Torpedo!

By MA. GLAIZA LEE

Riders get wet and wild because water splashes are inevitable when the torpedo enters the thrashing current. (Photo by PINGGOT ZULUETA)

MANILA, Philippines -- It was as if the longest river in Samar had come roaring back to life.  Many years of incessant defilement caused by illegal logging damaged the natural ecosystem.  The river seemed lost, until the local government banned illegal logging in the area and introduced a different source of livelihood for the community.  Now, after hibernating for so long,   it is flowing vibrantly, greeting the tourists who mill around in its banks.  But the river has a secret, and she will reveal it to anyone brave enough to journey over her waters.

“Will our cameras get wet?” someone from a group of tourists voiced out everybody’s concern after the Samar Island Natural Park (SINP) eco-tourism section head finished showing them the presentation about Samar’s biggest reserve area and the newest tourist attraction, the Ulot River Torpedo Ride.

“There are definitely some water splashes. You can just put your camera above your head to avoid them. But just to be sure, you can put your gadgets in a plastic bag, or if you have a dry bag, that would be better,” said the tour guide, while handing black garbage plastic bags to anyone who needed them.

While some were busy securing their gadgets by wrapping them with plastic, or deciding whether they would bring them or not, others were excitedly wearing their protective gear such as helmets and life vests.

As the river waited for the tourists’ decisions, her thunderous cascades could be heard as far as the forested area, the sound harmonizing with the soft murmur of the gentle breeze. With such a play of contrasts, who would not be curious to discover where it was coming from?

And the adventure begins

From the park’s base, we walked towards the jump off point located in Brgy. Tenani. Waiting for us at the end of the road were dug-out wooden motorized canoes without outriggers, which the locals call torpedo.  Actually, Torpedo is also an acronym for Tour guides and boat Operators for River Protection and Environmental Development Organization.

Before riding the boat, the tour guides gave us a run-through and a briefing on safety rules for the adventure. “Bawal pong ilabas ‘yung mga kamay sa bangka. Sa loob lang po ang hawak. May mga bato, sanga ng puno, at kung anu-ano pa na pwedeng makasugat o makadisgrasya. Lagi pong isuot ang mga helmet at life vest para sa protection,” said the guide.

After the briefing, the guide told us where to sit, and in what order as the boat needed to achieve balance. Each boat can only carry five tourists, excluding the two skilled boatmen who would navigate the torpedo on the river.

Considered the longest in Samar Island, the 520-kilometer river is a part of the 87,000-hectare Ulot Watershed running across the 11 towns of the province. Long before national cemented roads became the main transportation route, the river served as the nautical highway for trading products and transporting people to and from Samar and Eastern Samar.

The whole watershed is located inside the protected area covered by the Samar Island Natural Park (SINP), an area considered to be one of the country’s top botanical diversity centers. The SINP’s total land area is about 330,300 hectares, with a buffer zone of 125,400 hectares, encompassing 36 municipalities in the three Samar provinces – Samar, Northern Samar and Eastern Samar.

Saving lives

SINP eco-tourism section head Agelito Villanueva recalled the river’s colorful history when it used to be a hotspot for illegal logging. And that is not surprising. The natural park is home to over 1,000 species of plants and trees(53% endemic), along with 38 species of mammals (50% endemic), 215 species of birds (55% endemic), 51 species of reptiles (69% endemic) and 26 species of amphibians (52% endemic).

Most of the people living around the area used to engage in deforestation and logging as their means of livelihood. One of our tour guides, Adrian Igdalino, even shared that he used to haul illegally-cut logs and sell them for a meager price. When the government stopped illegal logging  and turned the river into an eco-tourist destination, the locals were trained to become tour guides and boatmen for the Torpedo Ride. Adrian was one of them.

Because the people have a new source of income, they stopped their illegal logging activities. They are now earning more from being tour guides than from hauling logs. They now even work in a much safer environment.

“The project is a good example of a community-based sustainable ecotourism livelihood generation. People in the community have benefited from being service providers of the tour,” said Department of Tourism-Region 8 director Karen Tiopes , who stressed that the Ulot River Ecotourism Loop is a model of successful collaboration among tourism stakeholders such as people’s organizations, local government units and the Samar Island Biodiversity Project of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Since it opened last November, the river has drawn nearly 300 local and foreign visitors. With the opening of the Eco-Lodge, built at the SINP rooftop, that number is growing – and for a good reason. The Torpedo Ride provides not only an adventure, but a glimpse of a rich and healthy forest ecosystem.

The downstream ride

Our adventure began on a stretch of calm water, one of the few smooth sailing portions we would experience. The torpedo glided smoothly on the clean, clear water. Lush green forests, featuring various fauna and flora, surround the river.

At one point, we saw a beautiful kingfisher flying just above the water, toward a tree’s branch which was hanging over the river. Far ahead were several small waterfalls, the bubbling of which sang a soft lullaby.

Then, calm water was interrupted by the first rapids, one of the 27 rapids we would experience throughout the whole adventure. We would cover a distance of  over 10.5 kilometers for the Downstream Ride and another 10.5 kilometers for the Upstream, in the span of (more or less) two hours.

The torpedo entered the thrashing current. The first rapid  had a grade standard of 2.  The bangkero smoothly maneuvered the boat out of the river hydraulics. It was followed by a rapid with a small drop that required significant steering skills from the boatman.

Sometimes, it seemed that the boat would turn upside down every time one made a move.  But the boatmen were so adept and dexterous.  The first bangkero was responsible for the motor and steering the boat in the right direction, while the boatman sitting up front paddled with such vigor when the going got a little tough.

Sometimes, the torpedo got uncomfortably close to some jagged stones jutting out of the river.

There was even a time when the current took the torpedo dangerously close to a sheer rock wall. In between two boulders was a stiff curve that could smack the boat against another rock. And just when we thought we would crash into the huge boulders, the boatmen summoned all their immense power and strength to paddle away from it, and let the torpedo glide through.

Getting wet was inevitable. Imagine, riding the Log Jam or the Roller Coaster, but in a small scale. In some parts where the river ran shallow, we disembarked and walked across the big boulders while the boatmen pulled the boat back into the water.

The Downstream Adventure ended in a sumptuous feast of crabs and fish amidst  nature’s beauty, with the sound of the flowing river playing like party music with the thick virgin forest as the backdrop. And while you’re at it, try jumping from the rock cliff into the gushing water and ride the current. Don’t worry about the water taking you all the way down because the guides would set up a rope across the river which the tourists could hold on to, just in case.

Going against the flow

If the Downstream Ride is exciting, the Upstream Adventure is a bumpier, more challenging route because the torpedo would be going against the water current. If the boatmen get careless, the boat could crash into some interesting geological features in the river.

The sound of the motor resounding in the river grew louder as the upstream path got steeper and steeper. We sometimes would plunge into a maelstrom and ride waves to progress, exploding through the white water before drifting into the calm pools. At one time, the boat had to be lifted and pushed by several boatmen to move ahead.

Expect to get wet at this point as water splashes are more frequent. And watch for the “Salmon Run,” a huge splash in the shaped of a salmon.

And at the end of the whole Torpedo Ride Adventure, the river reveals her secret --- a thrilling ride through nature’s wonders that keeps your blood pumping and the endorphins running for a very long time. And perhaps you can also say that, like you, your camera has survived it all.

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