Tuesday, February 26, 2008
So I'll just write a Time-table here to show you how my trip to Zamboanga went. =]
First of all, the reason why I went to Zamboanga was because I wanted to experience long travels and since my mom has a Mindanao Congress there, I took the chance.
We were supposed to take the plane which will take around 30-45 minutes from Davao to Zamboanga but I thought it'll be too boring if we'll do that so I told mom that I wanted to travel by bus. Since land travel takes around 18-20 hours from Davao to Zamboanga. Plus, you'll be mesmerized by the beauty of nature!
February 20, 2008
8:30 pm
Mom and I went to the Davao Terminal to catch the 10pm bus. We went early because mom wanted to sit in front.
10:00pm
The bus started it's six-hour journey to Cagayan de Oro via Buddha. At around 11pm, we reached Buddha and since it rained that night, the road was so foggy with zero-visibility that the bus has to slow down to avoid any unecessary accidents. Then I slept afterwards.
February 21, 2008
4:00am
We reached Cagayan de Oro. We took a Multicab going to the other terminal where we will wait for three hours for the first trip to Zamboanga. It wasn't a long wait because I had fun at Dunkin' Donuts which was open for 24 hours.
6:30am
The bus going to Zamboanga arrived and mom and I sat in front once more. The television went on and we had some Resident Evil marathon.
7:00am
Bus started its journey to Zamboanga. I wondered how would it feel to be inside the bus for 12 hours. haha! Sun Cell signal went down.
9:00am
We stopped over at "Iligan" terminal. We stayed for around 30 minutes there because the door of the bus was fixed.
9:30 am
Journey restarted. We stopped over several terminals and we passed by several known cities such as Lanao del Norte, Misamis Oriental, Zamboanga del Sur, Pagadian, Sibugay, Ipil.
8:00pm
Finally! We arrived at Zamboanga terminal. Mom and I expected to see a cab pass by but we were surprised when they told us that there were no regular taxis there and that we have to take the "tricycle" to be able to go where we wanted to go.
8:20pm
we arrived at La Casa Maria. The hotel that was booked by mom's congregation for us to stay in. Finally, I can tuck in with a nice bed.
10:00pm
I went to sleep as I realized it has been almost 24 hours that I was awake with only little nap times.
February 22, 2008
8:00am
I woke up and mom said we should hurry so we could go out and explore the city.
9:30 am
We went to Jollibee to have our breakfast. I was talking to Nicca on the phone. Then we went to the "bayan" or what we call downtown here in Davao to explore the mall. So the Mindpro Citimall, the beautiful Immaculate Conception Cathedral and the Ateneo de Zamboanga University were located there.
10:00am
We went inside Mindpro Citimall. I was amazed because I felt like I was in Spain inside the mall because the department store music was in Spanish and the announcements and poster warnings were in Spanish and yeah, people speak Chavacano, the broken Spanish language that only Zamboanga people could speak.
11:30am
We had lunch at the Foodcourt then we went back to the hotel to rest. Indeed, I was still tired after the 21-hour journey that we had from Davao the other day.
February 23, 2008
Mom went to her Congress at 8am and I went out on my own to Mindpro at around 9:30 am to meet Apple! Yeah, I met my daughter for the first time!
She was busy that day so we weren't able to spend a lot of time together. We only had a little chat at the foodcourt and she told me the places worth going into in Zamboanga. At around 11:30 am, she already left for her business and so, I ate my lunch and went out to Fort Pilar.
Apple told me that the Fort was made years ago to prevent the invasion as Nuestra Sra. del Pilar saved the Zamboanga people.
The fort has a shrine. A very beautiful shrine where you can pray and light a candle. It also has a National museum, but the museum was closed because it was the weekends.
I was supposed to go to Pasonanca. A park near Apple's abode but the heat of the sun was melting me so I decided to go back to the hotel and probably just go out again in the afternoon.
But I fell asleep and woke up at around 4 pm. I was so damn beat so I decided not to go out anymore and I waited for mom to come home and we ate dinner at the hotel restaurant.
February 24, 2008
Mom went to her Congress again and I just stayed back at the hotel and watched Disney Channel until 12 noon. We checked out of the hotel, had our lunch and went to the terminal for our next journey to Iligan.
Since the Iligan-bound bus will leave at 6pm, we took the Pagadian-bound bus and when we got there at around 7pm, we took another bus to Iligan.
We arrived at Iligan at around 12 midnight and we fetched a Public Utility (PU) car. He took us to another hotel and we booked him to bring us to Ma. Cristina Falls and Tinago Falls the next day.
I dropped onto the bed and fell asleep after a while.
February 25, 2008
I woke up at around 6am with a beat head but I was immediately filled with excitement as I though about our plans for this day.
We checked out of the hotel at around 8am and kuya Jeffrey, the PU driver fetched us and took us on tour.
