In Pursuit of Mt. Apo

When I went to Legaspi, Albay, I didn't have to look for Mt. Mayon ( see here) cos she's all over the place. Taal Volcano ( see here , here , here ) might be hiding sometimes cos she' so tiny but on the right time of the day she shows up below Tagaytay ridges. But Mt. Apo, our country's highest peak was nowhere in sight when I came to Davao City. Not that I haven't seen him? yet, but it had been 10 years ago since I last saw him and totally forgotten how he looked like. Resident cousins assured me it would definitely show up when the clouds cleared, not sounding very convincing.Then, three days had past, clouds had gone dark and clear , touristing around the province and seen a lot of generic mountains around but no Mt. Apo yet.

Then one time, while we were at the center of the city, cousin host invited us to have coffee at The Apo View Hotel.

Aha! Could it be ( my stupid me playing thoughts with my silly mind) that this hotel named after the possibly visible sight of the Mt. Apo from its location? No answer. .

We went inside the hotel and was surprised with an interesting tribal exhibit going on at the lobby.

I was pleasantly welcomed by a fellow blogger/hotel employee/event coordinator - Olan. This reminds me to check his card and visit his site ( I'm sure he's well known within /outside Davao blogosphere) later . He was so nice and very accommodating , he even introduced me to some people like the artist of the visual art exhibit.

Meet the artist - Mr. Ronald Tamfalan, a true member of Tiboli Tribe of Sarangani Province. The genius in him could be seen from the uniqueness of his works.

At the other parts of the lobby, there were trade exhibit, tribeswomen weaving on an authentic device and a parade of mannequins wearing beautiful handcrafted gowns.

After coffee, we went to the garden of the hotel and enjoyed Davao fruits-mangoosteen, durian,pomelo and marang.

Ofcourse, I hadn't forgotten yet my search for Mt. Apo sight. so we went up to the Top of the Apo (of the hotel) and found out...

Looking down , I realized that the city of Davao hadn't risen up yet in terms of tall building structures.There were only few high rise buildings and one of them was the Marco Polo Hotel.

We stayed for awhile until the sky started to get dark. Yet no Mt. Apo showed up. . .

On the way down the lobby, I took one glance up the ceiling and something was familiar. The brass coconut chandelier ! I've seen one before. .can't remember now where. We went home to rest for the following day's itinerary.

The following morning on our way to Cotabato, finally Mt. Apo gave us a glimpse of him. I was on a moving vehicle and it was confusing_ which of him was his on these interlapping mountains? I think the other one was of Mt. Eden and the bigger one was the Mt. Apo.
Case dismissed !!

Ampatuan Mansions, Davao city

I was too lucky to have a generous cousin who let us stay in her town house in Juna Subdivision ( an enclave of the old rich of Davao) during our recent short visit to the nature blessed city. But what really poked me, aside from the beautiful house of my cousin, was to realize that the mansions of the Ampatuans, yeeess the controversial clan : Snap Facts : It was on Nov. 23,2009 that armed men believed to be led by Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. slaughtered at least 57 people, including members of the Mangudadatu clan and at least 27 journalists, in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province., were just sitting on the next streets of the same village.

It was hard to ignore the imposing presence of the mansions ( one of Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and of his father Andal Sr.). Occupying the whole block (estimating 2000 sq.meters), photos above, the still under construction of Gov. Zaldy was quiet and looked uninhabited by the time of my visit (Aug. 18,2010). It looked deserted with the grasses growing tall in front of the mansion. Ofcouse, I dared not try to peek inside, but from the outside it was totally silent.

The mansion was so huge, it continued to stand up to the next street. There were high fences and gates that were not yet finished. Political rumors have it that questionable possessions of the Ampatuans would be sequestered,reminded me of what happened to the Marcos-es.

We drove to another street of Juna Subdivision and saw a similar mansion in size and structure. Said to be the one belong to the father, Andal Sr. This too occupied a block of 2000 sq. meters.




