Bojo River: The Secret Hideaway in Cebu

In the island of Cebu there is one amazing river that exist that is not yet  popular among the usual visitors of the island. This river is located in Brgy.Bojo, one of the 15 barangays of the Municipality of Aloguinsan, and only  59 km south of Cebu City.

This beautiful river is being managed and protected by the BAETAS or Bojo Aloguinsan Ecotourism Association, a local people's organization  (PO) in Aloguinsan. The PO was created in June 2009 to operate a livelihood project through eco-tourism  and being highly supported  by the local government unit  and the Department of Tourism.

Empowering Women

The association is composed largely of women as the front line in promoting the place since most of the men in their barangay are not around during the week days working for their common day job which is fishing .The men participate usually on weekends during their free time.

Bojo has a long rich history and had been silent for so many years.

Inside the BAETAS Center, women operate and directly supervise the day to day operation. They even do the actual paddling of the bancas as guide of the tourists visiting their place. 

The members of the association received proper trainings and enough knowledge on ecotourism and on the concept of biodiversity and protecting the environment in general. That was the first time I encountered an association in which all members can speak fluently about the value of biodiversity and its importance to human existence. 

They can easily spot species of plants and animals  that even I failed to recognize in a single sighting. And mind you, the members can give the scientific names of those organisms in an instant snap without hesitation. I was simply amazed the way this organization had managed and  educated all members and made them contribute in the simple means they can.

The Royalty Effect

Picking up our favorite dish prepared by the BAETAS

Our trip in Bojo was actually a  summer escapade of my friends and colleagues from Pasig River Dredging Project. It was also timely to be at Bojo River because we were seeking new ideas and thought we can learn from the  actual experiences and challenges faced by the people of Bojo. We were hoping we  can apply or suggest some knowledge and concepts gained from this trip on  the future activities of Pasig River Rehabilitation Project.

Arriving at the site, we were greeted by the locals of Bojo with matching laces made from gumamela twigs. We felt like we were some kind of celebrity and realized how a true VIP person really feels like given with that kind of attention in which for a few moments I really did embraced and savored  pretending to be one .

They have a receiving area in a form of an open hut  where we were served immediately with coconut drinks    with gumamela on top  as our refreshment.

After a few minutes of rest, we munched on the freshly prepared food we requested prior to our arrival. It was truly a different experience for city dwellers to have a taste of the "probinsya" type of dishes freshly caught from Bojo and from the nearby coastal areas.

While we were eating, a group of folk singers suddenly hit the strings of the famous Cebu guitar and serenaded us with their traditional folk songs. Sang in visayan dialect, some of us hardly understood the lyrics so we asked the locals to make an interpretation in Tagalog. Hearing the actual and interpreted message of the song  lead to burst of laughter after learning what the lyric was all about. Holding a copy of the lyrics, we even jokingly sang together with them, bringing the house to  more of laughter and out of nowhere the singing  turned into some kind of a scene in a  comedy bar .

After doing some little fun with our bisaya singing trip, they informed us that prior to our Bojo River Tour, we needed to receive a lecture first on the ecological status of the river just like anybody else.

We Got Schooled!

Equipped with tarpaulins filled with drawings and pictures,they provided us information on the diversity of various plants and animals that can be seen in the area.They proudly presented that the mangrove forest in Bojo is totally protected by the people as they believe that the mangrove served as a nursery for thousands of marine species that  fuels the fishery industry in the locality which is  the primary livelihood of their barangay.

I was awed as well with the number of bird species that shelter in their barangay . During the lecture, they even made mentioned of the rare Black Shama that resides in the nearby Mt. Alcoy, Cebu and the interesting Philippine Bulbul (don't laugh! it is a beautiful bird, ok now you can laugh). According to them, these species of birds are very important as it take part in the intricate web of interactions in the ecosystem.

Row Row Your Boat!

After the environment-friendly nurturing lecture, we set sail towards the river . I was astonished to discover that the paddlers were all women and not a single man was on board to guide us. Ate Jemalyn their president that time assured us that these women were all trained and knows the river better that anyone else.

Rowing slowly in the cool bluish green river placed the Loboc River of Bohol into shame. Bojo is a river guarded with pristine mangrove vegetation ranging from Nipa (Nypa fruticans), some Bruguiera gymnorrhiza , Rhizophora stylosa and Avicennia sp.  that were all properly recognized and identified by the paddling tour guides(nose bleed!). 

