When I texted kuya tatsky for the first time, he already knew that I was a teacher. He told me that our trip will be an "educational" one. He said that not all that is written in the textbooks are factual. Ok, so we will be having two blood compact sites. I got it right away. There will be this actual site and a "touristy" site.
Fast forward to our "actual" tour, we went to the Actual Blood Compact site right after our tarsier encounter Kuya tatsky told us the story of the site. How the local government commissioned a group of Archeologists and Historians to research about the original site. How they found a manuscript that accurately stated the location of the site. How the said site, according to what is written, is sandwiched between two rivers. How "Sandugo" is really getting two to three drops of blood (by incision) from the chest of Rajah Sikatuna and Miguel Lopez de Legaspi. And how in 2005 the National Historical Institute recognized the site as the real one. I told kuya that he can be a professor or historian in Bohol with his knowledge about their place.
We headed to Loay, a town in Bohol, about 17 kilometers from Tagbilaran City for the site. It is right beside the the main highway and one would expect that it would be flocked with tourists having their photo ops (expectations again?!hehe), but it's not. It's just a regular Sunday for the locals, doing their usual stuff. There were no souvenir shops and the like. It's just a plain historical site but one will feel goosebumps while entering the site. The serenity of the place is really dramatic. And the simplicity is the best asset of the site. No gimmicks, no frills. Goosebumps.
There were no guards, no entrance fee, no tour guide. You just enter and explore the place on your own (we're really lucky to have kuya tatsky who really serves as our guide all throughout). This was not the case before. The former local officials were enthusiastic in promoting the site. There were shows like the Sanduguan re-enactment and take a photo with them after. There were some souvenir shops and you can wear outfits for photo ops.
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| former administration (source) |
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| current administration |
Spot the difference? Ok, so politics will be a future post. Let's leave that issue. Whether or not they support the site, we should all be thankful that someone initiated the search and we are now gifted with the actual site. It's free and right beside the main highway (you won't miss it) so you SHOULD drop by here and feel the serenity of the place.
nyay! di naman nakita to.. pero sinabi nga ni Kuya 'Tour Guide/Driver' namin na hindi actual site ng blood compact yung famous tourist spot nila.. hehehe! dapat makita to next visit sa Bohol.. i heart Bohol! =)
ReplyDeletehi rem! mas dramatic daw kasi ang view dun sa momument site.. hihi..
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