After almost four months of planning this Mindanao trip, the day has finally arrived for us to embark on this once-in-a-lifetime adventure with 15 of my good friends from high school (plus a husband and a son).
A bit of a background first. Mindanao wasn't our first choice. We were supposed to go to Bohol. I had already bought tickets for all of us as early as September 2013, and reserved and paid a 10% downpayment at the resort where we were to stay. Then the Bohol earthquake happened in October. Most of us got nervous, so we decided to go to Cagayan de Oro instead. It was a good thing that Bohol Bee Farm returned our downpayment. Too bad the Tagbilaran tickets were not refundable. charged everything to bad experience.
For those of you who are curious to know if we used a travel agency for this 5-days-and-4-nights trip, the answer is a big no. I tried to get quotations from some reputable travel agents, but I found out that we could save money if I did everything. Without the agency fees, we were able to save 20%. A word of warning though, you would have to spend sleepless nights poring through countless blogs, websites, and travellers' reviews, plus wait for discounted fares from low cost carriers (riding PAL is out of the question!). And of course, I had to consult all 15 of my bosses if they would agree to my decision to go to these so-and-so places. So yes, Rod and Nathan, I made this trip happen. Ang yabang naman! Hahaha!
Now back to the main story. If you have been following my blog, you will know that our trip was the next morning right after our 30th Anniversary Batch Party.
Yeah, we didn't get to sleep. At all. The party lasted until midnight, and then our flight was at 5:05 a.m. the next day. We arrived at NAIA 2 at 3:30 a.m., so sure, we didn't get any shut eye.
Some of us still had battery juice left, while the others were oblivious to the camera clicking away.
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| Photo by AAMaruyama |
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| Photo by AAMaruyama |
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| Photo by AAMaruyama |
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| Photo by AAMaruyama |
We almost missed our plane. We were there early, but the announcement for boarding wasn't very clear, and we thought it was just a pre-boarding call. An AirAsia ground staff went up to us and told us, in a loud voice, that we were the only ones who had not boarded. What the..? And she was announcing it to all the people at the airport, so we were kind of flushed. But there were 16 of us, so I knew we wouldn't be left behind.
We took the AirAsia flight from Manila to Cagayan de Oro. Why AirAsia? Well, we got the best deal from them at the time we were eyeing for discounted fares, which was four months before our desired schedule. However, I just didn't like that they charged a processing fee of 15% because I used my credit card to buy all our tickets online. (Round trip ticket fare Mla-CGY-Mla: ~P1,798.56-not bad!)
It was my first time to ride Air Asia. Surprisingly, the plane we used was an airbus and the seats were bigger than other LCC's. Overall, we had a comfortable flight.
We arrived at CDO Laguindingan Airport at 7:15 a.m.
Usually, they make an announcement discouraging passengers to take photos on the tarmac. But we didn't hear any, so...
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| Photo by TCHashiba |
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| Photo by TCHashiba |
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| Photo by TCHashiba |
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| Photo by TCHashiba |
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| Photo by AAMaruyama |
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| Photo by AAMaruyama |
I arranged two vans for our 4-day trip. I just got hold of the name of the van hire from Facebook. It was easy to book a ride with them, and the price was very reasonable. I compared their rates with other local van hires, and theirs were the lowest. (SLT Van For Hire (Facebook account) ~P2,500/van from Laguindingan-Divine Mercy-CDO Riverview Inn-CDO Riverview Inn to Kagay-anon-CDO Riverview Inn, P2,500/van from CDO to Balingoan Port, P2,500/van from Balingoan to Dahilayan, P3,500 Dahilayan to Laguindingan, P5,000 Dahilayan-Iligan-Laguindingan)
I wanted to make sure that the schedule of our trip was clear to everyone, so I had our itinerary printed. Travelling in a large group like this, I had to make sure that everyone was on the same page. Did I mention that we also had outfit themes for each of our activity? Naku, ang aarte talaga!
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| Photo by RLEncarnacion |
On our way to CDO, we passed by the Divine Mercy Hills in El Salvador, Misamis Oriental. We thought of starting our trip with a prayer of guidance and good weather as well.
The people here consider this place as sacred ground, so proper attire is required from the visitors. Please take note.
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| Photo by BACacnio |
Now, if you were like us who were wearing tight jeans, you would be asked to wear a skirt over your pants. They let you 'borrow' skirts and will just ask you to donate any amount of money. Don't worry, you can choose whatever color you like.
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| Photo by RLEncarnacion |
A priest gamely walked with us to the chapel. Yup, he was wearing a 'dress' too!
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| Photo by BACacnio |
You can find a water station within the grounds, where they believe holy water pours out from the faucet. We opted to wash our faces and hands with its water. We were not sure if it was safe to drink it though, so we refrained from doing so.
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| Photo by BACacnio |
The image of the Divine Mercy was overwhelming!
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| Photo by AAMaruyama |
Don't we look like real Marians here?
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| Photo by AAMaruyama |
The Divine Mercy Hills Church
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| Photo by AAMaruyama |
At around 9:30 a.m., we arrived at CDO Riverview Inn and checked in. At that point in time, everyone wasn't in the mood to do anything, not even smile for the cam. No wonder, some drama happened. But that's a story for us to keep to ourselves, di ba girls? (wink, wink!)
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| Photo by RLEncarnacion |
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| Photo by RLEncarnacion |
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| Photo by RLEncarnacion |
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| Photo from CDO Riverview website |
CDO Riverview Inn was the cheapest accommodation I could find. A room for triple sharing was just P1,000. We were able to check in early, that was some plus factor. The rooms were spartan and frugal, but what could we have expected from paying P388/person? I could forgive that, given the cheap accommodation we paid for. However, one night-shift staff was rude and ill-mannered, and that I refused to accept no matter how small the amount of money I paid. The price of food at their restaurant was also a little pricey, at least for kuripots like us.
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| Photo from CDO Riverview website |
Call time for the next activity was at 12:00 noon. Off for a short nap, everyone!
To be continued...
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