Ormoc

Gone Native in Ormoc 

A BAMBOO RAFT, MORE LIKE A FLOATING COTTAGE

Really, glides serenely on the dark water of the guitar-shaped Lake Danao, cited as the Cleanest Inland Body of Water in Region 8 for three consecutive years. There are no motorized vehicles of any kindb allowed here, so the still­ ness is only broken up by birdcalls, a paddle slicing into the water on bancas carved from a single piece of hardwood, or the hushed conversation on the next raft, where a family of five is grilling a lunch of saltwater fish and salt­ encrusted pork.

Lake Danao

Ormoc

In the silence, my own thoughts seem to sound much louder. What are those? Beneath the glassy surface, a mysterious form twists below. My friend and tour guide, Kenneth Enecio, watches me bemusedly and answers, "Treetops." The gnarled  forms are the tops of full-grown  trees submerged in the 148-hectare lake's deep water, so deep that  urban  legends  of expert divers never  making it to the bottom (or back to the surface,  for that  matter) abound. Like all dark lakes, it also has its own legend, in this case, the casili, a giant species of eel that locals believe claims lives below.

Photo and Article Source: Mabuhay Magazine (PAL)