My Ampatuan mansion tour didn't end here. I went to Cotabato the following day and passed by the controversial towns of the Ampatuans. There I had a more extensive glimpse of the opulent living of the Ampatuans. The mansions were actually very similar in structure to the ones here in Davao. Check them here later.

"The real differences around the world today are not between Jews and Arabs; Protestants and Catholics; Muslims, Croats, and Serbs.  The real differences are between those who embrace peace and those who would destroy it; between those who look to the future and those who cling to the past; between those who open their arms and those who are determined to clench their fists."  ~William J. Clinton, 1997

Eden Nature Park & Resort, Davao

On 3000 feet above sea level, I was feeling the temporary deafness starting to envelope my senses., as we were approaching the highest point of  Eden Nature Park & Resort.

Nevertheless, the ear pressure was worth the pain upon reaching the top with  the fantastic view of Davao.

Snap Facts : Discovered sometime in 1971, the resort used to be a logged-over area covered only by a blanket of wild grass. Its potential was, however, readily seen by the owners as the property provided an imposing view of Davao City and the Davao Gulf. Not long after, terraces were carved out of the mountain slope, and thousands of pine tree seedlings were planted. As the pine trees grew, they provided canopies allowing other trees and plants to grow and creating a secondary forest. Today, there are over 100,000 pine trees spread throughout 80 hectares, providing a refreshing backdrop to the various attractions in Eden Nature Park.

We took the mountain trail, ofcourse not by foot but by a guided shuttle tour. The mountain tour made stops to significant gardens of Eden which were too many for me to remember each name.




What's the fuss over a wishing well???

First of all, it was not as deep as the regular well where one usually make a wish and throw coins into a dark, deep hole of water. This garden wishing well was surprisingly beautiful. Kaleidoscope of flowers afloat the shallow well which made it looked more like a flower pond than a well.








Remember the Mickey Mouse fruits ? (see here) . We saw a lot of this quirky plant on bushes in one of the gardens in Eden.

And mountains of stunning flowers ! ! ! Lots of them ! Guess I would be doing another post exclusively for these flowers, but for now let me share some of them for ( those who dig flo-wers ) your moment of pleasure

Gorgeous ! Later, for the flower lovers, I promise a post loaded with these beauties and a lot more.

Can't recall what's this place called. but looks like a garden theater, right? I remember cuz' mentioned that one of popular local tv game shows (one of Kris Aquino's) had its live telecast on this place.

There are still tons of nature scenes to share in this mountain of Eden. But for now let me end this part1 with these children parents playing the Indiana Jones, while waiting for the snacks. I also really enjoyed this one .

T' boli and Mandaya Tribes

Apart from the pulchritudinous colors of flowers in Davao, the resplendent pigments of ethnic fabrics wore and weaved  by the members of different indigenous tribes had fascinated me during the Kadayawan 2010.












We watched a little of the stage show going on at the park and I didn't understand what was going on. But the colorful garments wore by the indigenous tribe participants were interesting.

Even their accessories  from head down to toes are quite eye candy.

We saw these rich colored fabrics on display for sale right beside the souvenir boutique of  Malipano Island.

There was a weaving center where you could watch tribeswomen weaving The old women are from the Mandaya Tribe.

The tribeswomen wore predominantly the color of red and dashes of other primary colors. Those fabrics were also made into bags and wallets. There were also accessories made by them which designs and hues mirrored the woven clothes.

We found another weaving center at the Pearl Farm Hotel/Resort in Davao where we booked our visit to Pearl Farm, Samal Island.

I noticed another distinctive design of the fabrics here. This was because the weaver came from a different tribe, the T'boli.

Some of the designs have evolved into sophisticated  end products designs. I suspected there were professional designers involved here cos they looked so modern and out of the ethnic tribal box.




I saw other ethnic groups having exhibits and cultural shows. The tribe in the photo above I found at Apo Hotel. Indeed, Davao is a melting pot of ethnic tribes where different cultures and colors contribute more interesting characters of the beautiful province.