Turistang Pinay: SAMAL ISLAND DAVAO

I chanced upon a promo airfare to Davao by Air Asia while I was visiting my nephew in Olongapo City so I decided to spend my 48^th birthday in Davao province.

It was the first time my father will fly and Air Asia gave him a very comfortable and pleasant flying experience. He did not feel the pressure of the ascend nor the descend, so congratulations to the captains for a smooth flight.

Thru the many blogs I searched, Samal Island will be the best area for us for its proximity to the city , the many beach resorts available and tourists spots.

To get there, we need to board a barge, it was only a 15 mins ride but we never expected that we will be travelling standing along with cars, we did not notice that there was an area for passengers. My father had to seat at the bumper of one truck while my husband just stand holding on the railing.

Though we were dismayed that there is no long shorelines wherein we can take our long morning walk.

But we found an alternative, the main road in Samal Island, it was quiet in the morning, the road is cemented and there are many trees and resorts along the way.

We checked in at the resort which is just right after the pier, CAMP HOLIDAY RESORT.

The cottages along the beach are new and clean.

The restaurant offered delicious and affordable food ( local and international cuisine).

We noticed that the air smelled of durian (the famous fruit of the province) from the time we arrived at the airport and especially in the resort, it was DURIAN’s season, so almost every family in the resort have their baon. At last we tried tasting the fruit on our last day, but we do not share the same taste with the locals and the many who loved the fruit, I tried to eat more as advised by the vendor but to no avail. It is not just for our taste buds.

But our favorite was the langka, it was only P20 /kilo just across the street of the resort so every day we have the luxury of indulging ourselves with the fresh ,crispy, juice, sweet langka. We also plan to take some for pasalubong. But we were unlucky; the store selling langka was closed on the day of our flight.

The resort has a hotel type accommodation and a detached room that can accommodate up to maximum of 4 persons (extra bed needed). The surroundings were clean, there were trash bins attached to the trees in between rooms. There is a television but the channels are not very clear. Beddings are fresh and with towels ( you can even ask for extra towel for the extra paid person) and toiletries.

The staff are friendly but the receptionist should be more aware of the tourist spots in the island as well as the restaurants and other interesting places to visit.

We visited the Monfort Bat Sanctuary, which holds a Guinness world Records for the larges colony of Geoffrey’s Rousette Fruit Bat, approximately 1.8 million in 2006 .

there’s a guide who will lead you to the different caves and stories about them, our guide was only 12 years old.

The tricycle ride to the sanctuary is only about 20 minutes in cemented road.

The caves naturally smelled of bats feces, the bats were asleep the time we visited though there were some flying inside the caves.

Each cave has a unique story, one is a home for the aged since they noticed that old bats are frequenting that cave.

The other one is for newly born baby bats learning to fly.

It is best to visit the sanctuary below 6 pm to witness the flying out of the bats to get food. We did not experience this since we visited the cave in the morning though we have an idea of that beautiful scene when we were in Palawan.

HAGIMIT FALLS

It was about 40 minutes away from the Monfort Bat Sanctuary.

There is a 100 steps going down the falls, my father counted, the stair is cemented but there is a portion which has no handrail.

The area is consists of many mini falls, the water is cold and relaxing, my husband really enjoyed the dip.

There is also a resort for overnight stay and there are cottages for rent and a sari sari store for refreshments. Though it would be better if they also sell fresh buko juice.