I was amazed because Iligan has this Kalesa or a horse-drawn carriage and kuya Jeffrey told us that it was actually being used as transportation around downtown Iligan.
Then our next stop was the Maria Cristina Power Plant. It was known in the Philippine Education that the Maria Cristina Falls in Iligan is the number one source of energy in Mindanao. In fact, it supplies around 40% of energy in Davao City.
We were toured inside by the guard and I was amazed at how beautiful the Falls was. The guard said that that wasn't fully opened yet because they fully open the dam every Sundays at around 11 in the morning. We went there Monday.
But even if it wasn't on full blast, I still found it wonderful and I was thankful at how well the people in Mindanao was able to think of ways to use nature in our necessities.
Then afterwards, we were taken to Tinago Falls, another Iligan wonder. Kuya Jeffrey briefly told us about the history of the falls. He said that at around Year 2000, the resort was fully developed. There was a mini zoo and there were cottages for overnight staying.
But it was foreclosed by the bank and afterwards, it was owned by the government and the development stopped. The animals in the zoo were taken away and the cottages weren't maintained.
Indeed, when we got there, I was disappointed with the resort and surprised that with only a 10 PHP entrance fee, we will already be able to go and enjoy the falls.
We went down 265 steps accompanied by the falls guide named Joel. He's gay, by the way.
It was such a tiring journey but everything was wiped away when I was finally able to see the falls. It was such a beauty and no matter how bad the resort up above looked, it was nothing compared to how amazing the falls looked.
A lot of people say that this falls was enchanted because there were already a lot who drowned and died while bathing in. But Joel told us that most of the visitors who drown there were those who swim without lifevests and men who go and explore the midst of the falls without anything to protect them.
So I took my lifevest and started swimming down the falls. Indeed, even though I knew how to swim, the strong current from the falls scared me and made me realize that lifevests sure are helpful. Because even though you knew how to swim, if you aren't familiar with the place, it'll really feel different and really scary.
So I didn't have much fun swimming around the falls because I was alone. I mean, it would have been really really fun if I was with friends or my family. So I told my mom that we should definitely go back there with my cousins.
So at around 12 noon, we took the 265 steps up back to civilization. Kuya Jeffrey drove us to Cagayan de Oro where we took the 3:00 pm bus back to Davao City.
We arrived home at around 10 pm and the rest was history. What I've said, I definitely will go back to Zamboanga soon with my cousins and of course, enjoy the beauty of Tinago Falls in Iligan once again.
P.S. for videos, go here: http://youtube.com/neym
First of all, the reason why I went to Zamboanga was because I wanted to experience long travels and since my mom has a Mindanao Congress there, I took the chance.
We were supposed to take the plane which will take around 30-45 minutes from Davao to Zamboanga but I thought it'll be too boring if we'll do that so I told mom that I wanted to travel by bus. Since land travel takes around 18-20 hours from Davao to Zamboanga. Plus, you'll be mesmerized by the beauty of nature!
February 20, 2008
8:30 pm
Mom and I went to the Davao Terminal to catch the 10pm bus. We went early because mom wanted to sit in front.
10:00pm
The bus started it's six-hour journey to Cagayan de Oro via Buddha. At around 11pm, we reached Buddha and since it rained that night, the road was so foggy with zero-visibility that the bus has to slow down to avoid any unecessary accidents. Then I slept afterwards.
February 21, 2008
4:00am
We reached Cagayan de Oro. We took a Multicab going to the other terminal where we will wait for three hours for the first trip to Zamboanga. It wasn't a long wait because I had fun at Dunkin' Donuts which was open for 24 hours.
6:30am
The bus going to Zamboanga arrived and mom and I sat in front once more. The television went on and we had some Resident Evil marathon.
7:00am
Bus started its journey to Zamboanga. I wondered how would it feel to be inside the bus for 12 hours. haha! Sun Cell signal went down.
9:00am
We stopped over at "Iligan" terminal. We stayed for around 30 minutes there because the door of the bus was fixed.
9:30 am
Journey restarted. We stopped over several terminals and we passed by several known cities such as Lanao del Norte, Misamis Oriental, Zamboanga del Sur, Pagadian, Sibugay, Ipil.
8:00pm
Finally! We arrived at Zamboanga terminal. Mom and I expected to see a cab pass by but we were surprised when they told us that there were no regular taxis there and that we have to take the "tricycle" to be able to go where we wanted to go.
8:20pm
we arrived at La Casa Maria. The hotel that was booked by mom's congregation for us to stay in. Finally, I can tuck in with a nice bed.
10:00pm
I went to sleep as I realized it has been almost 24 hours that I was awake with only little nap times.
February 22, 2008
8:00am
I woke up and mom said we should hurry so we could go out and explore the city.
9:30 am
We went to Jollibee to have our breakfast. I was talking to Nicca on the phone. Then we went to the "bayan" or what we call downtown here in Davao to explore the mall. So the Mindpro Citimall, the beautiful Immaculate Conception Cathedral and the Ateneo de Zamboanga University were located there.
