Lost in Mindanao

I was only able to post this now, now that I'm back in the US. Our connection at home was dialup and we know how long that would take to upload pictures.

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I was on my way home from the airport last Thursday after a weeklong sojourn (July 2 to 6, 2006) in Davao City and Camiguin with friends from way back while I was still working in the Philippines.

In Davao, we stayed at this cozy nook called Manor Hotel, although understandably we spent more of our time touring the place.

Introducing the gang: BBC, me, Francis, Raks, Chris, Rey, Jay, Rico, Ace, Sheng, Frankie, Noreen

First stop was Eden Nature Park. I swear I had absolutely nothing to do ownership of the place, notwithstanding the name of the place.

We wasted no time enjoying the whatever-you-call-this, although it wasn’t a cinch figuring out how to get onto these hanging seats.



It wasn’t really a choice between going to the Eagle farm and going to the Orchidarium. When you think of Philippine Eagle, you’re supposed to think Davao anyway. That’s how we found ourselves here at the Philippine Eagle Center.

Where, you might ask, are them eagles? A paragraph about eagles is better enhanced by a picture of the eagles than by people gawking at said eagles, you might add.

Personally, I just thought it was damn too gay a thing to go to the Orchidarium, although Il Hong swears we should have gone there instead (San Francisco must have affected him “that” way… too bad). By the way, Hong is a friend from way back, who’s also on vacation from his studies abroad. But unlike me, his airfare was funded by his school (lucky bastard) because he’s supposed to do some serious shit in relation to his international developmental economics schmuck.

Me and Hong

He also requested that this picture showing him holding me this way be shown here as well. Yes folks, San Francisco really did affect him in a certain way.



The second day in Davao was spent lazing around Paradise Island. They sure do know how to name their places of interest, because it was just so easy to let go of your worries when you’re there. Now, I do know that places like this are among those I would miss terribly when I go back to dear ol’ West Laf.



I simply had to take my picture taken at Ateneo de Davao. I thought I’ve been to all currently existing Ateneos – Manila, Naga, Cagayan, and now Davao – when it dawned on me I still have to see Ateneo de Zamboanga and Ateneo de Iloilo.

Fortes in Fide. Strength in Faith, if I'm not mistaken.

And then we’re off to Camiguin. It was an overnight bus ride to the port.

Yes, this is Camiguin. The signboard on the upper left is by Gov. Jose Ma. Zubiri Jr.

Being able to roam around aboard and stretch our tired limbs was a welcome respite from the previous night’s sleepless travel.

Will kill whoever took this. Next time.

Orson, our guide from last year in Camiguin (with Ateneo friends this time), fetched us in his handy-dandy blue van. That the a/c went bonkers was a blessing in disguise, since after using our God-given talents at haggling, we were able to lower his fee from Php6000 (USD10 at PhP10 to the green buck) to PhP4000.

A day without work. Priceless.

Mount Hibok Hibok wasn’t too far away.

Yes, it's the one at the back.

It was promptly followed by a splash at majestic (this adjective is too cliché) Katibawasan Falls.

Demonstrating the power of BBC's Sony Cybershot.

That night, we had fun at Ardent Hot Springs.

I'm not breathing!

We did intend to wake up early, supposedly at 5:30 am just so we could see the sunrise at White Island. But it wasn’t meant to be, since we preferred seeing the sunrise in our dreams. Still, we had lots of fun enjoying the view and the blue waters.




No boatman was available to take us to the marker of the Sunken Cemetery.



Just close by are the ruins of an old church destroyed by a volcanic eruption.



A cold spring was next on the itinerary.



Our last stop was atop Mt. Vulcan. Different stations of the cross dotted the pathway. ‘Twas a good workout, totally needed what with the sedentary lifestyles most of us are living. The view on top was a welcome bonus.



And just when we were ready to call it a night, we just couldn’t resist the call to go back to the hot springs (thank God they close at 10 pm).

We left early Thursday without being able to talk to the resort manager and give her our payment. I swear we could have left off without being caught, but either we believed in karma, or we were not one to leave behind a bad mark to our blessed Mindanao sojourn. What for, when everything was going so great!

Orson: second from left (dude in black)

We had time to waste in Cagayan de Oro.

Noreen and Rico let loose at SM.

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I was with former officemates from Azeus on this trip. I hate them because were it not for them, I would have saved so much more, especially since I’m short on resources since I don’t have income this summer.

However, I’d also like to thank them, because even though the places we went to were fantastic (geez, I make it sound like this is a bad thing), they continue to show me that it’s not so much what you do or where you go which matter, but who you do things with!

And that's priceless!