Mindanao Challenge Day 14: 5 Places to See While in Cateel, Davao Oriental

SPECIAL NOTE: I’m sorry I wasn’t able to blog Days 12-13 because my SD card was corrupted. Maybe because I was using too many internet cafe and it got some virus. I will blog about these two as soon as I recover my photos.

Day 12- Did some Island Hopping at Mati City’s bay. Spent Php 165.00

Day 13- En Route: Mati City to Cateel, Davao Oriental. Spent Php369.00

Anyway, I was welcomed by Kuya Nonoy (PTB/CSer Olan‘s younger bro) in there house at Cateel on the night of Day 13.

He told me that he will be my guide the next day using his motorcycle, I will just pay for the gasoline. Sounds like a nice idea!

Here are the places we visited or better yet,

5 Places to Visit When In Cateel:

1. Aliwagwag Falls. I love waterfalls. I always wonder where it gets its water, although I know that its from the mountains, I’m simply stunned on its power and beauty. They say that it has 84 tiers and would take the patient trekker about 2 days to reach the source. I don’t know if I’m up on that challenge.

The place was so peaceful when we arrived, I went to as far as the 7th tier and just enjoyed the cold water then back on the 4th tier where I even fell asleep on the huge log. Heavenly!

Dazzling cascades of Aliwagwag Waterfalls.

2. Maglahus Hanging Bridge. Nothing special except that its picturesque. I love how the color of the sky and the trees are reflected on the river. This is also the bridge that transports people from the main road to Brgy. Maglahus.

Bgry. Maglahus Hanging Bridge

3. Mantunao Eco Park. This Eco Park is home to another waterfalls called Tres Marias. here is a cave near the waterfalls and its still caving in. I tried to explore but I was afraid because the soil below is loose.

I was disappointed in this “Eco Park” because I saw other visitors taking a bath on the shallow basin of it, they are shampooing their head and soaping their bodies while in the water.

Tres Marias Waterfalls inside Mantunao Eco Park

4. San Antonio-Baybay Long Beach. As I said in my Day 11 post, I love the sand, I think I love the sand more than the mountains if I have to choose from the two. After lunch we headed to the long beach, it was a long stretch of gray sand beach on the coast of Cateel, it think it would measure about 10 kilometers long. The beauty of this is that it is unspoiled, without the resorts or any developments made by humans, just the coconut trees and the drift woods.

They call it the cream sand long beach but I think it would be better called Gray Long Beach

5. Rice Fields. Cateel’s terrain is both mountainous and flat that is why its a perfect for rice farming. On our way back to downtown (from Mahoc Beach) we chanced these farmers planting rice seedlings on their fields. I know I’m in the province when I see this thing. I wish Manila is as green as this…

Cateel's Rice Fields

There are so many more places to see when in Cateel, like the Mahoc Beach, Magic Island, Plaza, San Victor Island and the Hotspring butI dsont have the luxury of time to explore all of this.

Ending this post by thanking my guide for the day, Kuya Nonoy Emboscado. Thanks for bringing me to this places Bosing! Hope to see you again next year. Thanks also to Sir Olan for referring me to your bro.

Bosing Nonoy Emboscado at Aliwagwag Falls

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Expenses for Today: Php 247

Php 20 – Fun Run Registration
Php 150 – Gasoline
Php 50 – Kalderetang Kambing
Php 20 – Entrance to Mantunao Eco Park (2pax)
Php 10 – Cooking Oil
Php 24 – Internet Rental

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Php 247.00.

Word for Today:

Istoryahe. Kwentuhan or Talk to. I always hear this when I just arrived in a certain place and they would ask where I came from. Then they will know that I’m Tagalog they will always tell the one who is most conversant in tagalog to “istorayahe” mo siya.

Reflection for Today:

“As we have seen, the quiet place not only helps us to develop a sense of our own separateness and identity. It also helps us to identify and to deal with the issues that cause us pain and sadness. There we can resolve to deal with our anger and discover creative ways to deal with difficulty. But the quiet place is not simply the place we overcome difficulties. It is also a place where we can gain new inspiration and direction.” (Dare to Journey with Henri Nouwen by Charles Ringma, Reflection 62)