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The LiP Mindanao Tour

Expats, Travel / by

Well, as I told you yesterday, I’ve been gone for a few days. I actually got back to Davao on Tuesday night, but spend most of Wednesday resting, and even went for a massage to help my sore muscles recover from the trip! I mean, in three days, I drove for 32 hours! What a trip!

I mean, what an adventure!

On Sunday, May 11, John Grant, Migs Bassig and I headed out for a tour of Mindanao. Well, a tour of Southern Mindanao and Western Mindanao anyway. We left Davao at 4 am and headed south. Our first major destination was Cotabato City.

Cotabato City has a bad reputation. People say that it is so dangerous, especially for a foreigner. I’ve been to Cotabato City three times now, though, and never felt any need to fear the place. As a matter of fact, I find it quite peaceful. On the way to Cotabato, we passed through some areas like Kabacan and Pikit. These areas were serious war zones back when President Estrada had declared all out war against the MILF in 2000.

After leaving Cotabato City, we headed toward Parang, Maguindanao. Again, this was a serious war zone just a few years ago, but today it is a quiet place where most of what goes on is drying fish to make bulad. In the Parang area, you will also pass through the old Camp Abubakar, which was the MILF stronghold that the Philippine Government over-ran in 2000. There is not much there these days, but it’s an interesting site to see.

Although I have traveled Mindanao extensively, I had never driven from Parang to the Zamboanga Peninsula, and it goes through Lanao del Sur, which is virtually 100% Muslim. I had a little concern to bring John and Migs through here, but I wanted to check out the place, and John and Migs told me that they were prepared for whatever may happen, so we pressed forward. It turned out to be quite peaceful, and we enjoyed the cultural aspects of the trip, seeing places that we had never experienced before.

In Malabang, Lanao del Sur, I stopped and purchased some Dodol. Dodol is a Muslim delicacy which is made with brown sugar, durian and some other ingredients. I thought that it was really good. John and Migs didn’t care for it! John even said that it looked like human waste – although I won’t use the word that he used to describe it! I tortured John, though, the rest of the day, by continuing to snack on it! His stomach turned every time he saw me take another taste!

After we passed Lanao del Sur, and a brief stint in Lanao del Norte, we were in the Zamboanga Peninsula. We passed through Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur and headed as far south as Ipil, in Zamboanga Sibugay, where we spent the night. The next morning we headed to Zamboanga del Norte, and I found that province to be quite beautiful. I had visited Zamboanga City in the past, but it was my first time in the Zamboanga Provinces, and I really enjoyed it.

I especially enjoyed Dipolog City. I actually found that Dipolog reminded me a lot of the Oregon Coast, where I spent a lot of time in previous years. It is beautiful there. They have a sea wall, and a lot of locals were fishing there with fishing poles! I had never seen anybody use a fishing pole in the Philippines until I was in Dipolog! It was quite stormy and the surf was really up in Dipolog! What an adventure!

From Dipolog, we headed to Misamis Occidental and had lunch in Ozamiz City, then took the RoRo Ferry to Lanao del Norte. The ferry ride was a bit rough as the storms had brought on some real rough waters! But, it was an adventure after all! After getting off the ferry, we drove about an hour north and stayed overnight in Iligan, where I have a lot of good friends! We had dinner at my friend, Gilles Restaurant in Iligan. Gilles is a Swiss ex-pat here that I have known for a few years. We also visited with my friends, Marc and Sharon de Piolenc, and had coffee at my friend, Bobby Timonera’s house. Bobby is a Filipino Photojournalist who has been a very good friend for a decade and a half already. Bobby has green coffee beans from all over the world, and he roasts them himself. I had a wonderful cup of Yemeni coffee at his house in Iligan!

From Iligan, we headed to Cagayan de Oro, and on to Davao.

