A few weeks ago, my friends and I had the rare chance of spending a weekend in one of the beaches in Glan, Sarangani. There were some secluded vacation spots here and there, but we chose a place where there were no establishments. We set up camp near a small and sparsely populated fishing village, since one of my friends has some friends there.

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Green vegetation surrounded us. Coconuts, trees, shrubs, unique flowers never before seen all added to the beauty of the place. White sand beach riddled with rocky hills were in both sides of our camp. The waves were gently washing up on the shore while the cool sea breeze whirled around us. Best part of all is the beautiful Sarangani Bay would always display a magnificent sunset. Unlike those beach vacations spots frequented by most people, our spot in Glan was without tourists. That only added to the mystery and “exclusive” feel of the place.

If you want to go to a lovely, quiet place, I recommend going a trip down south. But if you’re not familiar with the place, you should definitely try checking in to one of the resorts. There are some resort scattered along the long, jagged coastlines of Glan. However, these resorts don’t have much tourists  anyway, so you can still enjoy the beauty and tranquility of Glan, Sarangani.

From General Santos City, take a van going to Sarangani (near KCC Mall) then from Sarangani, take a motorcycle going to Glan. You may want to go shopping for basic items in Sarangani or in General Santos City, since Glan is still a bit undeveloped.

bat cave

Bats. More bats. Screeching bats. More than a million of them.

Imagine a cave in an island, filled with bats. Hanging upside down, close to one another, getting restless as the sun is setting. Hovering  all over the place.

Thats what I’ve experienced recently when I visited the  Monfort Conservation Park, in Samal Island.  Although known for its white beaches, the island offers this one of a kind place that even locals are not very familiar with.  The Monfort Conservation Park is a 24 hectare property in Babak District, Samal Island with five caves that makes up the bat sanctuary. It is the world’s biggest colony of fruit bats – Geoffroy’s rousette fruit bats (Rousettus amplexicaudatus). It just opened four years ago and has been giving tourists a unique experience ever since.

Inside, you will see bats all cramped together at the cave walls. There were some bats flying around, others just hanging out (literally), while others scratching themselves. One thing you might notice immediately even before you go near is the foul odor emanating from the caves.  I don’t know if it came from the bat’s manure, or simply from the bats themselves. Another thing is the screeching sound (hey, if you live in a place that’s dark and the population is almost two million, who wouldn’t be smelly and screeching all the time?). The park has five caves and each were filled with bats. I have never seen so many bats before and it was like a horror movie come to life – bats, caves and nauseating smell in an island.

another bat cave

more bat cave

It is only a 20 minute travel from Davao City, and around 15 minutes from Babak wharf. You can ride a motorcycle (habal-habal). The entrance fee is only P20. It is best to visit before sunset.

You’ll see why.

The resort offers Overnight rooms, Function and Seminar Rooms and Halls, Restaurants, Coffee shop and a pool for children. If you are a nature lover, they have landscaped gardens with different trees and flowers distributed around, Butterfly Sanctuary, verandas, Farm Animals area and my favorite, the Bird Park where you can see different kinds of exotic birds.

An albino water buffalo

In the Bird park, there are many kinds of birds that I haven’t seen before. I was especially amused to see fat eye-catching chickens roaming freely around. There are colorful pheasants, wild ducks and those huge ostriches, among others. The resort features a Bird Show during the weekends and it hosts some sculpture of National Artist Napoleo Abueva. Truly an exciting and wonderful place to visit.

Fat rooster

Getting there:
Malagos Garden Resort is around 27 kilometers from the city center and 32 kilometers from the airport. It can be easily reached by Private or Public transportation.

By Car. Travel Time from City Center 30 minutes – 45 minutes.

By Public Transport.

a. Taxi. The taxi will bring you to Malagos Garden Resort. Travel Time from City Center 30 minutes – 45 minutes.

b. Bus and L300 Vans. City Center to Calinan and Vice Versa. Leaves the Bankerohan terminal every 15 minutes. Travel Time approximately 45 minutes – 1 hour.

The terminal for Annil Bus and L300 Vans are located at the corner of Quirino Avenue and San Pedro Extension, Bankerohan, Davao City (at the back of International Bank). It will also pass through SM City Davao, Roxas Avenue (Aldevinco Shopping Center/Marco Polo), Acacia (Madrazo Fruit Stand) and Quirino (Central Bank).

c. Motorcycle. Calinan to Malagos Garden Resort and Vice Versa. Travel Time 5 – 10 minutes.Upon arrival at Calinan, transfer to a Tricycle or Single Motorcycle.

My friends and I decided to go scuba diving around Davao Gulf. Since all of us were inexperienced, we took the “Diving 101″ course from the Carabao Dive Center, located at the Sta. Ana wharf. This only cost us P750 inclusive of the diving equipment, fee for the instructor and boat fare. Plus photo and video coverage of your diving experience. Neat deal. The diving instructors oriented us about the basic techniques of scuba diving, safety precautions, how to operate the oxygen tanks and of course, hand signals since you can’t talk underwater. Each person was assigned one instructor, and they will let you dive a depth of 30-50 feet(depending on the underwater terrain) for about half an hour. So we dove, saw strange and beautiful corals, colorful fishes and had a great time.

If you are looking for some fun under the sea, Davao can offer some great dive spots to enjoy. There are several dive sites in the Davao Gulf, which are only 45 minutes to 120 minutes away from the city proper. You can choose from the following dive spots: Ligid Islad, Aundanao, Tagbobo, Pangubatan, Mushroom Rock, Paet Point, Coral Garden, Isla Reta, Talisay Wall, Angel’s Cave, Mansud Wall, Malipano Island, Pearl Farm, Punta del Sol, and Paradise Island.

me and my buddies

dancing jellyfish

Nemo and family!

I made another wallpaper about Davao, a rather simple one.

Click picture for size 1024×768 or click here for size 3868×2901