Advertisement
Published: January 28th 2013
Edit Blog Post
Damiel Xander exploring.....
Damiel Xander walking the wall along Dumaguete harbor How do I sum up 'three weeks and one day' living in Dumaguette City..............
Palm trees, tropical breezes and hibiscus greeted me as I stepped off the plane, in the middle of the tarmac, at Dumaguette Airport! .......I left Wellfleet 35 hours earlier, under a blanket of snow and being in the tropics, especially in the middle of winter, always excites me! Dumaguete is a small city, very laid back, with beautiful sunrises, sunsets, friendly people, fresh mango/papaya shakes and a tropical climate............all very seductive to me! It is located on the southeastern tip, on the island of Negros Oriental, on the Philippine Sea. It is one of Philippines' 7,000 islands!
I came here for the second year to celebrate my grandson, Damiel Xander's, 2nd birthday!
I spent a morning walking through Dumaguette Public Market, where Rolex watches and at least 50 types of rice, fish, meat, vegestables, etc are for sale. It spans several blocks and is very busy early in the morning, when many come to shop for the day. The people are 'gentle people', hard working and provide good values for their children. Philippines is the only Christian country in Asia; there are many churches
throughout city. At 10 PM the sirens sound, and all young people under 18 must return to their homes. Crime is very low here. I can walk the boardwalk day or night and feel comfortable. All banks & open ATM's are guarded by Security guards carrying guns. Dumaguete is a 'smoke free' city; Bethel Guest House, where I stay, is a 'smoke & liquor free' hotel. Main transportation are trikes, motorcycles with a sidecar. For 9 pesos one can go all over the city. Buses are plentiful if you are traveling a distance, as are jeeps.
Robinson's Mall is very large and sells name brand clothing and most everything, including a supermarket. In Dumaguete City, there is the Lee and Ever Malls, plus many clothing, hardware and variety stores. Laundry is done in 2 days & quite inexpensive. The currency is peso......currently approximately 40.35 to $1.00, it varies each day.
One morning I had my first ride on a 'jeep' with Michele, her sister and Damiel Xander. We headed out to ''Bahura Resort', which is on the coast, about an hour ouside of Dumaguette. We enjoyed a nice lunch poolside. There are two large pools; the water was
warm and Damiel Xander enjoyed the water as much as I did! I swam laps around the various islands in the pool. I think Damiel and I were having a contest to see who could stay in the water the longest!
Following day, Michele and I aborted our plans to find the hot springs out near Valencia, when we were invited to join a beach party in Darun. A friend drove us there in his car. The beach was very expansive, palm trees, black sand & warm water. After a very nice 'pot luck lunch', we put on our snorkel gear & headed out to the reef & were amazed at the variety of fish. Since this is a marine sanctuary, there was an abundance of colorful fish. Being a PADI diver, I was thrilled to see such a variety of fish on the reef. Michele went out with me and we swam to the reef together .After swimming, we walked down a long path to an well pump. Here, we washed the salt water off with warm well water, scooping the water out of a big drum On the way home, we passed an old church built in
the 1600's. It still functions as a church.
Here is a little history of the Philippines: In 1521 Ferdinand Magellan was one of the first to discover the Philippines. He found "Negrito' tribes populated the islands, they were hunter-gatherer tribes. Eventually, Kingdoms were created and they traded with China, India, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. These Kingdoms eventually became states: Cebu, Maynilla and Butuan. The Spanish arrived in 1565 and established San Miguel on Cebu Island; Manilla was established in 1571. Spanish introduced Christianity and the first public education system in Asia. Hospitals were also established. At the end of the Spanish-American War in 1898, the U.S. had control of the Philippines. One year later, Philippines declared war against the U.S. which ended in 1902. The U.S. established a military government and gave Philippines independence in 1946. The Japanese invaded Philippines during World War II and the U.S. helped to defeat them. President Marcos was ousted and the 'Republic of the Philippines returned to a democracy in 1986.
Silliman University, in Dumaguette, was established in 1901. It was the first private American Univeristy in the Philippines. Dr. Horace Silliman, from Cohoes, NY, donated $10,000. to start the Univerisity.
Dmaguette Harbor
fishing boats along harbor For the first half of the 20th century, the university was operated by Americans. After WWII, the Philippines began to take over the operation and officially took over in 1952. The University is comprised of 10 colleges; 4 schools; two institutes. Over 8,600 students attend, including students from 20 foreign countries. It is ranked amongst the top 150 Universities in Asia. It is a lovely campus, also houses a very interesting museum on the history of the Philippines. Students flock the streets of Dumaguette, especially at lunch time. McDonald's has two large restaurants in Dumaguette, 2 blocks apart. The newer McDonald's is filled with University students and the older one is where many X-Pats congregate each morning and throughout the day. I meet up with one or a group any time of the day when I stop by for an iced coffee......there is a large X-Pat community here in Dumaguette.
Good restaurants have been discovered, the "Moon' for ribs that pull off the bone; Sans Rival, on the harbor, has very good food, especially soups, desserts & cappuccino. I'm known to hang out there, or Cafe Mamamia, for breakfast or for a mid afternoon cappuccino. Joe's Chicken is very
Trike
Standard transportation around town good for roast chicken! Out of town is 'Haya Hay' (Relax) on the sea, has delicious seafood. The Bethel Guest House also has a good restaurant, the Filomena, to name just a few. Of course, there is always McDonalds', which is open 7/24 & crowded most of the time. Their menu is slightly different from the one in the states.
I am finding it most difficult to leave.........I shall miss, Damiel Xander, my curious 2 year old grandson, Michele, her family and many new friends I've made while here.........I've added several to facebook & will keep in touch.....(Please scroll down a couple pages, past all advertisements, to see more photos)
Advertisement
Tot: 0.144s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 7; qc: 43; dbt: 0.071s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Dolores
non-member comment
Thanks, I enjoyed your blog, esp. the history. Travel safely.