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This underground cave is
beautiful but mysterious
By June Navarro

THE CAMERA won't click. The negatives are blank.

Someone has yet to unravel the mystery surrounding the Hinagdanan Cave in Dawis on Panglao Island, Bohol.

Situated 15 kilometers west of Tagbilaran City, this sleepy town has at its heart a man-made spiral ladder that leads to an underground cave of enigmatic beauty.

Inside the cave, one will find stalactites and stalagmites dimly lighted by fluorescent lamps along a strip ushering visitors to a reservoir of crystal sea water.

Streaks of light coming from the upper left corner of the ceiling brighten the obscure part of the cave, luring visitors and residents alike to take a dip in the cool 10-foot-deep waters.

The light sifts through two wide holes which were accidentally struck by a farmer while tilling the land after World War II.

Little did the farmer know that right below the piece of land is a geographical treasure waiting to be discovered--a subterranean cave with converging stalactites and stalagmites.

Town residents have since made it a landmark and taken pains to preserve it.

But the mystery remains: Visitors cannot capture in pictures their moments inside the cave.

For no obvious reason, the film becomes only a transparent strip of plastic. Worse, the camera itself refuses to function.

Of course, Bohol offers other wonders. Along the rugged highway leading to its center, one will notice a two-kilometer stretch of densely planted trees.

The trees, almost uniform in height, were planted diagonally on each row, conveying an impression of conformity. Their long branches stretch across the road in that part of Bilar town, about 20 kilometers off Tagbilaran City, projecting a rain-forest ambience.

''Panagsa lang musubang and adlaw diri kay siging mag-uwan. Siguro tungod kini sa baga nga kakahuyan (The sun seldom shines in this part of town, and most of the time it rains, maybe because of the dense trees),'' said Ayen Tagle, a native of Bilar.

But the man-made forest on the long and winding road serves only as an appetizer for the main course, so to speak--the majestic Chocolate Hills.

Residents of Buenos Aires in Carmen, Bohol, have become accustomed to seeing tourists and other visitors trekking on the slopes of the Chocolate Hills.

It has become a way of life for them to offer room to visitors curious to see if a view of the hills actually match the photographs and postcards at bookstores and souvenir shops.

But the visitor will most likely see the hills as nothing more than mounds of earth randomly scattered across the Carmen plain.

Still, their uniqueness puts them in a cut above the rest of the country's wonders.

The legendary Chocolate Hills can be viewed atop a particular hill, presumably the highest.

This hill was built as a resort to provide visitors an overview of the whole scene as well as the heady feeling of being not only at the center of Bohol but also at the top of the world.

Another reason to visit Bohol is the church of the Immaculate Concepcion, one of the oldest churches in the Philippines.

Upon entering the church, one can virtually smell the antiquity within, starting with the walls and floor.

Built in 1596 and later affirmed as a parish church in 1717, it was one of the structures built as a result of the blood compact between Datu Sikatuna and Spanish conquistador

Miguel Lopez de Legaspi in 1565.

The shrine immortalizing the historic blood compact stands on the shores of Bohol district, also in Tagbilaran.

Facing the white-sand beaches of Baclayon town south of Tagbilaran, the church walls are made of coral and limestone coated with egg whites (which, in the olden days, served as ''binder'' and cement overlay).

The church survived the ravages of various wars, but not without a miracle.

During World War II, a loose cannon ball struck an image of the Holy Family displayed inside the church. But the image barely manifests any damage except for the shattered glass which protects it.

In between these landmarks, white-sand beaches and enchanting waterfalls abound in Bohol--added perks to an already gratifying venture. The visitor who chooses to spend a day or two there will emerge rejuvenated, freed of the weariness caused by metropolitan living.