Sugarland Bacolod!

Bacolod is famous for Masskara Festival, a Mardi-Gras of painted faces and masks that attempted to reverse the lull in this sugarland when the industry was down. I hate the crowd of festivals, thus Bacolod was not in my radar until work brought me there, and boy to say I fell in love is now an understatement. Let me name the reasons:

Nostalgic Silay, where the old meets the new and the high-so.goes eco. What am I talking about? For one, the new airport is in Silay, while downtown is lined with a lot of beautiful ‘bahay na bato’ (some loosely translate this to ‘old Spanish houses’). One of which is Balay Negrense, a house fit for a sugarcane plantation landlord, now turned into a museum. The church and its rich history is also quite an attraction. If you have time and stamina, climb your way up the mountainous Patag (not flat at all) where there are beautiful waterfalls and a mysterious lake. Visit the tourism office in front of the church for more information. My favorite nook, however, is not in the city proper but in the outskirts called Balaring, where a 700-meter bamboo bridge takes you into a dense mangrove forest. Balaring is synonymous to seafood feast, too!

Going to Bacolod from Silay, you might as well drop by the hidden treasure of Talisay: the Ruins. This skeleton of a house is getting more and more popular these days. It is hidden deep inside a vast sugarcane plantation (which residences are slowly eating up). The building is as intriguing as its romantic story and tragic ending.

Bacolod City is the capital of Negros Occidental. Like any metropolis, it has shopping malls, call centers, posh hotels and traffic. But what I love the most about Bacolod is the food!! And the people, classy, friendly. Don’t miss the museum and the organic market in the city.

Tucked away in the mountainous region of Negros is a place called Mambukal where hot sulfuric water springs eternal. Take a dip, while communing with nature in this lush park. Aside from the hot springs, the place offers overnight cottages, too, as well as other attractions like butterfly garden and kayaking lagoon.

And what’s Negros without going to the beach? Go to Carbon Reef or down south to Sipalay.

Visit OISCA Bago Center to shop for silk and mulberry jam; and

Squeeze in a trip to a sugar mill, too, I tell you, it’s unforgettable!

www.cebupacificair.com flies 7-8 times daily from Manila (and Cebu), while www.philippineairlines.com flies 4 times daily from Manila. 

No Mountain High Enough

At 73, Nelly Dunlao has never been to the mountains. She grew up by the sea. With her children all grown up now and have their own families, Nelly spends most of her mornings cleaning the shores and picking up mangrove seedlings. She is the oldest member of a group called Balaring Mangrove Planters Association (BAMPA) in Silay City.

In her younger years, Nelly would recall how her family and neighbors worried about the water washing away their houses to the sea. This is not the case anymore, after their association has succeeded planting mangroves along the shores of Barangay Balaring. This is not the only benefit of the mangroves. Mud crabs and other harvests from the sea is boosting livelihood in the village. Today, Balaring is synonymous to a sumptuous seafood dinner in Silay City. Nelly Dunlao plants mangrove trees in Balaring.

A Japanese non-governmental organization (NGO) named Ikaw-Ako (Tagalog for You and I) played a big role in the development of Balaring. “Bago dumating ang Ikaw Ako, wala pang restaurant dito. Ngayon mga pito na (Before Ikaw Ako came, there was no restaurant in Balaring. Now there are about seven.),” Barangay Chairman Joy Doromal attested.

In 2007, JICA partnered with Ikaw Ako for a three-year mangrove reforestation project, not only in Balaring but also in other parts of Negros Island. This included the towns of Ilog, Hinobaan, Cauayan and Sipalay. Now, Ikaw-Ako and the people of Silay are ready to bring their success to the next level. On October 1, Ikaw-Ako and the local government of Silay City embark on a new environmental project, this time in the mountainous part of the city, a barangay called Patag.

In Tagalog, Patag means flat; but Barangay Patag is anything but flat. The village sits on rolling hills more than 400m above sea level. According to Mari Kurata, Project Manager of Ikaw Ako, the project site was chosen to demonstrate the harmony of ecosystem from the mountain to the sea—the latter being the site for the previous project. “They are connected,” Mari added.

Nelly, along with beneficiaries of the previous project, will learn from this new undertaking the relationship between the environment in the mountain side and by the sea. Environmental education and ecotourism goes hand-in-hand in this new project.

Experts say that cordoned off tourist routes are passé, as more tourist desire to be part of the places that they visit, or at least leave something good behind. With this trend, the city tourism office and the people of Patag are on the right track; through this project, Ikaw Ako will help them create a system where visitors and students can participate in watershed reforestation while enjoying their stay in Patag Like water flowing from the mountain to the sea, Ikaw Ako will see to it that knowledge about taking care of the environment trickles down to the people of the community. Ikaw Ako likewise counts on the support of the Department of Education in Silay City, to incorporate environmental education in the high school program. An aggressive info campaign to be led by the city government, through its tourism office, is also set.

And as for Nelly, she did not expect she could visit such place as Patag; but through this project, she just did. It is people like her and experiences like this that make the success of grassroots projects doubly meaningful.