Davao City and Samal ~ Day 1 ~ Orchid Farm

Continued from:

• Davao City and Samal ~ Day 1

Thursday, 20 August 2009

After checking in at Sampaguita, I had a quick breakfast at the lobby diner while waiting to meet some of my flickr friends Rodel, Christy and Mawie, who arrived the day before and who had planned to join me to visit some places in Davao that morning.

Our itinerary included a visit to the Malagos Garden Resort and the Philippine Eagle Center, both of which are in Barangay Malagos, some 30 km or about a 45-minute drive from the Poblacion.


Sampaguita Inn ~ Malagos
After some haggling with cab drivers queued outside the hotel, we finally settled for one who agreed to take us to and fro for Php1,200. Not so bad, as we were four in the group anyway.

So off we went to Malagos, that turned out to be an amusing scenic ride across the Davao countryside.


umbrella trikes, a unique form of transport in Davao
T’was about a quarter past 9 a.m. when we reached our first stop, the Garden Resort. At the reception desk, however, we were told that some areas of the facility were closed for renovation, including the butterfly sanctuary and the indigenous birds park, the places we would have wanted to see.

I really find that annoying and quite unfair. I think the management should at least post something like that in their website, so as not to waste people’s time, effort and money.

They still offered a shuttle tour of the place, though, for Php100 per person. I would have wanted to see the adjacent integrated farm which I heard sells a variety of organic products, but my friends didn’t seem to like the idea.

So what next? It was too early for the eagle center, as we were planning to get there before the birds’ feeding time at around 11 a.m.

Anyway, we saw this orchid farm just across the resort. It wasn’t really part of our schedule, but since there was nothing else to do, we decided to give it a shot.


A white-spathed Flamingo Lily (Anthurium andraeanum) with a yellow gold spadix, found at the Puentespina Orchid Farm in Malagos

A hybrid cross-bred from several species of Waling-Waling (Vanda sanderiana), a product of the tissue culture laboratory at the Puentespina Orchid Farm

a not so common variety of violets found at Puentespina

Inside one of the greenhouses at Puentespina
Though it wasn’t what I expected, at least the first part of our journey didn’t turn out so bad after all.

To be continued ...

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• Davao City and Samal ~ Day 1 ~ Eagle Center

Davao City and Samal ~ Day 1

Continued from:

• Davao City and Samal ~ Intro

Thursday, 20 August 2009

I took the 4:20 a.m. Manila~Davao flight and fell asleep as we left. About an hour later, I woke up to this scene.


Manila~Davao flight, Philippines
The window was a little hazy, as it was a cold morning. Not sure, but I think that is Mount Apo in the background.

I actually arrived a bit late at the airport, so I wasn’t able to get a window seat. Luckily, the lady who sat by the window was very kind and offered her seat. Lesson learned: if you intend to shoot some aerials, reserve a window seat online or just check in early.


Sunrise as seen from the plane, somewhere on my way to Davao
A few minutes later, we were hovering over the city.


aerial view of the city, as we approached the airport


another aerial of the city, as we approached the airport

aerial view of the city along the Davao Gulf coastline, as we approached the airport

another aerial of the city along the coastline, as we approached the airport

aerial view of the city, just before touch down


another aerial of the city, just before touch down

shortly after arrival

the passenger queue just outside Davao airport

Davao airport exterior, just before I left for the hotel
T’was about 6:45 a.m. by the time I got out of the terminal. From the airport, I took a cab to Sampaguita Inn somewhere around the Poblacion (town proper), where my flickr friend Caroline had arranged a reservation.


Davao Airport ~ Sampaguita Inn
Davao is such a huge city, and the airport is situated quite a distance from the Poblacion. It was early morning with minimal traffic, but still it took us about thirty minutes to get to the hotel. Taxi fare from the airport to the Poblacion costs about Php130.

NOTE: The term Davao can generally refer to any place within the entire Davao Region, which includes the provinces of Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, and Compostela Valley, as well as Davao City. Davao as I shall be using it in this series, though, specifically refers to the city, to simplify our discussions.

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• Davao City and Samal ~ Day 1 ~ Orchid Farm

Davao City and Samal ~ Intro

Even as a kid, I have always been fascinated by Philippine cultural festivals, a tradition celebrated annually with pomp and gaiety in most major towns and cities.


All the energy and colorful pageantry, along with the challenge of capturing even just a few glorious moments during these grand affairs, never cease to excite me.


So when I read that preparations for the Kadayawan sa Dabaw 2009 were underway, I started drafting my own travel plans.


First I sent an email to my flick friend Caroline who lives in Davao City, and she promptly responded that several of our flickr friends have already been discussing the idea.


I’m used to traveling alone, sometimes with my wife, but doing Davao with a group (twelve of us from Manila and elsewhere, plus five from Davao) sounded like fun, for a change.


So off I proceeded to finalize my ‘to do’ list in Davao, while our sweet friend Caroline arranged for our accommodations, plus a bonus adventure to the pristine Island Garden City of Samal after the festival.

Continue to:

• Davao City and Samal ~ Day 1