Azure, Verdant and Fish! Balicasag and Alona in Bohol

March 28, 2007

When I went there, it was not the perfect season for vacation people but there are a lot of people that went to the 10th largest island in this side of the planet: Bohol.

It was Day 2 of our Bohol vacation and my team mates are preparing for the day with the sea.

Dol-FIN watching

So early in the morning, as our team departed to the sea from the powdery white sand beach of Alona in Isla Panglao, after packing up something to munch of and taking pictures. And the motor banca stopped and there was silence. 

Bohol Sea is part of the whale's and dolphin's migratory route and habitat and so therefore there are many passers-by here. Between the island of Panglao, Balicasag in the west and Pamilacan in the east, the dolphin watching was a thing to get entertained, but to our dismay, the only thing that we saw are few dolphins with their fins the most visible.

Native fishermen once hunted these marvel of the sea for their meat. Yet eversince the media in Manila opened up this issue, the fishermen stopped slaying these gentle creatures and turned into subsistence fishing and now Bohol's top industry, eco-tourism.

Paradiso Mar: Balicasag

After that dolphin watching and rocking with the waves and the deep blue sea, we head on to the island with a parola on his head. Named perhaps form a specific type of crab that was abundant back then: Balicasag. One of the country's declared marine sanctuary, the main scene that made Balicasag famous is not on its shores but below the water.

Balicasag is a city of marine proportions. Fish and sea creatures here there and everywhere. The color was azure and the water is clear. It was a sight to behold.

We went their unprepared and no reservations with the PTA-owned resort but with the help of the local residents who are hospitable enough to accept these estranged visitors from the city, we had a sumptuois meal of fish and kilawin. Yum yum! Fresh catch from the sea.

The sun is blazing on a windy habagat breeze, the sky was clear, and we had satisfaction on our faces. Manong Bangkero (boatman) asked us if we wanted to go to a certain place named "Virgin Island" which is near mainland Panglao but for an additional fee. We agreed, it was early to go back to the resort and paid an additional P500.

As we left Balicasag Island, people who are into snorkeling and diving multiplied off-coast of the island. It was one in the afternoon. And we were off to this certain island that is isolated and uninhabited.
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March 27, 2007

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LA RUTA ILONGGA: JEEPNEY TRIPS SERIES

September 29, 2006

 Tagsa-lugar nga maagyan, may istorya nga makit-an.

May be the shortest jeepney route in Iloilo City but it do pass some historical landmarks that are significant in the national history. Starting from the Parola or the lighthouse of the mouth of Iloilo River and ends up in Iloilo’s Terminal Market or locally called "Supermarket". The jeepneys may not be as attractive as those of the other routes but its serves as a shuttle from the port area towards the city center.

Streets passed by this route:
Muelle Loney-Zamora-Rizal-Iznart-DeLeon and back (all within city proper)

Sa Lugar lang (Landmarks along the route)

Parola y Muelle Loney
Starting from Parola, the place where the Iloilo-Buenavista (Guimaras) ferry terminal is at. The lighthouses are the port guides at the mouth of Iloilo River, both of its banks have witnessed ecstasy and agony in history. The Muelle Loney served as the lifeblood of once Queen City of the South. Opened to international market in 1855 and pumped by sugar economy, it made Iloilo the second most important city in the country by the late 19th century and all the way towards the Commonwealth era before the recession of the sugar economy. The wharf was named after the "father of the modern sugar industry of the Philippines", Nicholas Loney, a British Vice-Consul who introduced modern technology of sugar industry that skyrocketed Iloilo’s economy in the late Spanish era. It has witness the diaspora of Ilonggos and Panaynons to Negros, Mindanao and other places in the 50’s.
Today, remnants of Iloilo’s glorious past is manifested. Old establishments in contrast with modern cars and sleek catamarans. The Aduana watches over the river wharf, and  still is a vital infrastructure to the economy of Iloilo.


Muelle Loney and the Aduana*

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Ang Pagsamo ng Esmeralda

August 28, 2006

Puti at tago. Birhen pa sa mata ng madla. Salat sa komersyalismo at tila napag-iwanan ng panahon. Berde, puti, kulay bato at bughaw ang tanawin. Singtamis ng mangga ang mga mamamayang namumuhay ng masaya’t simple kahit sila’y salat sa buhay. Paraiso: Kalikasan at simpleng buhay. Buhay na waring sa sarap ng mangga at paraisong maituturing. Alaala ng aking buhay sa Guimaras. Ngayon, bahid ng mantsa ng kapabayaan na hindi kasalanan ng mga tagapag-alaga ng Matamis na Esmeralda ng Kabisayaan.

Animo’y isang malayong lugar ang Guimaras sa madla. Kung tutuusin, aakalain nila na malayo ang lugar na ito. Di tulad ng kanyang kapatid na si Boracay na niyurakan ang kagandahan nito’t inalipusta at sobra na sa promosyon, ang tahimik at mala-birheng baybayin nito ang tunay na nakapag-akit sa mga Ilonggo at pati na ng taga-ibang bayo ng Pilipinas ay pumupunta dito. Berdeng berde kung titignan mo sa malayo, tila isang malaking salungat sa kaharap nitong lungsod. Pagtawid mo sa makitid na Kipot Iloilo, ibang mundo ang iyong mararanasan.

Ang Matam-is nga Esmeralda sang Kabisay-an

Ang Isla ng Guimaras ay isa sa pinakabatang lalawigan sa bansa. Humiwalay sa inang lalawigan ng Iloilo noong 1992, ito’y nagsikap na tumayo mula sa kasadlakan nito na napabilang sa 20 pinakamahihirap na lalawigan sa bansa.

Itinaguyod nito ang sektor sa agrikultura, ang taniman ng mangga. Pinaniniwalaang "Home of Philippines’ Sweetest Mangoes", 8,000 ektarya ng isla ay inialay sa pagsasaka ng mangga. Dahil sa kalidad at tamis ng mga mangga, monopolyo ng Guimaras ang pag-luwas ng mangga sa Amerika. Bawat aspeto ng lalawigan ay nakalaan sa agrikultura at pangingisda. 

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Digital Regionalism

July 29, 2006

I’ve never been so frequently online since I was new with Friendster or blogging, but with Skyscrapercity.com and Dinagyang.com on my desktop, there’s no stopping me from posting in these online forums.

Different from online chats, which will need immediate reply like an ordinary conversation, online forums have been there eversince and I was just getting a hang of it as of this time. I like it, because the exchnage of ideas from different sides of the world converge in such forums such as mentioned above and the likes of PinoyExchange an other forums.

  The online forums became the venue of updates from every corner of the country, which is likely to see OFWs or expatriates in the forum, getting updates from the home oceans away.

I’ve enjoyed it but sometimes astonished by the degree our regionalism in our country is as deep and as wide as it can be.

I was shocked at the degree of how hard bickering is in the SSC before because it was between Filipinos versus Filipinos! Shocked! Sibling rivalry? Pataasan ng ihi or whosoever has the highest pride or what.

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