Summer is here once again and as a starter, I get the chance to get out of Cebu and explore the most beautiful city of the country -- or so as the airport says :) -- Davao. Well, the truth is, I haven't really been to any other cities except the ones in Cebu and I must say, Davao is indeed beautiful! I'd never seen a cleaner place!
We stayed there for 5 days during the holy week. Our flight was very early -- 5:00AM. I immediately passed out when we got to our hotel room :)
I took some photos in the plane as well. Of course, I chose the window seat -- I wouldn't miss it for anything.
When we arrived at the airport, a big durian statue greeted us :)
We haven't really been to a lot of places since we've only been there for 5 days (less airport time), but we managed to explore some of the best spots of the city namely, People's Park, Eden Nature Park & Resort, Jack's Ridge, and Costa Marina in Samal Islands.
* * * T H E P E O P L E ' S P A R K * * *
The place we stayed in was just near the "center of civilization" -- in other words, restaurants, coffee shops, mall, casino, and convenience stores are just a few minutes away. At the center of all these buildings is Davao's very own, The People's Park. I must say, the park is world class! It's like the Central Park, only smaller (okay, waaay smaller, LOL). It's sooo clean! They even have security at their gates where you need to be inspected first (bags, frisked) before you can enter. You also need to deposit your pens and markers, one way of preventing vandalism on the park.
There were a lot of larger-than-life statues which depicts day-to-day activities of the native Davaoenous in the past and as well as in the present. Here's one that shows children playing the "
karang", a long pole made of bamboo or any kind of wood with a mounting step on it wherein children (as well as adults) could climb on to these steps and use the karang for walking (kind of like the ones used in a circus). I know! Kinda dangerous isn't it? But this 'toy' had actually been used for decades by Filipinos especially during fiestas.
Here's another one showing people carrying baskets filled with fruits and vegetables, one indication that the Philippine soil is perfect for vegetation.
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| I wanted to pretend that this is heavy but, oh well... |
This one shows fishermen with their bountiful harvest. Davao and General Santos are popular for its tuna-rich waters :)
This one is actually a lamp post, with creative designs in it. Again, the design is all about day-to-day activities of Davaoeneous (or Filipinos in general).
More statues...
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| The carabao and its farmer. |
And here's The Great Philippine Eagle. It's the national bird of the Philippines and the world's largest eagle. Yeah!!!!!
This one here shows people playing local musical instruments such as kumintang, guitar, flute, etc.
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| From afar... |
This one shows children playing by a river.
On one side of the park is a walk full of pine trees and cypress.
Now why don't we take a look at the rest of the park...
The park is so beautiful as well during the night --- with romantic lights by the pond and colorful lights by water fountains sprung from the ground. Too bad I wasn't able to take more pictures --- it was raining by the time we got there and when it stopped, they were already closing.
* * * E D E N N A T U R E P A R K A N D R E S O R T * * *
The next day, we went to Eden Nature Park and Resort. It's quite far from the city, since it's a mountain resort. Measuring about 80 hectares of land, it has a lot of fun-filled activities and facilities such as horseback riding, mountain trail, aviary, fishing village, playground, 3-on-3 basketball court, swimming pool, pinoy games, campsite & camphuts, souvenir shop, trading station, amphitheater, and flower garden, deer park, etc.etc!!! :). It even has it's own all-you-can-eat restaurant which serves fresh organic vegetables straight from their own garden.
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| Bahay Kubo |
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| Amphitheater |
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| Taken at the steps of the amphitheater |
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| Umbrella-shaped gumamelas. |
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| By the rainbow path. |
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| Again, the famous carabao. |
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| Playground |
My favorite is Indiana Jones wherein you get to sit on a rope tied on one end of some kind of a thick metallic string and be propelled to the other end. It's really fun!!!
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| Can't get enough :P |
But if you're the daredevil type and looking for a much more exciting version, you gotta try the "skyrider". It's just like the Indiana Jones, only you get to be like a gazillion feet above the ground!!! Being an achrophobic, I didn't take any chances and just stayed on the lower ground and took pictures and videos :)
Too bad I wasn't able to ride a horse coz the ranch already closed by the time we got there :( Instead, I only get to ride this kind of horse (lol). I've always wanted to try though. Maybe next time, hopefully there still is :)
* * * C O S T A M A R I N A B E A C H i n S A M A L I S L A N D S * * *
Of course, a summer wouldn't be complete without the beach!
This is what I like about this beach. It has trees with wide shade lined up near the shore so you could work up your tan without having to suffer with too much sun exposure ;)
* * * J A C K ' S R I D G E * * *
We were going home the next day so we didn't had the time to relax after the beach --- we went ahead to Jack's Ridge, another mountain resort but smaller and much nearer to the city. It's like some of the mountain resorts in Busay, Lahug. It has it's own restaurant and coffee shop. It was already night time when we got there so the lights overlooking the city were just spectacular!
It says: "Unbelievable as it may seem, the land you are standing on was under the sea millions of years ago. These taklobo shells right here at Jack's Ridge are silent witness to Davao's watery past." Unbelievable and amazing indeed! Considering Jack's Ridge is on top of a mountain.
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| The Amphitheater as seen from the top. |
* * * G O I N G H O M E * * *
Of course, no matter how beautiful the place you went to, there's still no place like home :)
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| A shot of the moon as seen from the plane. |
Enjoy your summer guys! *
muwah!*
Camotes is a group of four small islands (Pacijan, Poro, Ponson, and Tulang) located at the northeastern part of Cebu...
We immediately ate when we arrived (we haven’t had breakfast since we departed from Danao, Cebu at 7am). Mangodlong didn’t really have a big shoreline but the beach was great! Powder-like sand! I was actually planning on jumping directly into the water but my friends would still want to tour the island so we relaxed for a while as we waited for the transportation. They’re not actually the swimmer-by-day type ‘coz they’re afraid their skin would get dark ;-)
And then we went to Lake Danao. The lake was breathtaking! So serene and peaceful! It was said that there’s a crocodile farm nearby which kinda spooked us a bit. LOL!
After the lake, we proceeded to Bukilat Cave at the town of Tudela. The cave wasn’t really that big, however, it was my first time to enter such so it was really a big deal for me, hehehe! It was really dark inside except for the natural light source at the center.
Lastly, we went to another resort in Poro town. They said that it was where they shoot the film of Vhong Navarro, forgot what it’s called though.
It was nearing 5pm when we headed back at the resort and when we arrived, our breath was captured by the mesmerizing beauty of the sunset! Such stunning blend of red, orange, yellow and black. It was perfect!
When the sun has finally set, my friends had also finally given up resisting the temptation of the beach. The water was really refreshing owing to the fact that the half day tour of the island had literally dumped our faces with sand and dust =)
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