Road Trip part 3

March 29 – Day 10

Seems I skipped a day. No matter, I’ll make up for it right now.

After having gotten settled in here in Davao, we are starting to establish a routine. Considering how long were supposed to stay, makes sense doesn’t it? Anyway, we did errands yesterday, went to the local Shoe Mart, bought something at an outdoor shop and just had a pleasant if somewhat slow day.

That night’s dinner was hosted by Vani’s family. There was grilled squid, caldereta, special pork chops, and Korean style meats. It was definitely more than we could take in but what the heck? We’re on vacation right? So, after being thoroughly sated, we headed off to what is, according to Vani’s younger sister, the hippest club in town. We’re meeting up with old college friends who happen to live here. Yesterday being a Tuesday, not too many people were at gimmick central so we managed to spend a fun, if a bit hot and muggy night al fresco. The faces were the same, the time put on by each of us since we last saw still not evident. But, everyone now carried a burden unheard of when we were still in school. For one, it was kids, for the other it was work but hey, we all have to grow up sometime.

Our mini reunion came to a close as soon as it started drizzling. We paid up, said our goodbyes and drove home as the sky started to open up in earnest. The almost violent summer shower was a welcome end to an almost unbearably hot day and slowly but surely put us to sleep.

March 30 – Day 11

We got home late today. It’s just about one in the morning right now and I thought I’d jot down a few things before I went to sleep.

Today, we went to Shoe Mart again, had lunch at Vani’s, had the car fixed, picked up our laundry, visited Vani’s grandparents, had dinner at Ryan’s aunt’s house who incidentally happened to be a caterer (GOOD food), ate Selecta Durian ice cream (which they don’t sell in Manila), had Durian coffee at Blugre (it’s like their Starbucks there), then finally a foot massage which would have been great had I not needed to go to the bathroom so bad.

Yesterday was full but wasn’t really anything out of the ordinary. Today though, we plan to visit all sorts of places; the Crocodile Farm, Eden, the Philippine Eagle Center. I suppose those places would be worth a look. We’ll see…

It’s hot here in Davao. There was not much sun today. In fact, it was somewhat overcast but still, it was stifling. The combination of no wind and high humidity worked to produce a sticky film of oil and sweat on all exposed parts of your body. So, here I sit, after taking a much needed bath, not one foot from the air conditioner. The relief is almost beyond words…

On the menu for today was Eden and the Crocodile Farm. Eden is a nature park on the outskirts of Davao City, on the foothills of Mount Apo. It’s about 2500 feet above sea level and though still hot, the air there was definitely cooler than that of the city. We had a nice buffet lunch followed by a park tour which showcased various gardens, aviaries, and a nice vista of Davao City. The 40 hectare tour took about 40 minutes and though I would have liked to see more on foot, there just wasn’t the time to cover so huge an area. We did however, walk back to one of the aviaries and this one had a couple of Cassowaries, huge birds from Australia that could kick the crap out of you if it wanted to. The one I took pictures of seemingly did and got into a charging stance once I brought my camera past the low fence that separated it from me. I had to run twice as it got closer because I had no wish to be kicked to death by a giant bird. Aside from a few last minute pictures, that was about it for Eden Nature Park. We got in the car and drove away.

Next stop was the Crocodile Farm still in Davao City. There were all sorts of crocs and other animals like parrots, snakes, monkeys, porcupines, and others but what really caught my eye was the huge saltwater croc (I sound like the croc hunter) that must’ve been at least 12 feet long. Like the whalesharks we saw in Donsol, this animal looked unreal just lying there unmoving with its mouth agape, seemingly made of stone. Must take a lot of balls to get into its enclosure and feed it. I also saw an Ostrich up close. It was taller than a horse and much bigger than the Cassowary I was so afraid of. The movies and nature films really don’t do it justice because no matter how common they seem on TV, they still are quite breathtaking to see up close.

We headed back after the farm, picked up Vani’s mom, shopped for groceries, and had dinner, as usual, at Vani’s place. Today was OK… hot but still worth the trouble. I’ll leave you with that for the moment because I have to sleep. We’re going to General Santos City tomorrow and we have to leave pretty early if we want to catch the tuna guys at work.

Oh, by the way, we found a dive shop today and if we’re lucky, we might just get to go diving on Sunday.

April 1 – Day 13

Yesterday was exhausting. I don’t know if it was the cumulative effect of all the traveling we’ve been doing catching up with me, or if it was the heat of the day. All I know is I was dead tired… too tired to even make an entry in this log yesterday.

As planned, we woke up at 4:30 am to make the trip to Gensan. Vani didn’t want to go so it was just me, Ryan and his Tito Jun that made the trip. We were supposed to be at the port at 7:30am so we could watch the tuna guys off loading their catch, and maybe get to buy a few kilos of fresh tuna. We seem to have underestimated the distance from Davao City to Gensan because we never got to see what we came to see. The sign said 132 km and we figured such a measly distance wouldn’t take so long. Plus, we had to backtrack over 15 kilometers because we forgot to put gas in the car. In short, we missed our target by over an hour. Well, we at least got to see Gensan, visit Manny Pacquiao’s store, take picture, buy tuna burgers, tuna sausages, tuna nuggets and sashimi so I guess the day wasn’t a complete waste. Plus, we also saw a small part of Saranggani Province, a place none of us had been to before.
I drove back or at least tried to drive back to Davao City but I got really light headed two hours into the trip. So, with my ego crying foul, I turned the wheel over to Ryan who at least got some sleep while I was driving.

We stopped over a place called Toril so Tito Jun could buy some sausages from a long time friend of his. He came out almost as soon as he went in with a puzzled look on his face, sans sausages. Turns out, his friend died last week and what he walked into was his wake. Well, at least he got to see his friend again…

We finished the trip back to Davao City, picked up Vani, Nathan (Ryan’s and Vani’s son) and Patricia Aliño (Vani’s sister) who incidentally is to be our new travel companion on the drive back home. We then went to the dive center to book our dive for tomorrow, dropped Patricia and Nathan off at the Aliño house and went back to our office / home. Vani cooked the tuna stuff we brought home and Ryan and I ate them. They weren’t half bad. The day’s traveling took a toll and I was sweaty and I suppose, not very sweet smelling so, I took a bath and after that, promptly fell asleep.

That was it for yesterday and though it was tiring, I guess that was just the price that had to be paid to see someplace new.

So much for yesterday’s flash back. Today, we’re supposed to go to the Philippine Eagle Center. I’ll tell you about it when we get back…

Well, I’m back and yes we did go to the eagle center. You know what? Despite all the hoopla about the place, I didn’t think it was anything special. There were a few Philippine Eagles, a few other raptors, some monkeys, a couple of deer all caged in a tastefully landscaped park. Nothing new. I do applaud however, the work these people do in trying to save a grand animal. I think it’s great that there are still those who work these thankless jobs that ultimately make more of a difference in this world than anything corporate or commercial.

We drove back to the city proper and had lunch at Dencia’s (yes, Dencia’s). We had congee and tokwa’t baboy which was as good as was promised, then after, asked to be left behind. I wanted to try my luck in finding my way back home. I walked around for an hour and a half and actually covered a lot of ground…just not in the right direction. I eventually found a shop that sells maps and very nicely asked for directions. I found that not only was I heading the wrong way, I also had at least 12 kilometers of walking to do if I went ahead with my plan of walking home. No regrets though, that hour and a half I spent gave me a more personal feel of life in downtown Davao and how unsurprisingly similar it is to life back home.