BEYOND BOHOL'S CHOCOLATE HILLS, LESTER V LEDESMA FINDS MAGIC IN THE LITTLE SEEN MANGROVES
PHOTOGRAPHY BY LESTER V LEDESMA
This isn’t quite what you’d expect from an island-paradise like Bohol. Immediately ahead of the road is a thick mass of foliage that seems very much like the deep, dark jungle of lore. It stretches out to lord-knows-where, a familiar sight to those traversing the island’s coastal highway.
To us non-locals, however, this looks like the woods we were warned not to enter – that wild, uncharted region on the map where people seem to get lost in (or worse, get eaten!). These are the mangrove forests of Bohol – and believe it or not, they are probably the island’s best-kept secret attraction.
INTER-TIDAL ZONE
Now, before you start thinking about machetes and man-eating creatures, here’s a comforting piece of advice: the boonies are not as scary as they look. People have, in fact, been living here for as long as anyone can remember.
Mangrove forests are swamplands that lie along the shoreline. In scientific lingo, they are habitats that grow in the saline coastal environments – the so-called “inter-tidal zone” where meandering rivers meet the sea.
Blessed with an abundance of nutrients, they host a unique eco-system teeming with life. Here in Bohol (and in the rest of the Philippines, for that matter), these dense swaths of mud and stilted plants form a stark contrast to the classic tropical scenery of pristine white sandy beaches and swaying palm trees.
Fortunately, you don’t have to travel far to get a glimpse of these forests. Just head for the shore – chances are, you’ll come across one. Being the country’s 10th largest island, Bohol hosts thousands of acres of mangroves, many of them providing livelihood for entire communities of Boholanos. It’s quite surprising that few visitors think of exploring these riverine jungles. With their unusual part-land part-water environment, they have just the right conditions for a memorable adventure.
GETTING SWAMPED
For an adventure to be worthy of its name, of course, you’ll need a bit of effort to find it. From the provincial capital of Tagbilaran City, head for the village of Panadtaran in the town of Candijay (pronounced “Kan-dee-haay”), located on Bohol’s eastern coast. It’s a lovely 90-minute drive past stunning old Spanish churches and rural countryside scenes. You’ll notice how far you are from civilization, the closer you get to this sleepy little community.
Barangay Panadtaran feels like a world away, with its narrow dirt roads and bamboo houses, and is the perfect place for a mangrove expedition. The Candijay Mangrove Adventure Tour is a tourism outfit that is run by the local residents and offers half-day guided walks into the forest.
Demetrio Olivar, a retired school teacher, meets me at the Panadtaran Visitors Center. With great enthusiasm, he explains how this grassroots program came about.
“Our mangroves were once in danger of being cleared away,” he notes. “Landowners wanted to cut the trees to make room for fish ponds – until the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) started a community-based forest management program to protect nature. This was the result of that.”
A FOREST TRAIL
Demetrio then takes me through their eco-trail. From the roadside, we follow a footpath that takes us down a pretty rice field and into the mangrove forest. My guide provides a running commentary on the jungle and its inhabitants as we go along, narrating things like how the Tabige tree made its way to the Philippines via the Krakatoa eruption of 1883, or how the country’s capital, Manila, got its name from the Nilad tree, which grows in large numbers throughout the archipelago.
Also interesting is how this forest provides food and raw material to the locals. Here, we encounter village folks gathering everything from bamboo clams to mud crabs and fish.
There’s also the wild Nipa palm that grows in thick groves –its leaves are harvested and used for the construction of the traditional Filipino home, the bahay kubo (nipa hut).
These are all taken in sustainable amounts, mind you, in accordance with the group’s mandate to preserve the mangroves and inform others of its value to the community.
The Candijay mangrove eco-tour is a truly eye-opening look into an environment that is more often feared than understood. Thankfully, there are others like it elsewhere in Bohol.
SAIL AWAY
On the west coast, in Buenavista town, there’s the Cambuhat (pronounced “Kam-boo-hat”) River and Village Tour, which has been taking eco-tourists to the mangroves since 1999.
Mardonio Aparisi, a local guide, picks me up with his boat by the riverside and wastes no time in revealing the highlight of their program: oysters – loads of them, growing on rows of wooden racks at the water’s edge.
“This is what we are known for,” explains Mardonio, as he proudly holds up a string of these tasty molluscs. The water that flows down the Cambuhat River, as it turns out, is ideal for oyster farming.
“They like it here so much that they grow just about anywhere!” he continues, adding that in the wild, the molluscs grow on the tall, narrow roots of the mangrove trees.
Not surprisingly, the Cambuhat eco-tour includes a sumptuous lunch made from local ingredients. This means oysters, of course, as well as grouper fish and freshwater prawns – a testament to the bounty of the mangrove habitat. Should you wish to see how extensive these forests can really get, make your way to Banacon Island off the nearby town of Getafe (pronounced “He-ta-feh”, it’s an hour-long boat ride from the Buenavista pier), where decades of growth and cultivation have produced Asia’s largest man-made mangrove forest.
SIGHTS AlONG THE WAY
These are sights to behold: vast impenetrable tracts of tall, stilted mangrove trees arranged in clusters and crisscrossed by numerous waterways. You row through these avenues on a paddleboat, watching herons and kingfishers flit by amidst the branches.
Underwater, blue crabs share the space with edible seaweeds and multi-colored fish. It’s a fascinating journey into a world that lies just a few meters from shore!
You can also enjoy a similar experience – this time from the comfort of your car – at Pangangan (pronounced “Pang-ga-ngan”) island, which is separated from the mainland by a four-kilometer-long causeway surrounded by thick tracts of mangroves.
On a road like this, one can easily feel rather overwhelmed by the sheer presence of the jungle.
Stop for a picnic on a stilt cottage at the scenic Lawis Marine Park, which is located right on the mangrove forest. As there aren’t any establishments here, make sure you bring your own food if you don’t intend to fast or go hungry.
They farm lobsters here as well. Gawk at the impossibly huge clams at the Lomboy Giant Clam Reserve, a mere stone’s throw from the Isla Hayahay Resort. These creatures inhabit this area in the dozens, growing to as much as a meter in diameter, and are a nationally protected species (sorry, that means you won’t be allowed to eat them).
A SECRET TO BE SHARED
By the time your last tour of the mangroves ends, you probably can’t help but wonder why visitors haven’t been coming here in droves. But with this much natural beauty in them, they surely won’t stay a secret for long.
GETTING TO THE MANGROVES:
The towns of Candijay, Buenavista and Getafe are all off the beaten tourist track. Getting there via public transportation may be a bit inconvenient, but not impossible.
Should you wish to commute, make your way to the V-hire (these are the marginally air-conditioned vans plying inter-town routes) terminal in Tagbilaran City. The dispatcher will happily point you to the right vehicle to take.
When you arrive in town, a habal-habal scooter can take you right to your final destination. The most efficient way to get around Bohol, however, is to rent a car, which costs around PHP2,500 (US$50) per day, including driver.
The mangrove tours mentioned are run by local villagers on a part-time basis, which means visitors must book at least two days in advance. The Bohol Provincial Tourism Office (Ground Floor, New Capitol Building, General Marapao Street, Tagbilaran City, tel (38) 411-3666 and (38) 501-9186) can handle all tours and transportation bookings.
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