Misamis Occidental | Cotta Fort In Ozamis City

Straight from Ozamis bus terminal I hop a tricycle to the port area to catch a ferry/barge that crosses to Mukas in Lanao Del Norte. Due to my limited time I opted to skip Ozamis City and nearby areas. When I was approaching the Ozamis barge terminal I saw this huge wall just like in Intramuros. Its past 12 noon and I check what’s inside the Cotta Fort. I paid 5 pesos entrance fee then I start exploring the place.

Fuerte de la Concepcion y Del Triunfo is also known as Cotta Fort and Shrine. The fort is made of broken pieces of dead corals and built in 1756 by Father Jose Ducos. This served as a Spanish outpost in the area. A special chapel was built inside the walls of the fort and an image of the virgin of the Immaculate Conception, in the pink and blue attire, was enshrined in the chapel and outside the fort on the wall facing the bay, was a carved image of the Virgin Mary. The image on the Cotta's wall is believed to be miraculously growing and has been the object of pilgrimage. The fort was renovated and restored to its original design in 2006.

There is more interesting places in the area if only i have enough time. Just outside the Cotta Fort is the Ozamis barge terminal and it’s a 20 minutes boat ride to Mukas that passes by the Panguil bay. 

This is part of the 2nd leg of my solo backpacking in Mindanao.

Budget | Zamboanga Del Norte | Zamboanga Sibugay | Zamboanga Del Sur | Misamis Occidental | Lanao Del Sur | Cotabato City | North Cotabato | South Cotabato | Saranggani

Zamboanga Del Sur | A Day At Pagadian City

After long hours of land travel I finally landed at Pagadian City. It’s one of the progressive cities in Zamboanga Peninsula. You can see a tricycle scattered in every corner of the metropolis. One of the unique and iconic designs of tricycle can be found in Pagadian. There were also huge government shopping malls.

I stay at Roxan Hotel for my second night. I've been on the road for several hours and I felt that tiredness that I to take a nap for a while before exploring the Pagadian City.
The plaza fronting the Pagadian city hall is alive during night where locals spend time bonding with their families and friends enjoying the food offered at the stalls at town plaza.

There is more interesting places in Zamboanga Del Sur to explore if only I had ample time. From Pagadian I boarded a bus bound to Ozamis.

This is part of the 2nd leg of my solo backpacking in Mindanao.

Budget | Zamboanga Del Norte | Zamboanga Sibugay | Zamboanga Del Sur | Misamis Occidental | Lanao Del Sur | Cotabato City | North Cotabato | South Cotabato | Saranggani

Zamboanga Sibugay | A Quick Stop-over At Ipil

Ipil an hour away from Tampilisan is the capital of Zamboanga Sibugay. After eating my brunch at the local carenderia I stroll for a while then took a habal-habal up to the top of the hill where the Zamboanga Sibugay provincial capitol and other government offices were located.

Tricycles and habal-habal were the mode of transportations within the town. The construction of huge landmark at the center island is ongoing. I took some photos at the capitol ground then i went down and boarded a bus to Pagadian City in Zamboanga Del Sur.

This is part of the 2nd leg of my solo backpacking in Mindanao.

Budget | Zamboanga Del Norte | Zamboanga Sibugay | Zamboanga Del Sur | Misamis Occidental | Lanao Del Sur | Cotabato City | North Cotabato | South Cotabato | Saranggani

Zamboanga Del Norte | Around Historical Cities Of Dapitan And Dipolog + Situbo Falls

dapitan city plaza

Recently I backpacked Mindanao for 8 days covering the regions of Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, ARMM and SOCCSKSARGEN. Arriving at the Dipolog airport past noon I immediately went out of the terminal and board a bus bound to Dapitan.

saint james the greater parish church in dapitan

rizal shrine

The small town of Dapitan plays a big part in Philippine history. Dr. Jose Rizal the country’s national hero spends four long years in this town during his exile. The relic map and the Dipolog cathedral were designs of Rizal.

our lady of the most holy rosary cathedral in dipolog city

The main attraction is the Rizal shrine. It features huts used by Rizal during his stay and the water system he built for the resident of Talisay. I explore this historical site and after that I go back to the town and boarded a mini bus back to Dipolog City. I stroll around the city, Dipolog cathedral then spend the rest of afternoon at the sunset boulevard at the end side of it were stalls selling bbq. Locals call it mcdukoduko. I order 2 puso, chicken bbq, and pork bbq. I have a sumptuous early dinner and it’s enjoyable to eat with bare hands.

sunset boulevard

guesthouse in tampilisan

After my dinner I walk the long stretch of the boulevard down to the terminal and boarded a bus bound to Ipil. I get off at the sleeping town of Tampilisan. Past ten in the evening when I arrived there good thing habal-habal driver knows a budget guesthouse nearby or else I’ll spend the night at a gasoline station along the highway. He assisted me and the following day I charter him to bring me to Situbo falls. He also serves as my guide. The trail down to the falls is quit slippery and muddy. The unspoiled towering Situbo falls is worth to visit.

situbo falls

From Situbo falls I head back to the town center of Tampilisan and waited for jeepneys that ply to Ipil.

