CXVII. Visita Iglesia (Plus) Bohol II: A Dive(rsion) into the Loboc River

After the Baclayon Church, our group’s itinerary was quite literally a change of scenery.  For about half an hour away, a river boat cruise awaited us in Loboc, about three towns away.

The boat quay was very near the Loboc Church, and we lined up to cross a gangplank to board a boat that had been reserved for us.

These purpose-built river boats were rather interesting – they were long and wide bamboo-floored platforms

mounted on pairs of flat-bottomed metal rafts.  With an arched and thatched roof,

the entire structure was not only respectable-looking but also comfortable for its passengers.

The advertised purpose of this diversion on the river was supposedly to take a mid-afternoon snack.  After all, the river boat was labeled a "floating resto."

So that’s what we obediently did – we dug in to our packed food and drinks.

However, the modest quantities of victuals provided did not take long to consume.  Which we did not really mind, as we realized that we had been unmoored from our position at the quay, and, with the help of two outboard motors attached to the rafts underneath, had slowly crept upriver.

And because the river boat was open on all sides, we had unhampered views all around.

As an authentic rural kid forcibly transplanted into various urban settings throughout my by-now-not-so-short life, I was grateful for this opportunity to just be in this remote place, and I snapped away at everything in sight, in all directions,

even if there was little apparent variety amongst the various shots.  Still, this was something that I could hang on to even after we left this place, so I kept snapping away.

There were settlements at various places along the river, some modest,

others slightly bigger,

still others, newer and grander.

In a few moments, we had approached a smaller raft perched right on the water surface on our starboard side,

that was fully-laden with numerous individuals, surprisingly yellow-clad despite this being outside the political season.

It turns out that this was a community song-and-dance group that had been waiting for us, part of our programmed entertainment for the afternoon.

The program lasted several minutes and consisted of various well-sung traditional Visayan songs, accompanied by folk instruments, and with lively and well-choreographed dancing.  We showed our appreciation by dropping our financial contributions into wooden boxes that had been engineered to be mounted on long poles and thrust upwards into our river boat.

We then continued our journey upriver, which meant that I could continue to snap away.

On some sections could be seen riverside paths that were thoughtfully lit by pole-mounted electric lamps, which might make for an interesting after-dinner promenade for visiting urban tourists.  Or even rural-folk-at-heart like myself.

In a few minutes, the banks had turned rocky

which indicated that we had reached the head of the river

where mini-waterfalls emptied from the hills to the northwest

and fed the current.

At this endpoint, our skippers therefore engineer a wide U-turn

to send us back downstream.

The afternoon sun is somewhere behind us now.

And it shines less brightly as it gets hidden by the trees and hills that sustain the river.

We pass by the folk-singing raft again, now at portside, and now empty of its performers.  No reprise or encore appears to have been arranged for us.

We keep going,

until we finally sight our home quay in the distance to the left,

and get ready to disembark.

This near-hour-long Loboc riverboat cruise had passed too quickly for my taste, and my rural sensitivities had not been sufficiently reawakened, I felt.

For good measure, therefore, should I have the means in the future to put my arms and legs where my heart and mind might be, I saved this snapshot from somewhere upstream.

Over one and a half hectares might sound positively vast to urbanites, but us rural folk know how to put it to good use.  Even if it might not be to work the land, as it were, but only to lie in the shade of a different tree each God-given day.

Originally published on 12 March 2011.  All text and photos copyright ©2011 Leo D Cloma. The moral right of Leo D Cloma to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted.

Original comments:

thecorsarius wrote on Mar 28, '11 i must say, i enjoyed the virtual cruise, sir leo!

rally65 wrote on Mar 28, '11 thecorsarius said i must say, i enjoyed the virtual cruise, sir leo! Thanks for the appreciation, Phillip.

anen21999 wrote on Mar 28, '11 Bilin mo na.

rally65 wrote on Mar 28, '11 anen21999 said Bilin mo na. Saka na lang, kapag pa-retire na ako.

anen21999 wrote on Mar 28, '11 Now na.

anen21999 wrote on Mar 28, '11 Tapos, imbitahin mo kami. Hhahaha

srivaulx wrote on Mar 29, '11 1.5 hectares in the province - that's just about right. I always thought that if I had the chance of owning a lot like that, I'd put up a wee cottage, raise a pet chicken or two (seriously, I could never kill and eat anything I'd raised!) for the eggs; maybe even a sow and sell the piglets. I'd have a veggie garden, a herb garden, and an area where local flowers can run riot - to heck with formal gardens, this is the province, yo! *grin* A bunch of fruit trees in a corner of the property, maybe just one of each: mango, chico, avocado, papaya (ok, maybe two of these). But the one must-have on the property are the night-blooming flowers: dama de noche, rosal, champaca, jasmine and sampaguita. I grew up with the fragrance of jasmine and sampaguita in our house, and the dama de noche down the street was a glorious thing to smell on summer nights.

rally65 wrote on Mar 29, '11 srivaulx said 1.5 hectares in the province - that's just about right. I always thought that if I had the chance of owning a lot like that, I'd put up a wee cottage, raise a pet chicken or two (seriously, I could never kill and eat anything I'd raised!) for the eggs; maybe even a sow and sell the piglets. I'd have a veggie garden, a herb garden, and an area where local flowers can run riot - to heck with formal gardens, this is the province, yo! *grin* A bunch of fruit trees in a corner of the property, maybe just one of each: mango, chico, avocado, papaya (ok, maybe two of these). But the one must-have on the property are the night-blooming flowers: dama de noche, rosal, champaca, jasmine and sampaguita. I grew up with the fragrance of jasmine and sampaguita in our house, and the dama de noche down the street was a glorious thing to smell on summer nights. I think that your planning is far more advanced and detailed than mine will ever be! Why not go for this yourself?

arcastro57 wrote on Mar 30, '11 I took this river cruise. Don't you just love the singing? At mukhang me choreography na ngayon! This is a great local tourism idea! Wish we could do this for Pampanga River.

rally65 wrote on Mar 30, '11 arcastro57 said I took this river cruise. Don't you just love the singing? At mukhang me choreography na ngayon! This is a great local tourism idea! Wish we could do this for Pampanga River. Yes, the entire performance was top-notch. Let's get them on Glee! Seriously, this community really takes their tourism business seriously -- quite admirable.

johnada wrote on Apr 4, '11, edited on Apr 4, '11 They take their traditions seriously, per other Bol-anons. I think they still do the brass band concerts in the plaze on Sunday afternoons. They mostly play showtunes as they don't use musical sheets. Maribojoc claims to have the bigger, longer river (whatever, lol) and was planning a river cruise too. However, the river is chokeful of nipa palms.IT does have a painted church ceiling. Loboc is pronounced like lobo in tagalog.

rally65 wrote on Apr 4, '11 johnada said They take their traditions seriously, per other Bol-anons. I think they still do the brass band concerts in the plaze on Sunday afternoons. They mostly play showtunes as they don't use musical sheets. Maribojoc claims to have the bigger, longer river (whatever, lol) and was planning a river cruise too. However, the river is chokeful of nipa palms.IT does have a painted church ceiling. Loboc is pronounced like lobo in tagalog. The famous Loboc Children's Choir also gives a free Sunday afternoon concert in the church once a month, I think.