after basking the thrill of being in Zamboanga city for nearly four days, i bid goodbye to my adoptive family and headed for Davao city. the supposedly one day stop turned into just a couple of hours since airline flights were fully booked so i had to take the next day flight tapos chance passenger pa ako.. during the flight, i can't help but be amazed at how remarkably vast the mountain ranges in Mindanao are. kaya hindi na ako magtataka kung bakit madaming rebelde ang kumukuta doon. it's sad but reds, tulisans, some runaway groups and terrorists alike have taken advantage of these natural wonders for their selfish causes.. at one point the passengers curiously peeked at the windows when the flight captain thru the PA system informed us that we're passing by the country's highest peak, Mt. Apo. yan ang isa ko pang gustong magawa, makaakyat sa tuktok ng Apo.. 'twas a short flight, around 45 minutes lang ata, with a nice sunny morning weather.
i can't remember the last time i was in Davao but i tell you, this is one huge developing city in our country. aba eh yung bagong international airport pa lang nila parang mas maganda pa sa NAIA terminal ng Manila. mas malamig natitiyak ko yun. mas maganda yung baggage claim area. they even give you this small sheet to write any complaint you may have against taxi drivers at diretso yun sa Mayor's office. sabi pa nga madukutan or manakawan ka i-report mo lang and malaki ang chance maibabalik sayo ang nawala mong kagamitan. kaya marami ang takot gumawa ng kabulastugan. what Mayor Duterte might have done and has been doing to organize the city and discipline its people, i think that is what our country needs collectively.. a fellow flight passenger told me as well that it is strictly prohibited to smoke cigarettes at any public place in the city na sarado or kulob (i.e. offices, public vehicles). at least that's a problem i don't have to worry about.. from the airport i went straight to the city's bus terminal to look for a bus going to Cagayan de Oro. mala-amazing race nga. i went here clueless of where i was headed to. kumbaga walang rekado, binudburan ko lang ng konting lakas ng loob :) basta tanong tanong lang ako ng mga directions from people i chanced upon with sa airport, sa eroplano at sa daan. and then comes the agony. never did i realize that Davao to Cagayan is almost seven hours of leg-numbing and butt-numbing bus ride. 297 kilometers lang (mas malayo pa actually ang Baguio-Manila trip) but they probably have to observe a sort of "trip timetable" so hindi kailangang madaliin ang biyahe. mas okay na yun kasi almost half of the entire trip eh puro bangin ang nakikita ko.. we had four stops pero sobrang nakakainip. hindi pa ako nakatulog buong biyahe kasi paranoid ako that a fellow passenger might grab my bag while i was asleep. eh dala ko pa naman yung laptop at digital SLR ko. pag nagkataon yari haha. kaya mapapansin niyo i don't have any picture to post kasi nawalan ako ng lakas ng loob maglabas ng kamera sa mismong biyahe hehe.
but i hope to be back in Davao someday. i know my two-hour experience of this wonderful city doesn't give any justice to what it has to offer to tourists, foreign and locals alike. and i know for sure just like in all the other places i've been to it'll be a blast exploring Davao.
next stop: Cagayan de Oro..