It was really a wonderful trip. I saw a few new places myself, and really enjoyed opening the eyes of John and Migs to what Mindanao has to offer. I love Mindanao, it’s a beautiful and mis-understood place. If you ever have the chance to see the island, don’t pass it by!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. What timing. I was just talking today with my friends about my upcoming trip to the Philippines over lunch break. A few of them remarked if I would be safe going to the Philippines. I'm so far beyond that I didn't know where to start, considering I only have a half hour for lunch. My wife's family is originally from Dipolog, but I've never been there.

    Sign me up for the next trip, I want some adventure too.

    PS We'll be going through Davao to Digos in June and we're staying for two months. Nice article.

  2. Hi Kevin – I hope we'll be able to see you next month when you are in town! I have a couple more Mindanao trips in mind, maybe we'll try to do that! 😆

  3. Camp Abubakar! Are you frickin' kidding me? You're amazing, Bob. Hope you got pictures.

  4. Hi Nick Nichols – Ha ha… well, going to Camp Abubakar is not saying much these days… it's pretty much just an abandoned piece of land. 😆

  7. I can say that travelling for 10 hours a day through Mindanao the only danger was from Bobs music collection, I was hoping a sniper would hit his JIMMY BUFFET cd.

    On a serious note I can honestly say that there was NO SIGN of a problem on this journey, admitted we took precautions by telling NO ONE our route and it was a whistle stop trip.

    Thanks to my friend Bobs fantastic knowledge of the area it was a huge learning experience.

    However I will be going back for a longer stay at some of the places we visited.
    Thanks to Bob for making this possible and it was great to know that Bob knew the words to every JIMMY BUFFET song ,EVERY SONG 😮

  8. Opened my eyes you did, Bob. Thank you very much for touring me around Mindanao. Having come from Manila, I felt I was in another country altogether; the "luscious greenery" was simply spectacular, and it made me forget all the bad publicity the Mindanao cities have gotten in the past.

    Cheers to you, my friend! 🙂

  9. Hi John – Well, my friend, I can assure you that I do not have a single "Jimmy Buffet" cd… since that is not how his name is spelled! 😆

    I had a great time, John. Not only did I get to see some new areas of Mindanao that I had not seen before, I enjoyed it with good friends too!

    Hi Migs – I'm glad that we had the chance to get to know each other better on this whirlwind trip around Southern and Western Mindanao! It was a pleasure! And, to make a Manila guy see the wonders of Mindanao? That is even better! 😆

  10. Hi Bob:
    I especially enjoyed your article on Mindanao since my son, Nick, lives in Malaybalay but has his business in Manila so he does a lot of traveling. Since I live in Texas, USA I can't tell you how much all of your
    photos, articles and etc bring me closer to him and I can understand why he lives there. But at age 83 it is too far for me to travel.
    Keep up the good work.
    Evelyn

  11. Hi Evelyn – Thank you so much for visiting and sharing about your son living here. Of course, as you already know, I know Nick, and he is a friend. I am glad that you are able to follow along on my little adventures and get some enjoyment from them. Knowing that people enjoy hearing about things like this make them even more enjoyable for me too!

    Take care.

  12. Hi Bob,
    Sounds like a great adventure. I also know the words to most of Jimmy Buffett's songs. I guess I'm just a son of a son of a sailor. I'm also glad to hear that all of you made it back safe, because I really enjoy reading the blogs of all three of you. Bring on the pictures?

  13. Hi Richard D – I put up some of the photos in my Gallery already, just click on the "Photo Gallery" link up at the top of this page, then click on the "Bob Martin" gallery. I didn't take too many photos, though, this trip, because I was driving.

    I'm glad to know that you are also a fellow Parrothead!

  14. Hey Bob,

    Another great ride you have brought us all on. Sounds like a very interesting trip for you all, and us too.
    But it just goes to show..that all of places in this world aren't as bad as we are told.
    I mean its sometimes very dangerous just for us to visit the major cities here in the USA. Growing up in our nations capital, there are plenty "wrong turns" you can take there, and find plenty of danger there. Believe me, I know, I use to work throughout the Washington, DC metro area extensively.
    When I get to the Philippines..I look forward to seeing as much of it as I can. I also know we will be traveling to Davao City area quite often for business, and will hopefully get to travel throughout the Mindanao area.

