New Found Love

I have a new love. Sorry babe, I was blown away by his charm and simplicity. Anybody can fall deeply in love with him. It’s like living in a magical world. Meeting somebody like you was like finding diamond in a pile of trash. Thinking about you painted a smile on my face. How I love thee… wish I could turn back time and be with you once again.

Kidding aside, I am talking about the "Shrine City in the Philippines." Dapitan is located in the province of Zamboanga del Norte on the northwestern coast of Mindanao. If time permits, I will go back there and be with the serenity of the place. With just tricycles and motorcycles on the road--less traffic=less commotion. I highly recommend Dapitan as a weekend getaway for families and friends. Although it was a long trip, I must say, it’s worth the wait.

This happened last October 17-18, 2011. I had a week to stay in Zamboanga for our 3-day seminar. However, we heard Dapitan’s just around the corner of the Island. So off we go! We stayed at Monina’s Garden Pensionne house, in front of a beach. Actually, there are lots of hotels along the coast. We arrived at 2pm, then doze off for an hour; ate sweet and sour fish at the near food house. Their fruit shakes unforgettable! (Now I want one!)

With Shiela and Rizalians

We started our memorable journey at Rizal Shrine. You can visit our world-renowned hero’s place, Dr. Jose Rizal. He spent 4 years in exile at Dapitan. No entrance fee, or whatsoever, you can visit the Rizal Shrine and go back to where you can thank Rizal for what he did. There you can see some of the original and some replica of the houses (which I learned he designed it by himself, smart guy, huh?). We met a boy (not the boy the first paragraph I was telling you about, don’t get the wrong impression dear, hehehe), sorry if I forgot his name, but he was smart 5th grader kid. He explained things and our little photographer for the day, well, somewhat like our tour guide at the shrine. Anyway, we gave him a handsome tip.

After our History class, (ow sorry) our tour, had walk and visited the Mindanao Map, which Rizal built by himself. It was soil formed into a map of Mindanao. It was in front of their old church, St. James, which, by the way, Rizal used to hear masses. It feels like stepping history. (I know this is getting boring, History is not my favorite subject too, hahaha!) Just few blocks away, you can walk and see the golden statue of soldiers and Rizal wherein they docked. The background was majestic, the sun’s going to sleep and color orange and blue rays came peeking in beneath the beautiful water (just let your imagination shine, hehehe).

That's us! :-) holding for our lives!

Then we walked a mile and went inside my favorite place in the city. It’s the Gloria’s Fantasyland. I know it’s not similar to Disneyland, but it’s the first in Visayan-Mindanao. Entrance fee was 500 pesos for the ride-all-you-can. I doubted if I can get the real value of my money, anyhow, I can’t visit this place anytime I want, so I splurged! My expectations were low; on the contrary, I enjoyed each ride. I can still feel the way my stomach turns riding the roller coaster. There were so many first-time-experience, my first Kart ride and 5D movie (the movie was the best! However, you have to pay 100 pesos for the kart and the movie, it’s excluded. So I paid 700 for everything) I told myself, not bad for a super fun night. I felt like I was still a child. There were fire dances, shows and parades too. It was indeed a fantasyland for me.

The following day, we went to Dakak Beach Resort, 200 pesos for the motorcycle ride. 500 pesos for the consumable entrance fee, you can spend it at restaurant or souvenir shop. This time, I was really expecting high. Silly me, construction’s everywhere. Ugh! They said they got 3 pools, 2 were being renovated. We spend our tickets for food, it’s good (however, 22% charge for service and tax).

Now you know why I found my new love. I loved the way I played, laughed and screamed! What a splendid 23 hours stay in Dapitan! (Arrived at 2pm and went back to Zamboanga by 1pm the next day) I know we’ll be travelling back to Zamboanga for 8-9 hours bus ride. All I want that time was to have a rest. Sleeping inside the bus was not bad after all. So long my love, I hope to be with you soon.

PS: This was an overdue post. Sorry, so busy, so tamad (hehehe).