Libotero – Philippine Travel Photo Blog

Part 4 of a series.

DAY 1.

Eric and I arrived in the City of Golden Friendship at 3:30pm after a very long bus ride from Ozamiz City. We unfortunately had to shelf our plans of having lunch in Bukidnon as we practically had no more time to do so. The bus stopped at Cagayan de Oro’s West Bound Terminal and from there, we took a cab to our hotel in CDO, Executive Pension. Upon check-in, Marc also arrived at the hotel. We left our baggage in our hotel room and looked for a place to eat lunch. Eric decided that we’d go to SLERS Ham. We tried out their signature sandwiches

SLERS Jamon de Cagayan with creamy mozzarella cheese nestled ontop, in between thick slices of specially prepared warm buttered toast.

A combination recipe of SLERS Jamon de Cagayan and SLERS Smoked Chicken Ham, with crisp lettuce, creamy mayonnaise, and smooth rich caesar dressing in between thick slices of specially prepared warm buttered toast.

Service was quick and I love how the sandwiches were prepared. You could really tell that the ingredients used are all fresh, and ofcourse, the ham is a WINNER! The sandwiches were really delicious and mouth-watering.

TRIVIA: Ofelia “Fely” Cosin Pelaez started making her famous “SLERS” Ham in 1969 at their backyard in Camp Phillips of the Del Monte Plantation, Bukidnon where hubby Raul Pelaez, Sr. was a department head with Del Monte, then known as Phil. Packing Corp. The brand name SLERS is an acronym of the names of Fely’s children (Shirley, Litlit, Earl, Ray and Sharon). Amazing!

So when you’re in Cagayan de Oro, do dropby SLERS Ham and Cafe.
Velez cor. M.H. del Pilar Sts.,
Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Orienal
Telephone Number: (088) 855.2426 / 855-2428
Website: www.slershamandcafe.com

Part 3 of a series.

DAY 1.

Ozamiz City

From the Ozamiz Port, crossing the Panguil Bay took us approximately 20 minutes. Midway through the float, I was surprised why some of the passengers started to go downstairs, but we didn’t mind. The barge docked at the Mukas Port in Kolambungan, Lanao del Norte and when we were about to re-embark on our bus, Eric and I were surprised to see that it was FULL! We had no choice though but to just get in as there was no other bus available and our baggages were tucked in at the compartment beneath the bus. So for a few minutes, we were standing in the middle of the bus that was going through a long and winding road. I really held tight as I’m very fragile and I might get thrown when the bus goes on a sudden break, LOL. After 30 minutes, some passengers disembarked and we finally got to sit down! So that’s how the RORO system works huh? Lessons learned!
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Part 2 of a series.

DAY 1.

Upon arrival at the airport terminal, I immediately redeemed my check-in baggage, got out of the building and looked for a place to eat and kill-the-time as Eric‘s flight was arriving an hour after mine yet. Luckily, I found a carinderia as I stepped out of the terminal building so I took my 2nd round of breakfast and this time it’s tinolang bariles.

Even before my arrival in Ozamiz, Marc was already scheduled to arrive in Cagayan de Oro but then, for the second time, he missed his flight! Fortunately, as one of the winners of the Cebu Pacific Wandering Juan Blog Contest, he’s entitled to two months of unlimited flights and for that, he was able to rebook his flight to Cagayan de Oro without a hitch. He’s scheduled to arrive in Cagayan de Oro at 2pm.

It was almost 8am when Eric arrived and as soon as he did, we hired a tricycle to Jollibee. The fare? A mind-boggling P200! Lesson: settle and agree on the fare first before leaving to avoid any misunderstanding… (We were told that the regular fare from the airport to the city proper should have been P60 per head). Anyway, I had my 3rd round of breakfast at Jollibee… Yum Burger with Cheese, LOL.

After breakfast, we hired another tricycle to bring us to the Agora Terminal. Fare is at P7 per head. We then searched among the parked buses for a bus that would bring us to Cagayan de Oro City.

The Ozamiz Port: modern and clean, except for some floating trash

From the Agora Terminal, the bus went straight to the Ozamiz Port. For that short duration, I already dozed off. Eric woke me up a few moments later and I was surprised why the rest of the passengers were disembarking. I was quite clueless, so I just followed the pack. So, first, we had to pay the RORO fare of P25 and sign a manifesto. We then had to go through a security check (very much like the airport security check) and pay the terminal fee of P3. Finally, we had to pay a “donation” of P1 to the Red Cross. And after all that, we already boarded on our RORO barge.

The view from the RORO Barge

Large ferries to Cebu

(…to be continued)

Just last week, I, together with Eric and Marc, had a marvelous experience touring around Northern Mindanao for four days and three nights!

It took us several months to prepare for this trip and it started in November last year when we booked our PISO air tickets! For a total of P114, each of us already had a roundtrip ticket to/from Ozamiz. Yes, you read that right, ONE HUNDRED FOURTEEN PESOS ONLY! Thank you, Cebu Pacific!