    Thanks to all of you, take care,
    Danny 😉

  15. Hi Danny – I'm glad you enjoyed "riding along" so to speak. There will be a video of the trip coming in about 2 weeks.

  16. Hey Bob sounds like u had a whorl-wind tour.. how many check points did u go thru on ur trip ..It is fun to be able to see friend along the way . hows the gas prices on the trip …did u stay at friends places , hotels or pension houses 😀 sleep in the car hee hee ..???..Phil R.

  17. Hi Phil R – We passed through a LOT of checkpoints, but I never remember actually stopping for any of them! So, that was good news. Gas prices are high worldwide now, we paid around P50/Liter just about everywhere.

    First night, we stayed at the Metro Ipil Hotel, P500/night for a clean and decent place. The second night we stayed at Famous Pension House in Iligan. That place is P450 per night with free wifi in the room too! Great value!

  18. Hi Bob,

    Sorry, didn't get a chance to meet up with you again and/or say goodbye. Back in NY and all we have now are wonderful memories of another grand vacation. Yes, you are right, Mindanao is truly a hidden jewel. Our trip to Siargao and Sohoton Caves made me realize that we don't have to travel elsewhere to find "treasures". They're right in Mindanao!

    Hope we'll get to meet everyone next time…

    Take care and please extend my apologies to Feyma.

  19. Hi Tina – I enjoyed seeing you and Ken during your visit! I am glad that you had a safe trip home! For next year, we should plan some kind of adventure trip together!

  20. Hi Bob,Glad the 3 of you had an interesting trip,with some wonderful stories.I think maybe we should call you the"3 pioneers of western mindanao" 😆 Regards chas.

  22. Hi Bob,

    Ha-ha! Ken's now ready for a trip south. After a couple of road trips to northern Mindanao, he says he's ready to head south. We'll see…

  23. Hi Tina – A suggested trip – Which I feel is quite interesting, and also pretty safe would be a trip to GenSan, then through Sultan Kudarat (where we could tour the beautiful Provincial Capitol), and up through Maguindanao to Kidapawan, then back to Davao. It would be interesting, beautiful, and a good "beginner's" trip south! Let's make a plan!

  24. Unbelievable! What a fast trip you guys did.First night was at Ipil, then Iligan City on the second night. Ha ha, I can not do that during my time in the mid 60's to the mid 70's. Perhaps, the good roads was the reason
    why you made such a rapid trip. You need to go back there Bob, to explore the places. I guess you missed Dapitan City where Rizal was exiled in the late 1890.

    Robert

  25. Hi Bob,

    I like that route. The only thing, though, is I'd like to spend some time exploring and not just zip through… maybe a week to do the trip, not just 3 days? 😆

  26. ah Bob you're making me homesick. 😆 Seriously though it sounded like a great trip and I'm glad you all had fun. I'm counting down the days… only 4 1/2 months to go before I come home.

  27. Hi robert – Nice to hear from you! Yes, it was a fast trip, too fast for my liking, but we made use of what time was available. It certainly is my intention to go back and visit some of those places when more time is available. I particularly liked Dipolog, and indeed I want to spend some time in Dapitan as well. Of course, there is always Dakak, which is worth a visit!

  28. Hi Tina – I agree that a longer trip would be better. Right now, it is tough for me to get away for a week, though. By next year, who knows? I'll do my best! 😆

  30. No I go on June 1st. After getting the garage cleaned out in Maryland I came down to Jacksonville, Fl. to visit my dad. First time I've seen him in 24 years. It's a great trip and he's helping me maintain my "presence" here in the states. So I've got a couple more weeks to go before I have to leave for my stint in "Seward's Icebox". 😆

  32. Hi Bob,

    It was great reading about your adventure. It's interesting to see how many misconceptions there are about that part of Mindanao.

