Road Trip 2022

Friday. January 21, 2022

We left our home here in New Bataan, Davao de Oro at around 10:00am, because we’ll be staying overnight at our Nanay’s place in North Cotabato. Of course, we finished everything that needs to be done here at the farm before going for a vacation. We asked our neighbor to fed our three doggos while we were gone, which she happily agreed because she loves our pets too! Sometimes she would call them at their house and feed them for no reason.

We had a few stop while we were on our way to North Cotabato. We ate our lunch at Panabo City in our favorite bulalo restaurant which is just at the back of the public terminal. Another stop at Davao City to get the package and farm inputs. I was expecting to visit our house and grab a few stuff but we were running out of time.

Traveling without something to munch is boring, so we bought some peanuts while we were filling up the gasoline tank. I like steamed peanuts! I fell asleep until we reached Digos City. Digos City is popular for claypots and urns, and also for their delicious bibingka.

We arrived at M’lang, North Cotabato at around 3:00pm. We stopped by at the front of Southern Baptist College to have a refreshing drink of buko juice. Their version of buko is absolutely the best! No wonder why a lot of people are coming in to their spot to get a glass of their refreshing buko juice.

Well, we arrived at home and rested. Our eldest is at her store in the public market. We borrowed our uncle’s motorbike. I raided her store, haha! She is an online seller. She sells beauty products, treats, fashion accessories and a lot more! She is even selling our Nanay’s plants.

We went to our Municipal plaza and reminisced my childhood days. Our town is the first town to garner the award for the cleanest and greenest Municipality in the country in 1994. I grew up and studied here, I know the shortcuts and every streets but we were surprised by a police checkpoint when we were trying to pass by the public market. Haha! And they were questioning every bikers passing by. Luckily, a lady blocked us from the police officer who were at that time questioning another biker just a meter away from us. The lady told us to come with her and she led us into a parking area. We got off the motorbike and walked away. I studied the surrounding and checked the other street. It’s clear! A few minutes later, we drove away and took an alternate route until we reached our house. We stayed there until evening, and we slept early. My sister told me that we were lucky, the violation payment was ₱1500. We don’t have any documents with us when we drove the motorbike.

Saturday. January 22, 2022

Our Nanay was already awake at 1:00am and she already cooked our rice! We packed it using the banana leaves. We woke up at 2:00 and we prepared our things and food for our trip. I ate rice and had a cup of coffee. We started our long day of travel by 3:30am. We passed by the province of Sultan Kudarat and South Cotabato. At 5:30 am, we arrived at Strawberry-Guyabano Farm at Tupi, South Cotabato. Their opening time is 6:00am but the guards allowed us to enter 10 minutes before 6:00am. It is situated at the foot of Mt. Matutum. The place was cold and beautiful!

They have overnight cottages and a coffee shop. At the entrance, you can already tell that the place is Instagramable. Beautiful flowers and spacious environment. It was like walking in a dreamland.

We had our coffee and then we headed further south to Saranggani Province. We passed by the General Santos City, and as usual I became a human GPS. That always happen when we are traveling specially if we are not sure of our way. Of course, Google Map always helps.

That’s us! Well, I am not included in the photo. Aside from being a human GPS, I am also their official photographer. That’s at the entrance of the Saranggani Province.

At 8:00am, we felt hungry but we were still traveling so we all agreed to look for a stop along the road so we can eat. It was like having a picnic. We were really hungry.

A few minutes after we ate our breakfast, we arrived at the Municipality of Glan. We bought a few stuff and some dried fish in the public market, then we headed to our final destination.

It was almost one hour drive from the town proper going to Bato Buri Beach Resort. We needed to ride on a boat to get to the resort. It was just five to ten minutes boat ride.

Bato Buri Beach Resort

Looking for a summer destination? A beach maybe? The Municipality of Glan in Saranggani Province has a lot to offer! Saranggani Province is part of the SOCCSKSARGEN Region in Mindanao (Region 12). Formerly known as Central Mindanao. Glan is known for its beautiful white sand beaches. People in the region usually go to Saranggani or in the nearby province of Davao del Sur to enjoy the beach. My sister picked Saranggani as our destination for my brother-in-law’s birthday celebration.

We set foot on a clear and clean water of the Bato Buri Beach by lunch. It’s a hidden cove with white sand and calm waves. We ate lunch and then enjoyed the water! We were lucky that day because we were their only guest.

We weren’t afraid for the safety of the kids because we can easily locate them. They enjoyed too much, and the only time they stop was when the tide began to rise.

A fisherman came by and offered us these fresh catch but we already bought from the market.

That’s our cottage! The one at the back. It can accommodate up to 20 people. You need to climb up in the cliff to get there. The owner only used native and natural materials to develop the place. The government is regulating the development of the place and wanted to preserve the area.

The owner was very accommodating and kind. She always checked on us, asking us if we needed anything. She even offered us extra mattresses to use.

I felt asleep on a hammock while listening to the waves crashing. Warm and salty air on my face.

Sunset is my favorite time of the day. I took this on the pier and it has a swing! What a beautiful way to end the day. At night we decided to sleep early as everyone was tired and sleepy. I woke up at 4:00am, and as usual, our Nanay is already cooking our rice. Hahaha! We headed back to the port at 7:00am. And travelled back home.

Sunday. January 23, 2022

The way back was easy and fast. We were back at the town proper of Glan at around 8:00am. We stopped by at this small balbacuahan and kambingan eatery along the highway. The owner was generous, one serve of balbacua is ₱50! And it’s already good for two people. If you happen to visit Glan, please stop by this humble eatery. Their food is delicious.

After we ate our breakfast, we decided to stop by the GenSan public market to buy fresh catch! Fresh fishes are everywhere and it’s affordable. We bought plenty of fish and I think it’ll last for more than a week.

From GenSan public market up to their rotunda, I navigated our trip. We needed to take an alternate route to avoid traffic. From the rotunda up to the Municipality of President Quirino in Sultan Kudarat, I slept. We arrived back in M’lang, North Cotabato at past 12noon. We cooked and ate lunch. At past 2:00pm we started our trip going back here at New Bataan, Davao de Oro. In one day, we travelled through seven provinces. We arrived safely at home past six in the evening. It was a tiring trip but fun and memorable.