Under the summer sun in Aloguinsan
A little more than hour from Cebu City, zigzagging through a scenic mountain route, the town of Aloguinsan beckons.
This coastal town in the western Cebu offers a different kind of summer fun - in just a day. It includes a historic, cultural and eco-adventure getaway flavoured with lots of gastronomy.
A TASTE OF HISTORY
The Farmhouse in Aloguinsan gives one a taste of green culinary adventure. A modern day bahay kubo with "ang halaman doon ay sari-sari" as it boasts of not only an organic vegetable garden but also a livestock area, chicken coop, vermiculture and tilapia pond. It stands on what would have been the municipal hall complex but now restored inside-out to be the town's tourist information and pasalubong center as well as restaurant and training facility.
A snack pancit bam-i, salvaro bread and coffee made from corn served as our gracious welcome with Mayor Cynthia Moreno receiving us in her town. I was with Eugene Jamerlan and Boboi Costas, both advocates bridging Iloilo and Cebu through heritage conservation. And it was through Boboi, who also founded GrassRoots Travel that Aloguinsan came to my "geography."
Indeed, attractions were bursting all over. It was my first time to have seen a munisipyo and a palengke just meters away from a beach. And right behind the modern town hall was the Aloguinsan Baluarte, twin fortifications preserved and developed into a park on top of a hill with a picturesque view of the Tañon Strait and Negros island.
ECO-TOURISM ADVENTURE
The Bojo River Nature Reserve is the jewel of Aloguinsan. It's an experience of an authentic river village where locals protect the river at the same time operate the tour. A serenade of traditional songs welcomes guests to a big bamboo hut beside the river. Even more enticing was the lunch set before us consisting of pork humba, grilled tuna, native chicken soup, ensaladang puso ng saging with rice in traditional puso and an interesting mixed drink - ginger and lemoncito juice.
A backgrounder on mangroves and its ecosystem enlightened us followed by bird watching tips and tricks. After a hearty lunch, we set out on a trek along the mangrove forest. The nature reserve boasts of different species of mangroves which the local guides would identify during the walking tour along the 400-meter long boardwalk. The trek ends on top of a hill via the 150 steps carved on the hillside where a gazebo is set up overlooking the river landscape.
There's also a baroto tour along the Bojo River to get up close and personal with the river and the life therein. There you get to see the various mangroves, densely covered cliffs that used to harbour monkeys along the way and with luck, take glimpse of some of the 61 species of birds. It ends where two cliffs acting like sentinels guard the river when it meets the sea.
CULTURAL SURPRISE
But if the tides permit, the tour continues to the open sea and into the white sandy beach of Baybay Cove in Brgy. Kantabogon. Known as the Hermit's Cove as the legend goes but we were welcomed by a congregation. With folksongs, dances and leis created from local flowers and fruits, it was a gesture of that drew big smiles on our face
As a beach front community, the locals shared know-how on the coral reefs ecosystem for the village is home to an 18-hectare marine protected area which boasts of a multitude of fishes, corals, turtles and occasional butanding sightings
The tour also gave us a peek into their tradition as they demonstrated how to make sago. Through a folksong, they sang how they obtain the buli (buri), cleaned, pounded and sieved to get starch in making the sago. The remnants are then mixed with sugar and steamed to create a native delicacy called puto buli. Also served was another specialty dish called Inagta nga Manok. It is a cross between dinugu-an and ginata-an as pure chicken blood is mixed with the niyog shavings in order to extract the gata.
COMPLETE SUMMER FUN
We had to climb up the mountainside and trek a different path on our way back as the low tide made it difficult for us go back the same way. There we got to appreciate more of the scenic beauty of the place – beach below, the greeneries around, sea across and the sunset dominating the horizon.
Looking back, it was indeed a different kind of summer experience. In just 12 hours, we immersed ourselves in a culture not entirely our own but with similarities to what we know. We digested unfamiliar food but seemingly having a taste of home. We were entertained at the same time learned some valuable lessons. All in all, we had a different kind of summer fun, under the sun in Aloguinsan!
For more information about Aloguinsan, check out their website www.aloguinsan.gov.ph and Grass Roots Travel on Facebook.*
(The author blogs and shares more gastronomic experiences online at www.flavoursofiloilo.blogspot.com and www.facebook.com/FlavoursofIloilo.)
