GREEN AND LUSH BUKIDNON

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Woke up to a drizzly morning but still decided to head out to Bukidnon, from the Parkview Inn I took a jeepney ride to Agora market where at the bus terminal I found a Valencia, Bukidnon bound bus stopping at Malaybalay, the capital of Bukidnon. it was raining on and off on the 2 hour trip passing through lush greenery, pineapple plantations and i think a banana plantation owned by Dole. Arriving at the bus terminal at Malaybalay I hired a reela to take me to Haus Malibu, cost me 20 pesos. I was shocked to find out the cheapest room they have is 600 pesos and its their basic fan room,with toilet but no tv. I asked the receptionist for recommendations of other places to stay, cheap but clean, she told me to walk back down the main road and near the plaza there should be several, Small World and Alemania Inn among other places. I quickly found Small World traveller's inn, it's just next to the plaza, their cheapest is 380 pesos, basic, fan and cable tv, common toilet, I took it and they have internet cafe in the building as well. There was power outtage at the time I checked in, it was still raining so I decided to find lunch after asking how to get to Dinawagan,6 kms away from here as I intend to visit the Bird watch tower apparently they have a Philippine eagle there.

Not a lot of people know where it is, I was lucky that the waiter at the lunch place I went to knows about it and gave me directions to get there. i took a jeep, the driver promised to drop me off at the crossing where I can get a motorbike that will take me to the complex near the foot of Mt. Kitanglad at 3,000 metres the highest in Bukidnon. it was covered by clouds and was raining hard when I arrived at the crossing. i found the motorbikes for hire but no one is familiar with the place except this girl who knows where it is, she speaks Tagalog, the only one there who does, everyone speaks Visaya, she told me she used to climb Kitanglad and she gave me all the information about the place, I also found out I should have headed out to Impalutao where access to Mt. Kitanglad is easiest but recommended to head early in the morning and it is raining so would be difficult, I accepted defeat and went back to town with them and try again tomorrow when the forecast is better.

Watched the Australian tennis on tv to pass the time by, the hostel is extremely noisy as it is near the road but it's tolerable, it's clean and people are friendly and cheap. I struggled to sleep last night, the noise not coming from the street but from the people in the next room, 4 people sharing a small room making all the raucous in the wee hours of the morning.

The next morning there was a bit of blue sky showing up in the drizzle, I went for a walk trying to figure out where to go first, I walked to the bus terminal and the guys there told me I need to hire a motorbike which is rare or a jeep/cab to get to the Churh of Transfiguration in barangay San Jose. I negotiated with a jeep driver and we agreed on 250 pesos roundtrip. The church is known for the good mass service with boy's choir every Sunday but what I wanted to see is the nice view from this Benedectine property. It was raining when we got there and took a few fotos of the church and the surrounding area, lots of people in their private vehicle were coming, the church bells soon started and we left just then, we visited the gift shop but is closed, the area is farmland, they have help from farmers to plant rice, corns and other crops. The driver asked me if he could get fare even if I hired him already, I agreed so he can get extra money, we passed a cockfighting arena and I plan to have a visit later out of curiousity. he dropped me off at the plaza and I had my breakfast then caught a jeep to try and get to Dalwangan or Impalutao to finally see them eagles, since no one at the Dalwangan crossing knows exactly where the eagle sanctuary is in their area so I chose to go to the Impalutao crossing , it's a bit far from Malaybalay.

I hired a motorbike for 180 pesos roundtrip at the crossing on the waiting shed next to the road and took me on a 12 km ride to Intabas in the town of Impasugong at the foot of Mt. Kitanglad. we looked for a guy named Walter and we traced where he lives, he is the caretaker at the Bird watch tower in this area, there are 4 near the foot of Mt. Kitanglad where they have released some Philippine eagles namely in the following areas:Dalwangan, Intabas, Lupiagan and Lantapan. He had some bad news, 2 philippine eagles that were released here were killed recently, one was by a security guard supposed to be guarding the area against poachers, he was apparently convicted and is in jail, the other bird no one knows who shot it. good news is they released 2 more hopefully they don't get hunted. the birds in this area are tagged and is monitored by a radar, the guy who does that is off being a Sunday so we can't really trace them birds and besides he said the best time to come here is March and April when chances of bird sighting is almost guaranteed but you have to walk a lot and far towards the mountain. i tried my best to have a glimpse of the rare eagles in the wild but no luck i even spoke on the phone to some DENR person, all he offered to me is come and see him in his office the next day!