This is part of the 2nd leg of my solo backpacking in Mindanao.

Budget | Zamboanga Del Norte | Zamboanga Sibugay | Zamboanga Del Sur | Misamis Occidental | Lanao Del Sur | Cotabato City | North Cotabato | South Cotabato | Saranggani

Backpacking Mindanao 2 Expenses (Dipolog to GenSan) Nov 5-12, 2014

 day 1
 airfare- manila to dipolog (cebupac) - 951.52
 bus dipolog to dapitan - 18.00
 trike to rizal shrine(rt) -35.00
 guide tip - 100.00
 lunch - 73.00
 bus dapitan to dipolog - 20.00
 trike to sunset blvd - 8.00
 dinner @ mcdoko-doko - 75.00
 water 1 liter - 24.00
 bus dipolog to tampilisan - 165.00
 guest house-tampilisan - 150.00
 habal-habal - 20.00
 total-day 1 ----------------------------------------->1,639.52

day 2
 habal-habal to situbo falls(rt) - 200.00
 jeep tampilisan to ipil - 30.00
 lunch - 85.00
 trike around ipil - 40.00
 bus ipil to pagadian - 175.00
 jeep to downtown - 10.00
 snack - 63.00
 roxan hotel - 350.00
 dinner - 65.00
 total-day 2 ----------------------------------------->1,018.00


day3
 trike around pagadian - 35.00
 bus pagadian to ozamiz - 100.00
 trike around ozamiz - 30.00
 lunch - 67.00
 entrance-cotta fort - 5.00
 ferry from ozamiz to mukas - 36.00
 bus to iligan - 75.00
 jeep to gh - 7.00
 famous pension house - 200.00
 dinner - 36.00
 water& ice cream - 63.50
 total-day 3-------------------------------------------->654.50

 day4
 habal habal to bus terminal - 35.00
 jeep iligan to marawi - 50.00
 trike around marawi - 60.00
 van from marawi to cotabato - 350.00
 lunch - 84.00
 hotel filipino - 300.00
 jeep/habal habal to grand mosque - 136.00
 dinner - 70.00
 total-day 4------------------------------------------>1,085.00

day5
 van cotabato to midsayap - 60.00
 trike to jeepney terminal - 10.00
 breakfast - 50.00
 water - 20.00
 jeep midasayap to dado - 70.00
 lunch - 70.00
 habal-habal to asik-asik - 150.00
 entrance-asik-asik falls - 30.00
 transpo back to midsayap/dinner -  free c/o kuya neil
 accomodation - free c/o kuya neil              
 total-day 5------------------------------------------->460.00

day6
 bus midsayap to cotabato - 40.00
 jeep to husky bus terminal - 10.00
 bus cotabato to isulan - 156.00
 van isulan to surallah - 59.00
 jeep surallah to lake sebu - 35.00
 habal habal around lake sebu - 195.00
 punta isla resort - 150.00
 lunch/dinner - 100.00
 cellphone charging - 20.00
 total-day 6------------------------------------------->765.00

 day7
 breakfast - 53.00
 habal-habal around lake sebu - 25.00
 van lake sebu to surallah - 35.00
 van from surallah to koronadal - 28.00
 lunch - free c/o tita jolly              
 mcdo hot fudge - 28.00
 bus koronadal to gensan - 95.00
 habalhabal around gensan - 30.00
 bukohalo - 82.00
 dinner/accomodation - free  c/o kuya buddy              
  total-day 7------------------------------------------>376.00

day8
 habal-habal to van terminal - 50.00
 van gensan to glan - 100.00
 trike to gumasa(rt) - 200.00
 van glan to gensan - 100.00
 lunch - 158.00
 trike/jeep/habalhabal to gensan airport - 90.00
 terminal fee - 100.00
 bread - 80.00
 airfare gensan to manila (cebupac)  - 766.52
 total-day 8----------------------------------------->1,644.52


grand total ---------------------------------------->7,642.54

This is part of the 2nd leg of my solo backpacking in Mindanao.

Budget | Zamboanga Del Norte | Zamboanga Sibugay | Zamboanga Del Sur | Misamis Occidental | Lanao Del Sur | Cotabato City | North Cotabato | South Cotabato | Saranggani

Benguet | Panabenga Festival of Baguio City

Tourist flocked to the city of Baguio in Cordillera on the month of February to witness the week long colorful celebration of Panabenga Festival. This festival showcases the colorful flowers of the city. Most flowers that sold in Manila were mostly coming form the Cordillera.

Strawberry is also one of the main products of the region.

The streets of Baguio come alive with song, dance and a spectacular grand floral parade of floats.

How to get there:
Several bus companies along EDSA have trips to Baguio

Quezon | Lucban's Pahiyas Festival

This festival showcases the bountiful harvest of the people of Lucban Quezon. The festivity held every 15th of May is in honor of the town patron saint San Isidro Labrador. The houses were decorated with colorful kiping, different kinds of fruits and vegetables. Kiping is leaf-shaped rice wafers.