Preparations before the flight. Here are some of the things I do before my flight:
- Place your valid identification card (I used my student ID) and air ticket in your hand-carry bag on the night before your flight so you won’t leave them behind.
- For carry-on baggage, liquids, aerosols and gels exceeding 100mL is a no-no so I bought small “made for air travel” containers so that I could include toiletries and other hygiene essentials in my carry-on baggage.
- Don’t forget your vitamins and first-aid needs, although you can opt to buy them when you arrive at your destination.
- Tripods cannot be carried on board so they need to be checked-in.
- For a comfortable travel experience, don’t bring a lot of stuff, especially if they’re totally unnecessary!
- The night before my flight, I fully charged my camera and flash batteries, cellphones and laptop so that I could ready the chargers in my bag and not leave them behind.
- For clothes, just bring enough and not too much. If your travel itinerary doesn’t involve a lot of “physical” activities, clothes could be recycled so as to reduce your baggage. Remember, carry-on luggage should not exceed 8 kilos!
- And yes, I did mention the word itinerary. Long before a scheduled trip, you should prepare your itinerary so that no time is wasted and your trip is maximized.
– If you’re travelling with a buddy, plan together.
– If you’re travelling alone, research, research, research and do not hesitate to seek help from friends who travel a lot and friends who live in the place you’re about to visit.
- Finalize your hotel bookings months or weeks before your trip.
- Buy maps (I recommend EZMaps) so it is easier for you to familiarize and navigate within a new place. Maps are really a big help as you could already visualize and cluster your target destinations even before your trip, it is another essential if you want to maximize your trip.
- Another thing you must not forget is CASH! Prepare some cash that would just be enough in case of a worst case scenario of having no ATMs available or ATMs bogging down at your destination. You may place your cash in an envelope in your bag. I don’t recommend placing big amounts of cash just in your wallet. My advice is to spread chunks of your cash, some in your wallet, some in your bag, some in some other places but do take note where you actually placed them as you might be scrambling around looking for your cash, that would be worse.
- And finally, the biggest preparation comes from WITHIN. Get enough sleep before your flight! That never happened to me as I always get too excited everytime I travel. The best thing I could get is two hours of sleep before a trip!

My first TURBO-PROP flight.
- My flight to Ozamiz was my first flight using a turbo-propeller aircraft and it was also my earliest flight ever, scheduled at 6am! At 4:15am, I was already awake. I took a shower, sipped on some hot milk and did a final check of my baggage. Mom brought me to the airport by 4:45am and I was finally able to check-in at 5am! While waiting for boarding, I bought a Ham and Cheese Bunwich from Dunkin’ Donuts for breakfast.

BOARDING
- At 5:30am, we were already called for boarding through Gate #8. I followed the signs but I was scrambling around because all I could see beyond the sign was a dead end, not realizing that there was a staircase to my left. So I took the stairs going down and phew, I finally saw our boarding gate. Flights to Ozamiz use the ATR 72-500, a small turbo-prop aircraft that could carry 72 passengers and due to its size, we couldn’t use the aerobridges but instead, we had to walk through the tarmac to get to the plane… Exciting!

Our cute aircraft. This was my first time with a turbo-prop so I had to take a photo of it, heehee.
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Some of Mindanao’s best dance troupes competed for the highly-coveted grand prize of Kadayawan Festival’s Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan which was held last Saturday, August 21.

Twenty-two (22) contingents, a lot of them being out-of-town contingents, contended for the first prize of P300,000.

Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan, a street dancing competition, was one of the main highlights of the 25th Kadayawan sa Dabaw Festival. It showcased the different colors, cultures and traditional dances of the different tribes of Davao and Mindanao as they paraded along the city’s major thoroughfares on a sunny Saturday.

This year’s competition only had one category. Participating Mindanao-based contingents showcased the festivals of their localities, while participating Davao City-based contingents interpreted the Kadayawan Festival and Mindanao folklores, myths or legends.

For that, I won’t hold you any longer. Here are some photos that I took during the Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan of the Kadayawan Festival 2010:

And the winners are:

5th runner up – P30,000 – Tribu Mapawa, Maragusan, Compostela Valley

4th runner-up – P50,000 – Surallah Central Elementary School, South Cotabato

3rd runner-up – P75,000 – Magallanes Elementary School, Davao City

2nd runner up – P100,000 and Best in Costume and Props – P50,000 – Jesus Soriano National High School, Catalunan Grande, Davao City

1st runner up – P200,000 and Best in Streetdancing – P50,000 – Esperanza National High School, Sultan Kudarat

GRAND CHAMPION – P300,000 – Purok Sison Elementary School, Surallah, South Cotabato

View the complete list of Kadayawan 2010 winners here.

You may view the whole photo set here.

Pamulak or “Season of Bloom” is a floral float parade that was held on the last day of the Kadayawan Festival 2010 last August 22. Floats overflowing with flowers in their fullest and most colorful blooms passed through Davao City’s major streets, a very fitting closing to the Kadayawan Festival which is all about Davao City’s celebration for the ever-bountiful harvest.

The Pamulak is one of, if not the grandest floral float parade in the country today! For that, I won’t hold you any longer. Here are some photos that I took during the Pamulak Floral Float Parade 2010:

And the winners are:

Big Category
FIRST PRIZE: (P500,000) LBC

SECOND PRIZE: (P300,000) DMMA

THIRD PRIZE: (P200,000) IPI

Small Category
FIRST PRIZE: (P300,000) Synnex-Concentrix

SECOND PRIZE: (P200,000) Amiya

THIRD PRIZE: (P100,000) Anflocor

View the complete list of Kadayawan 2010 winners here

You may view the whole photo set here.