    I would like to ask you something about driving in Mindanao. How would you descrbe the road conditions from Davao City to Butuan. I understand there are some twisty mountainous stretches. Would you recommend driving this route or is it better to hire a driver?

    Thanks and keep up the good work!

  33. Hi BrSpiritus – I'm glad that you got to see your Dad after all these years!

    Hi Kevin – Sounds great!

    Hi Randall Jessup – Mindanai, indeed, is a much mis-understood place. I really love the island so much!

    The roads from Davao to Butuan are almost brand new, fantastic (especially from San Francisco to Butuan). There are no mountain stretches between Davao and Butuan, whoever told you that must have never driven the route. There are some pretty severe mountain patches and terrible roads along the Pacific Coast in Surigao, but that is not the way you would go between Davao and Butuan.

    Enjoy the trip!

  34. Bob, I enjoyed your article so much I bookmarked it so I could keep coming back 🙂 . I am from Mindanao (Dipolog City) now living in California. Half the time that I spend on the internet is browsing through pictures and blogs about the Philippines, especially my hometown. There is always that feeling of pride when a visitor, let alone a foreigner gives it a positive review.

    I am in my thirties now and I can't wait to early retire to go back to the Philippines and live happily every after 🙂

  36. Hi Bob

    I am a American myself married to a filipina now for 9 and a half years,she is from Mandaue ,Cebu.Her parents live in Mindanao now which we visited them this past April 2008.I will have to say when we arrived at the port and got off the ferry i just looked up to the mountains as just fell in love with the beauty of this island.Our trip was great,and we are going to move there when i retire here in about 3 and a half years,wish it could be sooner,i really love Mindanao,i like reading your web page.

    Scott

  37. Hi Scott- Great to hear of your love of Mindanao! It sounds like we have a mutual interest there! Where in Mindanao did you go last year? I have pretty much covered the entire island now, and there is no part of the island that I don't love!

    Hope we can meet someday! Let me know if you are ever in Davao!

  38. Hi Bob

    Scott here again,my wife's parents live in Zambanga,we also visited Sindagan and Dipolog,i really love it there and can't wait to live there

    Scott

  39. Hi Scott- In Zamboanga… do they live in Zamboanga City, or somewhere in the Peninsula? It's a nice area all through there, and Zamboanga City is such a historical city too!

  40. Hi Bob,my wife's parents live in Leon Postigo Zamboanga Del Norte,we plan on living maybe more toward Sindagan really not sure yet

  42. Hi Bob
    Just a couple of questions for you,will it be hard for me to get a driver's license there,and will i have have to leave the country once a year to get my passport stamped.I have heard different stories on this so i really don't know.O yes and MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and your family.

    Thanks Scott

  43. Hi Bob

    Thanks for the info,I am from the US. we live in North Carolina and have been happily married to my filipina wife for 9 and a half years.Will it be much of a problem to get a resident visa.O yes i forgot to tell you my wife is from Cebu Mandaue,sorry for asking so much,but i like to know before we come there.

    THANKS Scott

  44. Hi Bob

    Thanks for the information.My wife isn't a citizen here yet but will be before we move to the Philippines,I have read on the philippine bureau of immigration website that there is a difference in a permanent resident visa and a retiree permanent visa.i will have about 15 to 1700 dollars a month from my retirement for us to live on,i know thats not a lot but i think we can do ok with that,because my wife will start her own bus.when we move there.Again thanks alot for your help bob,

    scott

  45. Hi Bob

    My wife is a citizen of the Philippines,what i mean't to say was that she is not a citizen here in the USA yet but will be before we move to the Philippines.

    Scott

  47. I’m glad to visit my country or my place in which i been born here, And I want to have friend like foreigner just see our place and they have enjoy what they have seen here.