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Published: June 17th 2011
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When I was still working for an airline company in the Philippines as a reservations agent, we were divided by teams composed of a supervisor and around fifteen agents. Each team had a privilege to have a team day at least once in a year. I belonged to a team that had been planning for so long for our team day but could not be realized due to several factors that affected our plan. But on the month of November the group decided to have our team day in December with an overnight stay in Davao City and a trip to Samal Island.
Each one of us was so excited for the trip, most especially for those who had not been to Davao like me, yes this was my first time in Davao. Our day started very early because we had to take the earliest flight from Manila so that we could have a longer time on our first day. We were twelve altogether including our Team Leader Meg and a couple of friends who were not part of the team and actually they were not invited but we were happy to have them. We arrived in Davao City at
around 7 in the morning, just the right time. I couldn’t help but stared with awe at my colleagues for the way they took pictures. I mean we were still in the airport but they were taking pictures as if it was the end of the world, funny though. Anyway, good thing was we were being picked up immediately by the parents of one of my colleagues named Penny. So, we took off feeling very high on our trip.
Before we went to our first destination, we agreed to look for a hotel first so that we can leave our things there. We went straight to Sampaguita Inn because we heard that it is affordable yet clean and comfortable to stay to. When we arrived there, we were disappointed to find out that the hotel was full and there was no assurance that we could get a room. Anyway, we decided to go on with our plan because time is running and we didn’t want to waste a minute. So, we drove going to Samal Island carrying out heavy things with us but we didn’t let this small inconvenience ruin our day.
Traveling to Samal Island from Davao
City was a bit complicated. We travelled from city center going the port where we found the ferry that took us to Samal. Samal is very near from the mainland, it only took us around 10 minutes to cross the strait but the next part was challenging. Traveling around Samal was a bit tough. Even though some of the roads are paved but going to our destination was a rough drive. The road was unpaved and rocky, some parts were slippery due to the rain the night before.
Finally, we arrived in our destination. The place is called Maxima, a kind of a resort which offers various activities. The resort is located on the rocky cliff covered with trees and palms trees with a great view of Davao Gulf. We were all thrilled when we saw the giant slide and the canopy walk. But before trying all these things we looked for a place first to lay down our things to.
We tried first the canopy walk. It was a great experience most especially when we arrived at the end where we had to rappel ourselves from the tree canopy to the ground. Even though the canopy walk
looks dangerous, it is hundred per cent safe as long as you have to follow the rules and instructions. After rocking our nerves with canopy walks, we went back to cottage to take our lunch. We had to eat like a king because we knew there would be so much energy burning activities coming up.
After our lunch and a short rest, we headed directly to the shore and grab some life vest for safety. Life vest is required in the area because the water is very deep up to 100 meters down. Actually, the resort has no beach at all, only rocky cliff and shore but this is not a hindrance for our enjoyment. We tried all activities that were part of the package. We went snorkelling, kayaking and tried the giant water slide. The water slide was awesome so we did it several times. It was an amazing day even if we were all exhausted but the fun didn’t stop there.
When we went back to Davao City, we just took a short nap in the hotel and prepared ourselves for the night. The city was illuminated by street lights and cars headlights as we were
walking towards the park. That night there were local bands performing so the park was full of curious people like us. After mooching around the park, we decided to visit karaoke bar to spend the rest of the night. We were fortunate enough because we found a karaoke bar only few meters away from the park and from the hotel as well. That night was awesome, we were singing-even if we’re out of tune, dancing and did I mention drinking.
We woke up late the next day and still we had a couple of activities more to do before heading back to Manila in the evening. First stop, lunch. Actually, we messed up with our dinner the other night so we decided to look for a fast food restaurant to be safe and we ended up in, surprise!, surprise!, McDonalds, what else. After lunch we went to Aldevinco Shopping Center, here you can find the best “pasalubong”, bags, jewelleries, and native crafts in Davao with very low price tag. As expected, my colleagues went crazy over the merchandise and bought anything they like. Even if there were several stuffs that caught my attention, I didn’t buy any because I
was out of budget already.
After gadding about around the shop we then went to Davao Crocodile Park. We arrived there at around 4pm so we only had short time to wander around the park. The first part we visited was the Butterfly Garden, the garden is small but it’s tidy and beautiful with butterflies flying around sometimes magical. Even if I enjoyed the butterfly, I was very careful not to touch or get near of caterpillars because I have a phobia to them. Afterward, the group went back to the main park to finally see the live scaly friends. Although the park is smaller compare to Palawan Crocodile Farm, it offers more animal species good enough to experience the wild in captivity. Aside from crocodile, the park is also keeping several species of birds including ostrich and colourful cockatoo, monkeys, constrictors, tiger and much more.
There are other attractions in Davao that we missed because we did not have enough time to do it but our two-day stay in Davao was perfect as we like it. Our team members feel much closer to each other which really a great help in working as a team. For sure
we will be back in Davao maybe not tomorrow but in the near future and perhaps not as a team anymore.
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