The Golden Boat of Mulao

By far, Mulao has been the most intriguing place in my list of spots in Liloan. Yes, despite the fact that we spent 2 hours wading in the river and climbing rocks, I still find the place worthy of some thought.

First, the boat-shaped stone. Even if it is perched precariously on two rocks separated by a 2-meter space and the fact that the two bases are cracking under the boat's weight, the stone maintains absolute and perfect balance. I think I've heard Charlie say that the stone has remained despite strong currents and flash floods from the mountains. Wonderful, and wonder-inspiring.

Mulao, however, is not only known for one boat. The place has stories of another, more awe-inspiring boat.

They say that in the river, once in a while, there floats a golden boat. I didn't get the details of this story because I was just catching snippets of talk from our three tour guides, so busy was I trying to take a photograph of the boat-shaped stone. What I remember clearly is the fact that the golden boat does not take lightly to anyone witnessing its passage. One resident of Mulao who had been blinded years ago would say that the last thing he saw was a glistening golden boat floating in the river.

Scary, isn't it? This boat is the least severe of them all, I think, since I remember a comment in Swerver's Multiply saying that, in the Davao River, a golden boat that appears only to drunks swimming in the river will kill whoever sees it.