Going through the Backdoor Part Trois

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Going through the Backdoor Part Deux

Seen:  Cagayan de Oro City

And so my adventure continues....  It was a 5-hour journey from Oroquieta, to that place where we took a barge, seen Maguindanao from afar, had lunch in Iligan at a small Chinese restaurant with generous helpings and finally arrived at CDO. 

So we made plans to go white water rafting the following day.  When asked whether we want the basic or the advanced course, my significant other advised us to take the advanced course we can go through 7 extra rapids, plus, we should allow the raft to flip for fun and to get our money's worth. 

We entrusted our lives to the capable hands of a guy named Jerome, who runs the tour.  I forgot how much we paid but we got a discount.  The fee is inclusive of 1 snacks and lunch that is served at the end of tour.  I was pleased with how Jerome did the introductions and safety reminders plus the fact that there has never been an accident in any of the tours conducted by his company.  So with that info in mind, we were set to go.

Getting ready

At the start

Ready for the push off

This is it!

The first rapid

Anyway, at the end of the tour, we were really ravenous.  And so we ate and slept after.  Next adventure please!

Going through the Backdoor

Seen:  Oroquieta in December

Finally made a trip to Misamis Occidental in Mindanao, Oroquieta City to be specific.  My significant other gave me an invite to spend some time there, see what his life is like, and meet his parents.  My stay in Oroquieta City was brief but I made it a point to shoot almost any scenery.

My friend and I arrived via Ozamiz and it took us about an hour from there to Oroquieta City.  We passed by rice fields mostly and it's quite nice to see food growing out there.  So once we arrived, we had lunch and had a brief tour and here are the pics for posterity.

My friend, Kitin on the hanging bridge

 My friend, Kitin here, is hanging on for dear life as my significant other tries to gently sway the hanging bridge (just for laughs).  It was quite windy so I told him not to overdo it or else we'd end up in the water.

Ukay-Ukay

This here is the ukay-ukay.  Appararently, they sell nice stuff that's way too friendly for your wallet.  Would definitely give it a try the next chance I get.

Going to the bay area

 This is the way towards the bay area, and the market.  Went around for a drive around siesta time, so not a lot of people milling around the area.

Next came this interesting piece of oddity...

It's not the Flying House, it's just the SuperFerry House

Right smack in your face is this house.  My significant other said that the former Miss Oroquieta (circa 2000s) or was it a former contestant lives in this very house.  I asked him if her parents are WGA employees, well he had no idea.  The structure in front of the house is a Brgy Tanod Outpost in a shape of a tugboat (unfortunately not captured in this frame), most likely to complement the nearby house.

Town Circle

 After a wonderful dinner, we decided to go around that night.  Here's the town circle, quite similar to the Fuente Circle, strung up with lights for the Yuletide season.  I think their town circle has outdone ours since they even had laser lights.

The Boardwalk

This here reminds me of a scene from Benjamin Button, the place where he goes to see the sunrise.

Now on to their different displays...

The Nativity

They have different versions of the Nativity.  There's even one done in stained-glass fashion.

Stained Glass Nativity

Christmas tree

Santa sans the reindeers

So these are most of the things that I have seen during my short stay there.  I hope they have the same dedication and enthusiasm to put up the same or even better displays this year.

Next stop...CDO

I'm Going Back to the Start

Destination:  Moalboal

Moalboal Sunset

My first out of town trip was with my groupmates during our post graduate intership.  We had the weekend off so we decided to take a trip.  So we researched some good places to go where the beaches are.  The group's top pick was Moalboal, where we arrived on a Saturday afternoon just near sunset.  To make things affordable, my 2 groupmates who had their birthdays without a pary, and I who was a week short for my next birthday, decided to shoulder dinner.  Our all-you-can-eat buffet consisted of CnT lechon, ngohiong and puso from Domeng's located just near Fairlane Village in Guadalupe, Sr. Pedro lechon manok and of course, softdrinks.  Actually, we had to sneak our food in the resort.  Ssssshhhh!

Club Serena, Bas Dako Moalboal

So we stayed in this beautiful but small resort called Club Serena.  Their cottage with 2 rooms can accomodate up to 4 persons, for Php 3,200/room while the beach front cottage costs more but can accomodate 5 to 6 people if my memory serves me right.  

The Cottage

 This is the cottage where we stayed.  It actually has a honeymooner's ambiance.  It was really cozy, clean and spacious, well worth every peso.  One sweet feature for these cottages is they come with a sitting area such as this one.

the swing

Beachfront Cottage

This is the beachfront cottage that comes with a small dining area and sink, a lounge area with television.  We actually brought a Magic Sing with us for fun.  I guess that one broke the honeymoon ambiance.  Our apologies for disrupting the magical moments of couples nearby.  Among the resort's guests, we were the ones who came in a group.  Other cottages in the resort are the tree house cottages which are at some distance from the beach.

One of the interesting things that the resort advertises is their pool.  According to their website, they use ionized water for their pool which won't hurt your eyes.  So we tested it and they weren't kidding.

Poolside

The Beach

 The beach of course doesn't come with sand as fine as that of Boracay's.  At this time of the year (-ber months), expect some kelp and seaweeds clinging on you after you take a dip.  As always, Moalboal can rightly boast as one of the top diving spots in Cebu.  They actually have a dive master in the resort so you can arrange for some lessons during your stay.

The spots in the resort where you can just laze around are the cabana and the lanai area where you can arrange to have a massage.

The Cabana (my favorite spot to doze off)

Lanai

You can actually have a reception here at the lanai for about 30 people.  Not bad, huh.

The Restaurant

Adjacent to the lanai is the restaurant.  They serve continental and Filipino dishes.  The bonus here is that they sell gelatto (I forgot the brand though).  Prices aren't overblown so the taste and value won't be an issue.

All in all, it was a good experience and would definitely recommend this place.  It's much more suited for a romantic get away than a barkada trip.  The resort is not that big but provides a lot of privacy and is placed at some distance from other resorts.  The staff is courteous and the place is well maintained.  Just book in advanced especially during the summer months as well as during February.

I hope I can make a second trip to this place.

Outdoor Wooden Swing