Libotero – Philippine Travel Photo Blog

Part 10 of a series.

DAY 1.

After a successful search for the perfect midnight snack, Vjandep Pastel, we headed back to the hotel and indulged on the yema-filled buns! Yummm! It feels like heaven! In a few minutes, we consumed the whole box and we then proceeded to regular programming, blogging!

We ended the night early though as we anticipated the next day to be long and exciting.. Weee! Zzzzz…

DAY 2.

The second day of the Libotero Northern Mindanao Adventure started quite early. By 7am, we were already at the West-bound Terminal of Cagayan de Oro City. We took an air-conditioned bus to Iligan City, Lanao del Norte. Upon arrival at the Iligan Bus Terminal, we immediately had breakfast in one of the carinderias in the area. I had beef steak and it was great! There’s really some truth to the saying that the best food can be found in the “cheapest” places. Meanwhile, Eric had fried chicken and fish kinilaw and Marc had chicken adobo.

After we had breakfast, we took a “taxi” to the Jeepney Terminal. We paid for a fixed rate of P100 but it was quite reasonable as the jeepney terminal was quite far away. As we arrived at the Jeepney Terminal, we took a van bound for the Islamic City of Marawi in Lanao del Sur! Travel time was approximately 45 minutes. The road to Marawi is 100% paved. I was impressed! Now who said that Mindanao is so behind and that Luzon has all the infrastructure projects? I’d just like to share that the roads to Baler, Aurora (which will be featured here in the next few days) are nothing compared to the road to Marawi. Media’s stereotyping of Mindanao has really painted a bad image on the island, unfortunately. I am writing this post in an effort to help repaint that image,… to bring TRUE awareness of what’s really happening there. Anyway, halfway through the van ride, we passed by a checkpoint where the road was made one way with more than ten army men holding long firearms and there were a lot of cars parked along the sides of the highway. I didn’t know what that was about though as there was no ongoing road repair.. Hmmm… But I really cringed that very moment as it was the first time I saw a lot of army men, all of them with long firearms… After we passed through the checkpoint, everything seemed normal so I really don’t have an idea what that was about.

Marawi wasn’t actually included in our itinerary when we were planning it a few months back. But when Eric realized that our Northern Mindanao trip fell on the week of Eid’l Fitr, we decided to go since we heard that it is one of the occasions when Marawi is at its safest and most peaceful, despite our friends warning us not to go as Marawi is one of the “most unsafe” places in the Philippines, or so they say. The van brought us to the city’s downtown area and I was very much surprised of the city’s traffic situation. Heavy-bumper-to-bumper-traffic, even worse than EDSA! It was almost a virtual parking lot… That was quite bad for a first impression but I was still open-minded and hopeful to see the beautiful side of Marawi.

When we realized that we’ll be getting to nowhere if we’d still wait for the van to reach the terminal in downtown area, we disembarked, in the middle of the road. When we got out of the van, we felt like we were transported to a different world! First, the language, Maranao, I couldn’t understand even a single word. Second, the environment, Marawi is predominantly Muslim and we had to be really careful. We started to walk towards one huge mosque when suddenly, Marc cried out! One of his bags was left in the van!

All of us panicked! Marc went back to the place where we disembarked hoping to find the van while Eric and I waited for him in front of the mosque. We really worried for him.

Marawi’s population is dominated by Muslims, at 92%.

Anyway, while waiting for him, we just took photos of the mosque, Jameo Dansalan.

(…to be continued)

Part 9 of a series.

DAY 1.

After a sumptuous dinner at Kagay-anon Restaurant, we went inside Limketkai mall in the search for the ultimate Northern Mindanao dessert… VJANDEP PASTEL!

Unfortunately, the supermarkets (there are two inside the mall: Plaza Fair and Robinsons) ran out of pastel but they advised that we try to go to Divisoria so without further hubbub, we got out of the mall and took a cab to Divisoria.

Plaza Divisoria (also called Golden Friendship Park) was built in the early 1900′s as a town divider or fire breaker after a great fire that almost burned down the entire town. It is now a park dedicated to local and national heroes. Every Friday and Saturday night, Divisoria’s streets are closed to traffic and are filled with stalls selling food and other dry goods, transforming it into a bargain hunter’s paradise!

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Part 8 of a series.

DAY 1.

After taking some photos and offering some prayers at the St. Augustine Cathedral, we realized that it was dinner time… So from there, we took a jeepney bound for Limketkai Mall.

Eric opened the idea about eating an ostrich! At first, my reaction was like, eww!, but then in the end, I decided to give it a try. So we went to Kagay-anon Restaurant, a famous local restaurant.

When we arrived, there wasn’t much people but a few minutes later, the restaurant was full! We were surprised that the restaurant could actually get full on a weekday

FUN FACT: Did you know that Kagay-anon Restaurant was selected as among the top ten restaurants in the Philippines with the best Pinakbet? (we didn’t get to try it though)

We ordered their specialty, the exotic Ostrich Salpicao

Ostrich meat just tastes like BEEF! Cool!

Sizzling Bangus Fillet, which was very garlicky-good…

Sweet and Sour Pork

The food wasn’t something to rave about but it’s good enough and it’s reasonably priced too. So if you’re adventurous enough to try on some ostrich meat, then you must visit Kagay-anon Restaurant, located at the 2nd level of Rosario Arcade, Limketkai Complex, Cagayan de Oro City.

Phone:+63 (88) 856-3688

(…to be continued)

Part 7 of a series.

DAY 1.

Just across the Cagayan de Oro City Hall Complex is the St. Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral, the seat of the archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro.

St. Augustine Cathedral. A wooden Cross erected in 1888 by the Augustinian Recollect missionaries can be seen standing in front of the Church.
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Part 7 of a series.

DAY 1.

From the Misamis Oriental Provincial Capitol, we wanted to go to the Cagayan de Oro City Hall so from where we were standing, we took a jeep bound for Divisoria and from Divisoria, we walked two blocks to get to the City Hall.

Cagayan de Oro City Hall

Bordered by J. Seriña and Capistrano Sts., the then municipal hall was inaugurated on August 26, 1940. Cagayan de Oro was upgraded to a city on 1950 thus it became the City Hall. The building has survived World War II and was just recently renovated.

(…to be continued)

Part 6 of a series.

DAY 1.

After communing with nature at the Gardens of Malasag, we instructed our taxi driver to bring us to Limketkai Mall, the largest mall in the city. There, we bought some personal needs but we didn’t stay long and just took another cab to bring us to the Misamis Oriental Provincial Capitol.

Cagayan de Oro City is the capital of the Province of Misamis Oriental so it is home to the provincial capitol, the province’s seat of government.

Built sometime in 1948-1950, the Provincial Capitol Building features American Colonial Architecture
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