As we moved and paddled forward, I realized that river was actually an ecotone or an area where two major ecosystems meet. It was  the site where fresh water and the marine water combine, creating a new type of habitat suitable  for specific type of inhabitants. 

The meeting of fresh and salty water in other places usually produce a brackish turbid type of water due to  the turbation, causing the upwelling of the bottom silts and other deposits,  resulting to increase in water turbidity. But  in the case of Bojo River, the supposedly brackish  water  turned so clear and bluish in color instead. It only proves that siltation in the river is successfully being prevented by the dense riparian  vegetation particularly the mangrove forest.

We even witnessed thousands of fish fry that were swimming in queue towards the pneumatopores of the mangroves, seeking refuge  against from its common predators. Pneumatopores are the protruding roots growing upward instead of downward for the purpose of breathing . YES TREES RESPIRE TOO!

Looking at the river,I felt like I was charmed that I jumped into the crystal clear water of Bojo without any warning. The water was so deep that you won’t be able to see the bottom of the river bed.  Reaching  the mouth of the river we got more enchanted with the grand  scenery of the sea. It was a paradise and no words are enough to describe it. Both sides of the river has cliffs with grandeur rock formations accentuated with unique flora growing on its walls.

Weave it Tashey!

Natasha weaving a Filipino traditional mat or banig

The river tour lasted for about an hour, and upon  return, the BAETAS personnel provided us with a little snacks. While taking a little break, the folks brought in a sample of handicraft known as banig or a sleeping mat. 

They gave us an actual demonstration on how to weave the traditional banig. It turned out  that weaving the buri  threads in  creating a unique pattern on the Filipino traditional  sleeping mat was very fun and addicting for art enthusiasts. Patience and love of work are needed to perfectly create at least a meter length of the Filipino traditional mat. The task was a back cracking activity for those who has no love and interest on art. Ahemm! 

Witnessing how difficult it was to create a banig gave me a sense of appreciating the common Filipino mat being sold in the local market. From then on, sleeping in the banig has  never been the same as I always remember the skin cracklings hand of the banig makers just to finish a single mat.

The whole experience in Bojo River gave us a new insight on how a river should looked like in which  very far from the current condition of the Pasig River we were  working on during that time .

More to that, it gave me an additional pushing confidence that  sustainable ecotourism in the Philippines can  be achieved and  economic development  can progress without sacrificing much of the remaining natural resources.  The place was truly a perfect getaway to have some fun while learning to appreciate the environment at the same time.

I would like to give my thanks to my friends and colleagues who tagged me in this trip : Natasha Dawn Roscom-Dideles, her bana CJ and sister , Ruth Ramos, Maricris Elemos, ErnestineVelasco , Elaine Velasco and  BF,and  Theresa Aranas. I dedicate this article to our Pasig River Multi-Partite Monitoring Team or MMT Memorable (not memorial) Days.

L-R: Ruth, EJ,Natasha,Terey,Lovemindanao,Maricris, BF GF (Elaine), CJ (Natasha's bana)

 (Note: Most of the pictures are borrowed from them and no copy right infringement intended)

Getting There

Aloguinsan can be reached by commuters. You can take a bus bound for Toledo at Cebu South Bus Terminal Station. The fare is more or less Php 80.00. The travel time is approximately 1.5 hours. Tell the conductor to drop you at the Municipality of Aloguinsan . Take a tricycle bound for Bojo River with fare of Php 15.00 per head. Just tell the driver that you are visiting BAETAS or Bojo River. You will be greeted with matching gumamela laces by the women of Brgy. Bojo. I suggest seize and embrace that moment.

River Tour Package

Php 630.00/head	Inclusive of Lunch, snacks, welcome drinks, lecture, river tour and handicraft demonstration
Php 300.00/head	Lecture and River Tour only

For reservation/information

Ate Jomalyn :     +63 926 490 6670

Kuya Rodney:    +63  905 913 3055

Daghan Salamat BAETAS!

This is my entry to the Pinoy Travel Blogger (PTB) Blog Carnival for the month of September 2012 with the theme "Visayas Round Up" hosted by "Pinoy Explorer"  Ding Fuellos

Click on the PTB logo to check on the other  carnival themes and posts

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