Loboc, Bohol, the Philippines
May 30, 2004 and April 2, 2011
The lead star of the Visayan-language film Panaghoy sa Suba (The Call of the River) got me at the opening credits. With apologies to (actor-director) Cesar Montano, the languid Loboc River stole every scene it was in. But before the film’s release at the end of 2004, I had already seen its titular star up close and personal during a trip to Bohol.
Busay Falls, Loboc River in 2005
Loboc and Bilar, Bohol, the Philippines
April 2, 2011
What’s a cross between a marmoset (a furry monkey so tiny it can fit in the cup of your hand) and a gremlin (that 80′s movie critter with huge protruding eyes, long bony fingers, pointy ears, and upturned lips)? Throw in a good measure of Yoda and you’ve got the cute mascot of the province of Bohol – the tarsier.
A Tarsier at Kanipaan Kingdom in Bohol
The tarsier, endemic to Bohol and its neighboring islands in the Philippines, is among the smallest primates in the world. It is known to do a Linda Blair in The Exorcist – a 360-degree head rotation, minus the vomit. Like a gremlin, it is nocturnal and highly sensitive to light. Exposure to the noontime sun can be fatal. But unlike a gremlin that multiplies asexually when wet, the tarsier is very fragile. Exposed in the open during a thunderstorm without any leaf cover, the tarsier can die from pellets of raindrops. Continue reading
