding blue waters of the sea offers a feast to the eyes with enthralling contrast.
How is this wonder of nature's art even possible? With people living below, consuming natural resources to the brink of exhaustion. Nature as a resource, as always, is at the beck and call of man to be extracted as he pleases. That is not the case for Bohol. Imagine man and environment existing harmoniously side by side. That's only the view from the air, wait till you see what's in store when you travel inside Bohol. I only got to see two spots but it was worth seeing.
I dozed off when the plane left Manila. Then what seemed like an hour, I suddenly woke up from my sleep when the pilot spoke over the speaker and announced that the plane will be landing in Bohol within 15 minutes. I had the window seat so I took a peek outside. As the airplane approached the tip of the island, I saw the lush and green color of Bohol. I whispered to myself - is this real? I must be dreaming.
I was surprised because in most of my previous airplane trip, I always see sparsely covered mountains with streaks of open land as if looking down on top of a head festered with aloepecia. It was my first time to visit Bohol and I was mesmerized by the abundant colors of green.
We landed at Tagbilaran Airport on time. The airport was small unlike other airports in major cities. I noticed the surroundings are clean, people are friendly and laid back.
I was invited as a speaker on organic rice marketing forum held in Bohol Island in the Visayas in 2011. Our organization provided marketing services for community based enterprise. The organizer wanted to share our experience to community enterprises, the local government and academe in Bohol.
A rented van took us to the forum site which is inside a university that specializes in agriculture education. Along the way, I watched peacefully at rice fields and hills as we pass by each town. The van started negotiating the highway which meandered along the hill's contour.
I began to notice the vegetation thickening and we came to a stretch of rain forest that was left untouched and it was so beautiful. It was a mesmerizing canopy of green and sunlight filtering down in an enveloping revitalizing embrace. The locals said that what we are seeing is a man-made forest. Get real! When I examined it closely indeed it was secondary growth but nonetheless beautiful.
A rented van took us to the forum site which is inside a university that specializes in agriculture education. Along the way, I watched peacefully at rice fields and hills as we pass by each town. The van started negotiating the highway which meandered along the hill's contour.
I began to notice the vegetation thickening and we came to a stretch of rain forest that was left untouched and it was so beautiful. It was a mesmerizing canopy of green and sunlight filtering down in an enveloping revitalizing embrace. The locals said that what we are seeing is a man-made forest. Get real! When I examined it closely indeed it was secondary growth but nonetheless beautiful.
The forum lasted for a day and it was a bit tiring. I was told that our hotel accommodation was on top of a hill overlooking the famous chocolate hills.But it was dark and it was hard to see from outside the van.
Reaching the hotel there was a chill in the air. I immediately went to the restaurant and chowed down food prepared by the hotel kitchen staff. It was fairly delicious.After dinner, I went up my room and rested until I fell asleep.
I woke up early in the morning and took a stroll and "lo and behold" right before my very eyes I saw the magnificent chocolate hills from a panoramic vantage point on top of a higher hill and it was breathtaking. I imagined that it was chocolate (kisses) fashioned by God himself and laid it playfully across a green mantle for kids and adults to watch and gasp in awe at the sight of "chocolates" in front of them. This is another bonus to my visit to Bohol Island.
My visit to Bohol Island was memorable but unfortunately I didn't get the chance to go around the island. I hope that one of these days I can go back and enjoy it once again.
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