davao collage

Memories in Isla Reta, Davao

ChE Reunion

ChE Batch 2004
Reunion (12-28-2008)

davao tripping

My first trip to Mindanao area was in Davao last December 4, 2008. The planning for this visit was planned as early as September…? I am not sure but it was planned beforehand so we can attend Karol’s wedding.

First Night

First night in Davao was pretty exciting yet I was stricken by the quietness of the city. The streets were wider than the usual streets in Cebu that made it almost empty but not bare. My tummy was grumbling just after we dropped out things in our pension house. We surveyed the area for some fast food chain so we would know where to eat just in case… and we saw TAPS just around the corner. I read about TAPS, tagged as a popular tapsilogan in the area from Smile travel magazine. The food was okay but the service for me is slow. The group decided then to go a place where we could hang out for a while. When all girls go together and considering the possibility that we don’t have any idea where to go… you’d all probably end up going back to your rooms. But lucky us we’re all not girls, we’re all bayots wrapped up in a woman’s physique, haha… So, we were able to finally come up with the place – Matina Town Square. We found a bar there where we played pool, drank beer, ate some pulutan and took some pictures. We did not stay late at the bar coz we had a big island tour day the next morning.

Isla Reta, Samal Island

Float bound to the isla is around 9-10 in the morning. At this time, the waves aren’t so big. The banka was also large enough to give us comfort during the trip. We sat on the boat for almost an hour till we finally docked to Isla Reta. The sand was white as I’ve expected. Karol’s bro already took care of our accommodation. We already had a table under a big tree waiting for us. Pare took out his IPOD and speakers. The place was perfect for relaxation and matching the mood with cool music and fresh buko juice. Ahh! Going back trip to the city was scheduled 3PM.

For dinner, we decided to go to Jack’s Ridge and eat at Taklobo. I was especially looking forward for the seafoods. The food was excellent and so was the bill. Haha… Just outside the restaurant you can see the city night lights of Davao and cemetery lights near the place. We just sat there and hanged out for a while. Talked and laughed a lot mostly. When we finally head back to the city, we decided to stop at People’s park. We got there 30mins before the closing time. So we had a quick tour of the place. From the park, the pension house was just few minutes away and so we walked our way to the pension house. But along the way, we got a little thirsty and hungry so we stopped at some Chinese restau and ordered halo-halo.

Eden Park, Eagle Farm and Crocodile Park

Eden Park is a haven for people who love to go nature tripping w/o feeling exhaustion along the trip. The park has a lunch and snack package that includes a shuttle ride around the area. They serve tuna sandwich/ spaghetti and juice for snacks. There I found colorful peacock, birds, deer and beautiful sceneries like flower gardens, cabin, pond, etc.

The highlight of the trip was the zip line…The idea of zip line is to start at an elevated place and ride your way through a rope attached at the other end of the line. The ride would take about 10-15 seconds. Haha…

Eagle Farm is a sanctuary of the wild eagle family. I like the idea of preserving the birds but putting them into cages eliminates the wild characteristics of this species.

Crocodile farm is not only home to crocs. There are also a number of animals that can be found on this place. The largest and I guess the oldest of the crocs name is Pangil. We arrived on time for a show and Pangil was displaying stints of protecting his territory using his sweeping tail power splashing water all over the place and unto the audience too.

At the end of the day, we were all so hungry because we only had a snack for lunch at Eden. When the van driver dropped us at Joe’s Inato, we were all starving. Good thing though is that the restau was just around the corner from our pension house.


BIG Day

The spare time we had before Karol’s day we spent buying wedding gift and pasalubongs.

The wedding ceremony was short and simple. I didn’t hear mommies crying that day. Instead I noticed the most unusual thing that day – wearing sun glasses in formal barong attire while taking family pictures. Hehe…

Good bye Davao

Finally it was time to bid good bye to one memorable place. I couldn’t think straight that morning due to lack of sleep which only lasted for a mere 3h and due to alcohol intoxication which ran through my system that whole day. I couldn’t file SL that day because I had to finish a report which I need to submit the next day. So, I came for work and was even surprised to also see my drinking buddies Baruk n Pare also showing up. Pare however did not finish his 9.6 while me n Baruk endured the ordeal between work and sleep that day. Whew! Girl power.

sunday

Sunday is my favorite day every time I spend vacation back in my home town. We would usually attend mass in the morning and after I would join my mama go to the wet market to buy food supplies. I especially look forward for our lunch. Night before Sunday I remember always asking my mama what to prepare for the next day and I also make some suggestions for the menu. My papa would prepare the kalan outside and light the oling. We use charcoal to cook grilled fish/pork and specialties like tambo, lanka n mongo, pangat, etc. the list goes on.



Today is a Sunday, December 21, 2008 and we’re eating late breakfast aound 10:30 AM. The fish tindero from the market is my ma’s suki and he gave us one plastic bag of fresh talaba. That’s what we had for breakfast plus a spoonful of ginisang ginamos to match it. People are friendly here and charitable, hehe. We plan to have lunch also at a later schedule around 2PM and we’re having tambo and grilled pork ribs… yum2x!!




Going the church this morning I remember how cool the air was. Now that the sun is high, the windy breeze is still prominent but the air is hot already but still tolerable. At our backyard is a little “goat house” were my papa would keep the goats at night. A week ago the mother goat gave birth to two healthy kids. I called the female white one “White” and male black “Black” hehe… obviously, made the names by their color.




I’m keeping my self busy now just not to be tempted to sleep. I don’t want to sleep obviously because I’m afraid I’d gain a lot this holiday since I missed 2 weeks of playing soccer already. Bad news for today is we’re having a “brown out” schedule. I don’t know until when the lights would go back. I hope the laptop would have enough battery to survive until then.

stiff necking

I’ve never seen a meteor shower before. Last Sunday, Bruki told me there was going to be “meeetyerrr shower” around 12AM-1AM. I was ready for bed already but then curiosity won over my sleepy head. I decided to go watch some stars fall out of the sky. I got out of my bed, wore my jacket and yeah stared at the sky for an hour. The moon was up and so full that night, the air was December cold already. I sat on the bench at the rooftop just few steps out my room. There weren’t so many clouds making my observation unobstructed but then I get jumpy every time I see an airplanes passing by. I get distracted just by looking at those blinking tail lights. My patience and perseverance however awarded me 3 sightings of shooting stars and 1 big green falling star. After exhausting myself from lack of sleep from the previous day, I decided that it was really time for bed. I remembered just now, I forgot to make a 4 wishes. I'll save it for Christmas. hihi... I know the subject sound weird, but have you tried staring up the sky for an hour? ;D

bad head day

I’m having a bad headache today because of my cold, cough and fever and not to mention the many hours I’ve been staring at the computer…leaving my eyes half opened while reading business mails and making reports as usual. I happened to pass by momi and I saw a familiar white stone just beside key computer key board. I don’t know what’s it called but it’s a quick fix for nausea, headaches, colds but the effect doesn’t really last that long. I wanted to buy that white stone at Clark SM when we we’re headed for Baguio but I was discouraged because it’s kinda expensive. Anyway, I decided to take a nap today at around 4:30 PM in the clinic but to my dismay, the sleeping room was already occupied. So that brings me here, writing an overdue bom. I was supposed to write something about my busy weekend trips but due to my hectic schedule and deliverables I wasn’t able to do so. Four days from now I’ll be home. I’ll write about baguio and davao when I’m all set there. Can’t wait to go home and live like a tambay. Haha