From Islands to Highlands ( The Golden Way) By: Rosemarie P. Miranda Remember the story of King Midas and his ability to change everything that he touched into gold? Whether fiction or real, gold draws a lot of interest from all ages. Yesterday, I turned into gold, not literally though. Becoming fifty is a phase in itself. Becoming a half century is a feat. In these uncertain times, not many reach this age. I am one thankful creature to the heavens that despite the challenges along the way, I am now golden. What a perfect and timely advance birthday gift it was then when I was one of the five press people from Dipolog City who were invited by the Department of Tourism ( Regions IX and XI) to join the two-day Dipolog-Davao Media Familiarization tour in Davao City early this week. The tour is aimed to drum up interest in the tourist destinations of both Dipolog and Davao thereby creating a symbiotic tourism partnership. Three of the media from Dipolog are Press Club members, myself, PIA Assistant Regional Director Franklin P. Gumapon and Editha P. Tomong. The two others are Dipolog RMN-DXDR Station Manager Richard Villaronte and ABS-CBN lensman Sunny Dimasuhid. ABS-CBN Reporter Dynah Diestro is supposed to go with the group but had to call it off during the last minute due to the sudden “emergence” of allergy. The group took the Cebu Pacific flight from Dipolog to Davao. Three flights are plying this route every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1:55 p.m. Cebu Pacific is a partner of the Department of Tourism for this tour. We were joined at the Dipolog Airport by two charming, young ladies from the DOT Region IX, Jacqueline Kriselle “L” M. Carrasco and Elaine Fernandez. At the Davao Airport, DOT IX Regional Director Mary June G. Bugante and DOT XI Regional Director Art P. Boncato, Jr, warmly welcomed the group. Upon landing, we were whisked off aboard a Hyundai van to our hotel, the Ritz Hotel at the Garden Oases. Our tour guide, Amor Rey Puno, regaled us with bits of information of Davao as we cruised the streets with. After 20 minutes, our tour officially began. Our first stop was the Davao Central 911. According to the people manning it, the Davao City 911 is a “highly computerized integrated emergency and rescue dispatch system that links the residents of Davao to the entire emergency resources of Davao”. We were briefed by the different key people in charge of its operations. Dinner was at the famous Marina Seafoods Restaurant where they served tuna cooked in ten different ways. The meal was topped with the mouth-watering and heavenly-scented durian salad. We were joined during dinner by Korean media men from the Seoul Herald, Kokmin Ilbo, Travel Leisure and Seoul Economy Daily. The dinner evoked pleasant memories in me when I also visited Seoul, Korea two years ago as a Philippine delegate to the Asia Pacific Gender Empowerment Conference together with Mayor Evelyn T. Uy and NCRFW Commissioner Myrna T. Yao. From Islands to Highlands. What a catchy phrase to lure tourists. The second day proved to be more exciting and fascinating. First stop is the Museo Dabawenyo which housed historical artifacts and art works for the visitors to “ feel” the soul of the city. From there, we proceeded to the Philippine Eagle Center where we got to view up close and personal the majestic eagles of which Davao is famous for aside from the durian and waling-waling. Second stop is the Malagos Garden Resort. There, we were able to feed the birds from our palms. I shrieked with both fright and delight as two birds alighted on my outstretched palm with the bird seeds to beckon them. The resort also boasts of butteflies of all sizes, shapes and colors. We tasted the different kinds of cheese made from their goats and sipped their local wine fermented from bighay fruits. From there, we visited the Eden Nature Park where we got to commune with nature at its best. Time seemed to stand still. One can get lost in reverie or marvel at the splendor of God’s creation. Lunch was not only delicious but nutritious as well with the salad veggies picked at their organic gardens. Different strokes for different folks. There are many activities which can be done there. We visited a replica of a native village and dared to get inside the “Langub sa Kaalam”, hoping that when we emerged from the cold, dark and eerie cave, we will become brighter and wiser. Next stop is the Davao Crocodile Farm where one can see hundreds of crocodiles crawling all over the place. We thought crocodiles live in the mainland, but that is another specie of crocodile, the ones we always read in papers “devouring” people’s money. LOL. Dinner was at Jack’s Ridge which is overlooking Davao City by night. We were serenaded by singers who knew our age bracket and belted out songs that we can sing to our hearts’ delight. If only the food were not so yummy, we could have conducted an impromptu concert for the other diners. Who says Dipolog media are shy? They are willing to “eat” mikes even until the wee hours of the night. We capped the night at the Marina Times Square or MTS to listen to a live band which dedicated their songs to us as we sipped our durian-flavored coffee and milk. We trooped to our hotel, this time, the Park Inn, the newest hotel which only opened first quarter of this year. As our heads touched the pillow, there is no stopping for another trip, this time, to dreamland and caught some ZZZZs. The third and last day started quite early as we left our hotel for the Pearl Farm Beach Resort at the Island Garden City of Samal or IGACOS. This can be reached by pumpboat which took almost an hour. The beautiful white beaches, the exotic but fully furnished villas, the snorkeling at the Davao del Norte Sanctuary for giant clams stock enhancement , the appetizing lunch, all of these are crammed in the morning of our last day. At 1:00p.m, we rode again, for the 6th time, a pumpboat to take us to the Marina Resort where our service vehicle is waiting for us to take us to the airport. We did a press conference with the two Regional Directors at the VIP Lounge at the airport and bade Davao good bye. From Islands to Highland, with Mt. Apo as the fourth icon. Up on air, we know this is just a beginning of a beautiful exchange. Next time, it will be Dipolog’s turn to host the tour for the Davao media. We have only just begun.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 00:47:22 +0000
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