It had been several years since my last visit to the Loboc River. The latest visit was prompted by the unexpected arrival of Dr. J and his family, in Bohol for a day and a half to close out the Catholic season of ordinary time.
I was greeted by a whole new system on the Loboc River since the last time I visited.
The pump boat cruise port used to be a single outfitter that sailed from a rickety bamboo dock off the highway side fo the river, just below a souvenir shop that attracted gawky-eyed tourists with wide-eyed, catatonic Tarsier monkeys held hostage in a tentlike cage. [I'm digressing, and thank goodness it is now prohibited by law to keep the world's tiniest primate in captivity for commercial purposes.] This time I was quite awed to see an efficiently managed port nestled on the other side of the river, with a variety of shops selling Bohol souvenirs.
It was a wonderful setting for photographers of all ages and experience, like Dr. J's youngest boy...
... and Freda, a dainty young photographer who shot with a Nikon D60. "Just like mine!" I squealed with camaraderie when she showed me her camera.
While waiting to board our boats, we were entertained by soulful guitars...
While on the boat, we were entertained by a soloist singing tunes from Jimmy Buffet to Max Surban.
Even on the river itself, singers and dancers from seven to seventy years of age sang and danced for us.
The boats now are catamarans pushed by flat-hulled pump boats. As we approached our boat approached the other boats on the river, I noticed their names. Is it just in the Philippines where names are so far from originality? Riverwatch, as in Baywatch... Love Boat...
How long has the river's edge been retained by gnarly roots? I wonder.
What kind of nature-defying stunts will continue to crop up in this wilderness? The tiny, barely visible dots suspended on cables in the sky between the trees are people zip lines. I find it ironic that they wear helmets. What for? That's quite a long drop from the cables to the river... Just sayin'. Again, I digress...
Anyway, on to brighter thoughts. Like food. We ate like kings and queens on the river boat!
Don't let that glum face on Dr. J's second son fool you. We all had a great time.
I think we all had a great time. No? He looks like he's having a good time. Maybe.
After the river cruise, we all packed in our car like sardines, and headed for a refreshment for the more sophisticated connoisseurs of modern tastes.
The mall. Specifically Jollibee.
Time flies when you're having a great time!