Located also in Lucban is the "Kamay ni Hesus" shrine which is a healing church that has been founded in the year 1998 by Rev. Fr. Joseph Ayala Faller. This is a popular pilgrimage destination in Southern Luzon.

Pancit hab-hab and longanisa is also a must try when visiting Lucban. The quit town of Lucban is located in the foothill of mystical mount Banahaw.

The Saint Louis of Toulouse Parish Church (Lucban Church) follows the baroque design.  It has a three-story facade. The second level features semi-circular windows flanked by Corinthian columns and niches containing statues of saints and also has an octagonal, three-story bell tower standing on a square base.

How to get there:

Take bus bound for Sta. Cruz Laguna. From there hop a mini-bus/jeepney to Lucban. Alternatively, take bus bound for Lucena Quezon. Regular jeepneys connect Grand Central to Lucban.

Capiz | Pan-ay River,Sta.Monica Church & Bell & Baybay Beach

The province of Capiz is located on the northern part of Panay Island in Western Visayas. This place popularly known for Aswang. Aside from aswang this province is also the birthplace of President Manuel Roxas. Its capital Roxas City is named after the late president. This also dubbed as the seafood capital of the Philippines.

As part of my #ikotPinas project straight from my vacation in my hometown Iloilo going back to Manila I decided to drop by this province. 

Pan-ay River lies in the middle of the city. This is one of the cleanest rivers in the country. Panay River, which has given the City of Roxas the moniker as "City by the Sea," is a 152-kilometer waterway that starts from Tapaz town, passing through several municipalities and Roxas City. It empties itself into the Tinagond Dagat Bay in Pontevedra town.

Sta. Monica Church and Bell in Pan-ay town is established in 1572. It was heavily damaged by typhoon and restored in 1884. The bell of the church is the largest in Asia. It is made of seventy sacks of coins from the donation of townspeople. It measures seven feet in diameter, five feet in height and weighs 10,400 kilograms. This church is declared as a national historical landmark.

Baybay beach is about 3 kilometers north of downtown Roxas. It’s near the airport. This 7 kilometers brown-sand beach is lined with restaurants that served delicious and incredibly cheap seafoods.

I stayed at Halaran Plaza Hotel.

How to get there:

From Manila budget airlines have daily flight to Roxas. Frequent buses/airconvans from Iloilo runs to Roxas. (P146.00/3 hours.) From Kalibo only aircon vans are bound for Roxas City (P120.00/2 hours). Tricycles are mode of transportation with the city and nearby Pan-ay town.

Bohol | The Stunning Chocolate Hills

We took the early morning trip of Oceanjet bound for Tagbilaran City, the gateway to Bohol Island. It’s my second time for Bohol! I always look forward to go back to that wonderful island! It's a stunning Visayan jewel. Kuya Sherwin 0910-612-3168 / 0926-7103-220  is waiting for us at the seaport. He is the one I contacted to be our driver/tourguide. He charges us lesser than those other contacts I asked.

Kuya is so nice. He keeps on sharing with us the history of their island. Our fist stop is the historical blood compact site.  We got so excited to see a tarsier. This endangered species can be found mainly in the town of Corella. It’s a wonderful experience passing through the highway of manmade forest. This long stretch of highway is planted by hundreds of thousands of mahogany trees. They compare this to one of the scene in the movie Twilight.

                       

It took an hour and we finally reached the world’s famous chocolate hills located in the town of Carmen. Jimmelyn and Jenel were so excited to take the stairs going on top of the hill’s viewing area. The foreigners were also amazed. After that we have an extreme adventure at Loboc Adventure Park. It’s my first time to try the zip line ride. I feel like a superman flying from one mountain to the other side. An adrenaline rush experience.

We pass by the hanging bridge. There we bought some peanut kisses and other pasalubong stuff. It’s time for lunch. The perfect time and place to have it is by Loboc River Cruise. As we are having our buffet lunch the cruise started. The river was so breathtaking. There are cultural presentations at the riverbanks.

Our tour ended at the Baclayon Chruch, the oldest coral stone church in the region. The place is open for tourist. The artifacts were stored.

We spend the rest of the day at Dumaluan Beach Resort in Panglao Island. I love this island and I am dreaming of residing here someday, the white sand, fresh sea foods and the friendly Boholanos. One thing that weren’t experience is the island hoping and snorkelling because we woke up late! We just enjoy the day beside the shore watching some Japanese nationals enjoying beach volleyball. They don’t mind what is going on in Japan.

Last of day of our trip we are bound for Tagbilaran City. Jim and Jenel headed to the seaport for their Cebu trip while I attended a mass at the Tagbilaran Cathedral. I am fortunate because the mass is in English! After that I spend the day strolling at the plaza just across the church. Good thing about the city is that you can enjoy it by just walking. Eating breakfast at McDo and malling at BC Mall! By 4pm I will be flying back to Manila with ZestAir!:)