Resigned to my bad luck despite the effort to make this trip memorable, my driver and Walter recommended going to the waterfalls instead and to save the day I agreed, I added 120 pesos more and my driver took me to some plantations of pineapples and bananas before dropping me off at CEDAR, in Impalutao still in the town of Impasugong it's a government run recreational park that is close to the main road but when you get in you get the feel of being in the midst of a thick forest, vegetation is lush and lots of mahogany trees everywhere, from a plaque in the park i read most of the seedlings came from Papua New Guinea. They did a good job here, it's a local hangout every weekend, its nice and green and they have a water hole, a natural swimming pool surrounded by tall trees. The trip here is worthwhile am glad I came. There is a trail just next to the pool, I followed it as apparently there are a couple of waterfalls inside the forest, so I did, crossing a bamboo bridge, the trail is wet and muddy and am a bit worried about snakes, but the trail is so beautiful I ended up following it up to Dila waterfalls, giant bamboo trees all around me, streams left and right, i crossed another bamboo bridge and found a trail going up a hill on the other side but hesitated to go on as I was alone and fear for pythons which I was told are plenty in this area, i slowly walked back happy and contented, this is a potential tourist attraction, i can spend the whole day here hiking, following the trails.

Back at the swimming pool area, i went for a dip in the ice cold water it's deep and with a bluish tinge. When I came out of the pool I went where my driver sat and the boys he was talking to offered me some drinks, Tanduay rhum with a coke chaser and quick friendship ensued, they are from there and are more than happy to share their drinks with me, I even had lunch with them. People here are so friendly to strangers and they are very curious at the kind of life I live in Boston. I lingered some more and let go of my driver, the boys offered to take me to another waterfall near they live but it was already dark when we got there and fotos weren't so great, they live in this town, they wanted to come with me to Malaybalay to get drunk, but problem is they have no more money and as cheap as the fares are here I can't afford to cover their expenses so I ended going back alone, they stayed with me in the dark in the main road until a Malaybalay bound bus came to take me, really nice guys. I was a bit tipsy, one too many Tanduay rhum and after a quick dinner I headed back to the hotel to rest, drizzle again, so sick of this weather here!

Another freaking noisy night, people staying in the hotel up late again, couple kids were playing with tissue paper and tied it to door handles, grr.. plus the men's toilet is not working, time to leave tomorrow... woke up to a bright and sunny day for a change and hurriedly checked out and walked around the town. After breakfast I asked a police officer where the Tourism office is, i was pointed to the Capitol, so i walked there, the town's capitol is in a park area with beautiful trees, the government offices are sprawled around the area, you see people jogging, going for a walk very green with trees and all. The tourism office is down the path to Kaamulan park so nearly slipped on this muddy trail but found a beautiful park full of tall pine and other trees, so pretty! This is what i will remember Bukidnon for, the green lush scenery and in the capital is a nice park where there is a short trail you can follow to go further inside the forest, it's a big path behind the tribal houses in the park, the walk is pleasant, there are horses foraging, birds chirping, wow am glad i discovered this place, this park and the CEDAR park was the highlight for me during my Bukidnon visit and also the people are quite friendly and down to earth, they are all honest except for the reela driver who cheated me on the 1st day when i arrived at the terminal charging me 20 pesos instead of usual 6 pesos for a fare!

Left Malaybalay for Cagayan de Oro again, we passed villages and towns and the people are taking advantage of the nice weather, drying their grains, harvesting fruits etc. The area is very green and the soil is red that probably explains it's lush verdant scenery, the fertile soil of Bukidnon makes it a breadbasket in Mindanao, this province i will visit again if only to track them Philippine eagles again or soak in the cool waters of CEDAR park or a short hike within the city of Malaybalay at Kaamulan park plus I met some nice folks that I went drinking with at CEDAR, good memories, sad to leave..

N.B.

Intabas bird watching : contact the chairman and porter Mr. Walter Galasanay cell#09196755019 best time to go is March-April
**2 Philippine eagles released in the wild here and are tagged so they can be traced and followed, a chance to see them in the wild folks!!

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Photos

Impasugong
cowboy billboard

Malaybalay
San Isidro church

Malaybalay
fruit stalls along the hi way

Church of Transfiguration and Monastery
papaya tree

Comments

[ztirf]

Hey Gil: Where are you off next? Why dont you go back to CDO and try white water rafting. Cheers