10:00am
We went inside Mindpro Citimall. I was amazed because I felt like I was in Spain inside the mall because the department store music was in Spanish and the announcements and poster warnings were in Spanish and yeah, people speak Chavacano, the broken Spanish language that only Zamboanga people could speak.
11:30am
We had lunch at the Foodcourt then we went back to the hotel to rest. Indeed, I was still tired after the 21-hour journey that we had from Davao the other day.
February 23, 2008
Mom went to her Congress at 8am and I went out on my own to Mindpro at around 9:30 am to meet Apple! Yeah, I met my daughter for the first time!
She was busy that day so we weren't able to spend a lot of time together. We only had a little chat at the foodcourt and she told me the places worth going into in Zamboanga. At around 11:30 am, she already left for her business and so, I ate my lunch and went out to Fort Pilar.
Apple told me that the Fort was made years ago to prevent the invasion as Nuestra Sra. del Pilar saved the Zamboanga people.
The fort has a shrine. A very beautiful shrine where you can pray and light a candle. It also has a National museum, but the museum was closed because it was the weekends.
I was supposed to go to Pasonanca. A park near Apple's abode but the heat of the sun was melting me so I decided to go back to the hotel and probably just go out again in the afternoon.
But I fell asleep and woke up at around 4 pm. I was so damn beat so I decided not to go out anymore and I waited for mom to come home and we ate dinner at the hotel restaurant.
February 24, 2008
Mom went to her Congress again and I just stayed back at the hotel and watched Disney Channel until 12 noon. We checked out of the hotel, had our lunch and went to the terminal for our next journey to Iligan.
Since the Iligan-bound bus will leave at 6pm, we took the Pagadian-bound bus and when we got there at around 7pm, we took another bus to Iligan.
We arrived at Iligan at around 12 midnight and we fetched a Public Utility (PU) car. He took us to another hotel and we booked him to bring us to Ma. Cristina Falls and Tinago Falls the next day.
I dropped onto the bed and fell asleep after a while.
February 25, 2008
I woke up at around 6am with a beat head but I was immediately filled with excitement as I though about our plans for this day.
We checked out of the hotel at around 8am and kuya Jeffrey, the PU driver fetched us and took us on tour.
I was amazed because Iligan has this Kalesa or a horse-drawn carriage and kuya Jeffrey told us that it was actually being used as transportation around downtown Iligan.
Then our next stop was the Maria Cristina Power Plant. It was known in the Philippine Education that the Maria Cristina Falls in Iligan is the number one source of energy in Mindanao. In fact, it supplies around 40% of energy in Davao City.
We were toured inside by the guard and I was amazed at how beautiful the Falls was. The guard said that that wasn't fully opened yet because they fully open the dam every Sundays at around 11 in the morning. We went there Monday.
But even if it wasn't on full blast, I still found it wonderful and I was thankful at how well the people in Mindanao was able to think of ways to use nature in our necessities.
Then afterwards, we were taken to Tinago Falls, another Iligan wonder. Kuya Jeffrey briefly told us about the history of the falls. He said that at around Year 2000, the resort was fully developed. There was a mini zoo and there were cottages for overnight staying.
But it was foreclosed by the bank and afterwards, it was owned by the government and the development stopped. The animals in the zoo were taken away and the cottages weren't maintained.
Indeed, when we got there, I was disappointed with the resort and surprised that with only a 10 PHP entrance fee, we will already be able to go and enjoy the falls.
We went down 265 steps accompanied by the falls guide named Joel. He's gay, by the way.
It was such a tiring journey but everything was wiped away when I was finally able to see the falls. It was such a beauty and no matter how bad the resort up above looked, it was nothing compared to how amazing the falls looked.
A lot of people say that this falls was enchanted because there were already a lot who drowned and died while bathing in. But Joel told us that most of the visitors who drown there were those who swim without lifevests and men who go and explore the midst of the falls without anything to protect them.
So I took my lifevest and started swimming down the falls. Indeed, even though I knew how to swim, the strong current from the falls scared me and made me realize that lifevests sure are helpful. Because even though you knew how to swim, if you aren't familiar with the place, it'll really feel different and really scary.
So I didn't have much fun swimming around the falls because I was alone. I mean, it would have been really really fun if I was with friends or my family. So I told my mom that we should definitely go back there with my cousins.
So at around 12 noon, we took the 265 steps up back to civilization. Kuya Jeffrey drove us to Cagayan de Oro where we took the 3:00 pm bus back to Davao City.
We arrived home at around 10 pm and the rest was history. What I've said, I definitely will go back to Zamboanga soon with my cousins and of course, enjoy the beauty of Tinago Falls in Iligan once again.
P.S. for videos, go here: http://youtube.com/neym
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