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.

Other resorts

Isla Beach Resort

Coco Caliclic Beach Resort

Other resorts

El Magic Beach Resort

Seaside Camp Site

Mahan Garden

September 2013

SAN PABLO, LAGUNA - CITY of SEVEN LAKES

SEVEN LAKES ADVENTURE 

SCO MAKATI SUMMER FUN 2015

I have wanted to visit the 7 lakes of San Pablo Laguna for more than two years after I first saw  it on TV, I invited  my staff to join me in the adventure this holiday of May 01, 2015. 
After checking the internet for sites and blogs, we got more excited with the pictures of the places to visit and food to eat. 
Our call time was 5:00 am at the McDonalds Buendia LRT bus station, but one of the girls (Jane) woke up late thus we arrived at the station at 5:45 am.

at the Bus Station in Buendia

We did not anticipate that there will be many passengers at the  bus station being a public holiday and it will be a long weekend. When the other girls arrived ( Monett, Cheryl, Girlie}, we split up, there’s another bus station at the other side of LRT, so Monett and I headed there while the rest were left in the long queue. At the other station the line was shorter but the buses arrived slower thus we went back to the 1^st station.

happy bus ride

We left at 6:45 am, we had our breakfast inside the bus, pandesal and cheese whiz. 

Regular travel time is only 2 to 2.5 hours, but due to traffic we reached Jolibee at San Pablo near SM San Pablo at 10:30 am. We stopped to pee at Jollibee. 

Then took a tricycle going to Sampalok lake.

Sampalok Lake

After some photo session with the giant tilapia and the view, we rented bicycle so we go around the entire lake. 

I forgot to tell my staff that we will have to go around the whole lake,  they were wondering where is the end of the road to turn back to the starting line.

 I was never a good biker, most of the time I wiggle, so the normal 20 minutes ride took more than double time. I always ended up almost hitting anything at the side of the road, most of them not moving like a parked car, a store, a fence, the wiggling becomes more evident every time a car, bike, people, animals will be on the street, perhaps due to my fear of hitting them, so I normally hit the brakes.

 It was the most challenging time for me in the entire adventure, perhaps it was also the same for my companion, only it was not due to the biking but for my hardship in the bike. Though I was still lucky that I did not crashed nor fell from my bike. 

The lake is surrounded by a community thus there are houses lined up along the road there was one big stoned house that is worth taking a photo, there are also  food stall and restaurants. We also found a wooden furniture displayed though the person manning the area was busy on tree but he was able to tell us the price, P35,000 for the whole set of 5 pcs.. We also stopped by the giant boy scout hand pledge.

 After the hot and hard ride, we rest for a while for photo session and rented a tricycle to take us to the other 6 lakes. Lito, our driver, agreed to charge us for P100/head instead of the usual P100/lake.

enjoying the beauty of Sampalok Lake

We made a short stop at the nearby municipal building which is located along the road going to Sampalok lake to take a photo, then to the 711 to buy water. 

Municipal Hall

New Building

Another stop was made at the Immaculate Concepcion church.

2^nd lake – BUNOT LAKE

            It was a very short  5 minutes walk from the area where the tricycle can be parked, there was a shaded area with bench to view the lake. According to the locals sitted at the bench, the lake is 60 ft deep, the small area with net in front of the shade is where they place the tilapia that they catch before selling them to the market.

shaded area with bench

3^rd lake- PANDIN LAKE

The most visited lake among the seven lakes, it was the only area where there’s an activity and where you can have something to eat or drink, there are also benches to sit on while waiting for the balsa.

 The trail going there took 20 minutes (depending on your phase) to walk with the guide though it was not necessary to hire one as the trail is just a road leading to the lake. 

with a very interesting signage

going down trail

going up trail

There is a farm on both side of the road thus there were cemented walls, but the rancho of horses can be seen on the right side of the road.

the ranch

 There is  a balsa ride and lunch, you can also swim in this lake though you have to be wearing a life vest to do so, the nearest area to the shore is already 50 ft deep while in the middle part is 180 ft deep.

 I asked the bangkero if there are visitors  in the lake during a storm, the obvious answer was, there are no visitors when there is a storm. But you will feel safe  as there are 3 bankeros with you on the balsa, the water was also very silent. 

The food is very delicious, they charged P180/hea for the balsa ride and P180/hea for lunch consists of ginataang hipon, fried tilapia, ,ensaladang pako, 2 rice, bottled mineral water and banana.

ginataang fresh shrimps (catch from the lake)

ensaladang pako

fried tilapia (catch from the lake)a and rice in banana leaves

There is a balete vine that can be used as swing located near the area to go the other lake

 there’s also a small grotto with pipe of running water from a “bukal”.

4^th lake- YAMBO LAKE

it is situated next to Pandin Lake seperated only by a portion of a mountain, 

The 3 minute climb is a little bit stiff but descending is much trickier though there is a kawayan rail where we can hold on.

the ascend

the descend 

 We did not ask the barangay tanod what activity can be done in that lake and we also did not descend to the lake, we just took photos from the top where we can see the view of the lake. One of the kids in the earlier big group commented that it was just a waste of time to go up since he only saw a view of the lake (not a nature lover kid)

5^th lake- CALIBATO LAKE

This one is the most tiring trail, it was very hot when we walk the trail, 

from the road, you will walk the dirt road, passed by a quarried mountain, you’ll go down the trail of stones w/ a nearby batis, this is the most adventurous among the trails to the seven lakes, , 

the quarried mountain

 go through a trail of bushes, cross a small coconut tree bridge, there were also kambing and chicken along the trail

small coconut bridge at the right side

flowing batis 

goats about to jump from the hillside

We saw a couple of men fishing on the right side of the lake, 

there were a few  small houses at the landing area of the lake.

cute wooden house

6^th lake – PALAKPAKIN LAKE

I’m not sure if our driver was just tired that he only stopped at the bridge for us to view the lake

 the other side of the bridge

7^th lake- MOHICAP LAKE

steep cemented stairs lead us to the lake,

 there is a house at the side of the lake down the stairs

a family offered us to see the cave at the other side of the lake at P50, using a balsa, but we were already tired to check it out.

We were tired, dirty,sweaty and smelly so the chance to get to shower was most welcome. 

8^th lake—STAR LAKE RESORT

Just a few  steps  away from our 7^th lake.

We paid P70 entrance, we rested at the cottage and bathed, we did not swim in the pool since not all of us brought swimming attires.

Dinner was at SUKI BAR –


we asked the assistance of our colleague from the province to look for a place near the bus station where we can have a good affordable meal.

 We were expecting that SUKI is a restaurant that serves famous San Pablo dishes, but we are happy that the venue was cozy and nice, food also is affordable and tasty. P70 for katsu meal (pork,chicken,tuna).

We rode the bus at 8:30 pm and we were at Pasay Rd by 10:30 pm, the two hour ride is courtesy of the bus driver’s  fast and furious driving, maybe he’s a fan of Vin Diesel.