Davao 2017 (Part 3)

+ Sir Diego and His Davao City Tour +

There are so many things that after our Davao trip made me realize how convenient our lives were in the hands of Sir Diego (and Sir Edison for the next day) when we booked them. On our Day 2 we booked Sir Diego for 3000PHP to tour us around the city + Eden Nature Park. I thought we had nowhere else to go other than this but we were proven wrong when he got us other places too that are not on the flyer! We loved the service so much we even booked another round the next day (only with a different driver since he was already booked) and the convenience provided was so worth it.

What's so amazing with his tour is that there are only 3 of us but he brought us a Starex (2nd day was a VIP van used by Vice-Mayors lang naman)! I was seriously doubting he's getting anything out of it. I mean how about gas?

Book them as soon as you can. We learned they get booked everyday most especially by repeat customers.

+ Eden Nature Park +

Talk about far! Unlike PEC, there are no buses going to and fro the road to Eden. It was so far in fact that most of those we see arrive are from private cars and taxis that had to wait. There were even dirt roads. Some blogs would tell you to get a habal habal but honestly, I wouldn't trade it for the stories of Sir Diego. For the 3 of us we get to spend 2010PHP which includes the shuttle tour and the buffet.

Other than the elevation, it's possible that the pines around the area attributed to the climate here. It's really cool. There are also a lot of fruit bearing plants that if you manage to get a fruit from each tree on the way up to Eden you may actually have a weird fruit salad of fruits some of which I never even heard of.

NOT Baguio!

One advantage of getting a local drive you around is that they'd also book you if need be. We opted for the open shuttle tour around the Eden grounds and we were able to get a booking even before arriving. We were even bumped off to an earlier schedule when we arrived earlier than expected!

We still have an hour to spare and we were told to roam around first to make best of our time. We first went to the aviary which was fully stocked. It would have been dramatic though if there was much more water (especially at the peacock's cage) and flowers. When we're done we went back to the day tour building where in a few minutes we're about to board the shuttle.

I liked that they've let us have an entire row for us 3 at the back. It seems that they would reserve each row for one group only since the one in front are much more cramped (around 5 of them) than us.

For the price we paid, I could say it is worth the price. You may hike (as relayed by the tour guide I can barely hear) but that would be reserved for another day. As an advice, you really must get the shuttle tour for this especially if you don't want your group angry at you. The stops are far apart and the trek is not for anyone with bad knees. They also have evenly spaced houses if you wish for your family to stay, a good idea if you want to be on the park as early or as late as you wish. The room rates include the shuttle rides to and fro so you don't need to worry how far you are anywhere.

When the tour was finished we ate at Aling Foping's Halo-Halo, greatly recommended by Sir Diego. IT WAS AMAZING. I rarely finish a glass (I usually throw away the clumpy ice) AND THIS HAD NONE OF IT. I do wish they have an option to allow us to get more fillings (you can choose whatever you want on your halo halo). I would definitely recommend anyone going to Davao to try a branch when they see it. Unfortunately the area is a bit small so you have to be quick in getting yourself a table. A small glass (no ice cream, I won't dare for the sake of my stomach) costs 70PHP.

The Butterfly Sanctuary park is our next stop. I've been to another butterfly sanctuary back in Bohol, and the experience here is quite different. You are left on your own here and there are a lot of them too! You don't even have to bear with the photo ops your tour guide wants you to do. The sanctuary is in two sections, the first one is a building where you get to see all the preserved ones (and other insects too) and another one where there's parts you can get in the cages yourselves and get close and personal to the beautiful butterflies.

When we're done there we went back to the day tour building to enlist our middle sister to the "adventures" the park has to offer. Unfortunately we were not oriented that said activities is on the other side of the park. IT WAS AN EXTREMELY LONG WALK. When we got there my sister wasn't able to enlist (she didn't make it on time) so we had to walk back again to the main park where the buffet is. Fortunately a tricycle offered us a ride (30PHP?) and took us at the restaurant itself.

The buffet is nice but oddly enough my taste buds only favored the desserts (and possibly the fried rice too). I wish I would have more if it weren't for my weird stomach that couldn't take too much variety on trips. I would also like to try their lettuce (from their hydroponic farms) but seeing how many hands are cutting them, I just have to pass. I did have paco salad and I was surprised to have liked it. They also offered ice cream but I had to pass on that too :-(

When we're done eating we've went to look for our driver who was with the rest of the drivers on a nipa hut that was probably made for them to relax while waiting for their guests. By this time we told him that our sister is going to do the Sky Cycle (the other side of the park) so he drove us and parked right there.

There are different activities on this side of the park (fishing, horses to name a few) and the most daring will either do the zip line, sky cycle or that huge ass swing that would drop you meters above ground. Sister went to do both the zip and cycle and it was fairly quick since there are tons of cable lines that can run at the same time. If memory serves, she's almost the 30th customer yet we haven't stayed too long for her number to be called. I was able to do both back in Bohol and thought that I could probably do this again but with the BF instead.