Showing posts with label travels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travels. Show all posts
Discovering Surigao: Cast the anchor! Swimming time at Bucas Grande Island!
After arriving at Tumi beach resort on Bucas Grande Island, part of Surigao, we took the bangka to a abandoned area near some shores and casted the anchor!
We jumped right in the water that cast a spell over you with its splashes of vibrant colors and cool shades.
It was swimming and diving time for everybody! #yolo!
Read also: Discovering Surigao & the beauty of Tumi Beach Resort on Bucas Grande Island!
We jumped right in the water that cast a spell over you with its splashes of vibrant colors and cool shades.
It was swimming and diving time for everybody! #yolo!
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| "The Bord'z" |
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| beautiful fresh water |
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| The lovebirds |
Discovering Surigao & the beauty of Tumi Beach Resort on Bucas Grande Island!
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| from: Bucas Grande to: Siargao Island (by Google Maps) |
Background info:
Bucas Grande Island is popularly known as Socorro. It is a lone island municipality in the province. It has a total land area of 12,445 hectares holds a count of more or less 20,000 inhabitants. These inhabitants have settled in 14 barangays of the municipality namely: Barangays Don Albino Taruc, Navarro, Rizal, Del Pilar, Dona Helene, Honrado, Nueva Estrella, Pamosaingan, Salog, San Roque, Sudlon, Santa Cruz, Songkoy and N. Sering.
There are many ways to reach Bucas Grande Island:
Surigao City is regarded as the main transit point in getting to the island. You can either choose to travel by air (Cebu Pacific flies daily from Cebu to Surigao and vice versa, Air Phil Express flies from Manila to Surigao everyday except Wednesdays and vice versa), by land (Philtranco Bus), or by sea from Manila directly to Surigao City. From the airport or from the bus terminal, available tricycle or multicabs can bring you to the City’s Pantalan Uno (Port/Pier 1), take then another two-hour boat ride to Bucas Grande Island. Other drop off points may be be the port of Barangay Hayanggabon, Claver.
Arrival:
Accomodation:
We stayed at TUMI BEACH RESORT. This resort is one of three private resorts owned by a Belgian and run by very kind locals with excellent hosting and service skills. In terms of price: normally one night cost Php5,000 good for a group of 10 excluding food. Since we availed of a promo, we got it cheaper including food and sightseeing tours to Sohoton Cove, Enchanted Crystal Cove, Lagoon Tiktikan and tours along the island for swimming and diving breaks.
We stayed at TUMI BEACH RESORT. This resort is one of three private resorts owned by a Belgian and run by very kind locals with excellent hosting and service skills. In terms of price: normally one night cost Php5,000 good for a group of 10 excluding food. Since we availed of a promo, we got it cheaper including food and sightseeing tours to Sohoton Cove, Enchanted Crystal Cove, Lagoon Tiktikan and tours along the island for swimming and diving breaks.
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| Tumi Beach Resort on Bucas Grande Island... Yup, it is that awesome! |
Tumi Beach Resort provides two cottages (good for couples) and an open-cottage (good for ten people or more) made of hard wood, bamboo, partially with concrete and tiles.
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| back view of our open cottage |
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| front view |
Food:
Since we availed of a promo, we were served three times a day with delicious meals! Mainly we were served with all kinds of very fresh seafood (crabs, shrimps, tilapia, lapu-lapu), meat, rice, desserts (pineapple, watermelon, apples, oranges, fresh coconut). It was absolutely yummy every time!
On Samal Island: Taking a fresh dip at the Hagimit Falls!
First on our itinerary was the visit to the known Monfort Batcave. A pleasant surprise are the roads, which are concrete and well maintained by their local city government.
It was around noon time when the salt water at the shores retreated and did not leave us joy to swim. It was then when we remembered the locals telling us about cold refreshing falls somewhere down the road in Peñaplata District.
The easy accessible roads were easy to ride on, enjoying the abundant green beauty right and left in the pleasantly pure air, until reaching Hagimit Falls some 30-40 minutes from Babak.
Hagimit Falls consists of several small waterfalls in the midst of nature at its fullest. The place derives it names from the hagimit trees (Ficus minahassae): tall trees of 15 meters or more with a wide canopy to give a natural shade from the scorning heat.
The entrance fee is Php40.00 for 8 years on and adults, and Php20.00 for children below. You are led then to stone stairs down to the falls and ponds. From afar you hear the siren song of the water rushing down the stones splashing into the ponds. A sound that makes you very excited to jump into the water.
The waters are generally clear and appear aqua blue. The whole area has been developed the last years, yet leaving untouched the vegetation of different varieties along the riverbanks to maintaining the natural beauty of this tourist destination.
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| For Php375.00 or Php550.00 you may like to take ATVs on the trails! |
P.s.: Be prepared that at each tourist point's entrance is an extra booth with a local requesting for Php5.00/per person as maintenance fee for the benefit of the whole island. A bit annoying, but if we come to think over it, the island is extremely well maintained and clean! To us it seemed reasonable and a price not too much asked!
Here to get more information:
Hagimit Falls and Nature Park
Poblacion, Penaplata District, Island Garden City of Samal, Davao del Norte
Mobile No: 0920-5872430
Arakan: Suman with hot Cacao-time!
It was a perfect weather to take the ATV for a ride along the Bukidnon-Davao (BUDA) road. Fascinated by the fresh, clean and crisp air above this God-given place of about 4,200feet above the sea level, made you so easily forget the hustle and bustle of and in Davao City!
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An area near the highway. Here are pine trees! *me freaking out* *feeling Christmas*
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The road from Davao City to Arakan, Buda road is the same route going to Cagayan de Oro, which takes about 6 hours.
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Plants, plants... everywhere.
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We drove with this tiny yet super fast vehicle about 20kms down the road. Along the road, we saw incredibly many little vendors offering flower and plants at very incredible prices! One vendor shared that those plant and flower stalls we see often during exhibitions in SM Mall or Abreeza are mainly small-time entrepreneurs from this very area, trying to make a good mark-up in the big city.
The next vendor sold strawberry plants and actual strawberries and self-made strawberry jam. Not as big and reddish as those we might find in the ref displayed and ready to be sold in S&R or anywhere else downtown, but you can be assured of its freshness and organic treatment.
After passing countless of these beautiful green stalls, we reached the well known Seagull Mountain Resort in Barangay Lorega.
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The parking area near the Seagul coffee.
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As an insider tip: Beside that resort, you will not miss a Phoenix gasoline station. Do you see the Seagull coffee shop right behind? Stay there for a while and enjoy their best-seller: Special Suman with hot Cacao! (for Php65.00)
This delicacy is served hot on a woven straw plate. Their version of Suman (a rice cake made from glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk, and often steamed wrapped) is served in a banana leaf sprinkled with sesame and pinipig! Very delicious and a wonderful treat after a long road trip.
The cacao is raw and unsweetened - our health conscious and diabetic friends would love it! Just in case, they will place a brown sugar to go with it. And it tastes unbelievable great and new!
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The Seagull coffee shop beisde the Phoenix gasoline station
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We also tried a their special Sizzling Angus Beef, and look there who was very happy about it...
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...while I just loved my sizzling hot beef steak!
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Some other impressions:
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Jerrold taking his first coffee of the day. That pink in the background makes him very manly! haha
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On the following trip, my dad had his taste on the Suman and hot cacao! He loved it as well!
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another pose from my dad
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ATV time!
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Arakan
,
Art
,
buda
,
bukidnon
,
cacao
,
Culture
,
Davao City
,
Mindanao
,
plants
,
Restaurants
,
Seagull
,
strawberry
,
suman
,
travel
,
travels
Discovering Arakan in Cotabato!
About 1.5 hours from Davao City, we reached on the national highway the mountainous area after Marilog District, Arakan. In fact, Arakan is not anymore part of Davao City, but rather it is a municipality in the province of Cotabato.
The word Arakan can be derived from the term "Ara" which means abundance of natural resources in the valley and the final "Kan" is related to bravery, heroism and courage of the first Manobo leaders and settlers there.
Arakan comprises different ethno-linguistic groups like the Manobo-Kulamanon and Manobo-Tinanon tribes.
As of data from 2009, Arakan stretches over 693.2156 km2 with a population of 46,410.
What I love most about the area is the weather. Although the sun was shining, the air was cool and very fresh. In the rest house, you don't need an aircon at all. The humidity level is very low. And amazingly in the late afternoon, you can see fog coming up. Make sure you bring some warm clothes! So, Arakan can remind a lot of people of Baguio's area and weather.
We took a friend's ATV/Squat and discovered a bit more the road down. You will be fascinated by the offers of plants (with or without seeds, conifers) and flowers!
The very first time, we discovered strawberry plants sold for Php25.00 per piece! Truly a good deal! And there mere fact that I can boost our little garden with such rare find, made my heart beat a bit faster.
Also other plants can be purchased as low as Php20.00 raising up depending on the class.
I freaked out then when the same vendor sold fresh strawberries for Php150.00-180.00 per pack and strawberry jam for Php180.00!!! What a beautiful day!!! Imagine, in Davao City, where could you find such treat at that price??? Normally you would have to pay Php300+ in the mall, and those would not be fresh but rather frozen. How how I love Arakan, I thought!
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| Sunny morning. Arrival at Barangay Katipunan, Arakan |
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| The bus terminal |
Arakan comprises different ethno-linguistic groups like the Manobo-Kulamanon and Manobo-Tinanon tribes.
As of data from 2009, Arakan stretches over 693.2156 km2 with a population of 46,410.
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| Oh happy day! |
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| foggy: 4pm in the afternoon |
We took a friend's ATV/Squat and discovered a bit more the road down. You will be fascinated by the offers of plants (with or without seeds, conifers) and flowers!
 |
| Strawberry plants! |
The very first time, we discovered strawberry plants sold for Php25.00 per piece! Truly a good deal! And there mere fact that I can boost our little garden with such rare find, made my heart beat a bit faster.
Also other plants can be purchased as low as Php20.00 raising up depending on the class.
I freaked out then when the same vendor sold fresh strawberries for Php150.00-180.00 per pack and strawberry jam for Php180.00!!! What a beautiful day!!! Imagine, in Davao City, where could you find such treat at that price??? Normally you would have to pay Php300+ in the mall, and those would not be fresh but rather frozen. How how I love Arakan, I thought!
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| Plants everywhere! |
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| "And all I can see, is just another lemon tree" for Php300.00 |
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| Farewell treat: What a breath-taking sunset |
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