Side Trip | A Day in CDO

From January 17 to 28, I went to Mindanao to celebrate my 21st year. I scaled some of the highest mountains in the country, visited an island and explored its wonders, stayed in some cities and discovered how each differs from my hometown, Manila. It was a 12-day long journey - fun, exciting and crazy.
 
Summary discussed in this link: Mindanao Mountain Madness

On my 12th day in Mindanao, we practically did nothing. It's a lazy day for the group.

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Day 11 - January 27, 2013

Tired (but happy) from the 3-day D2K Traverse, our team rested as soon as we reached our lodge at CDO. It was already nighttime anyway so we practically reserved everything for tomorrow. 


Day 12 - January 28, 2013

Came my 12th day (my last) in Mindanao, I woke up in a comfortable bed. Ahhh, we're in a ranch house in Mapawa Nature Park.

| Mapawa Nature Park is part of a 2,500-hectare property in Malasag, Cagayan de Oro that is protected, conserved and sustainably managed. With an abundance of breathtaking waterfalls, exquisite views, and lush flora and fauna, Mapawa Nature Park is a natural haven. Check out their site here.

Mapawa Nature Park. Its isolation from the bustling CDO certainly gave us the peaceful relaxation which our souls truly crave for.

We were supposed to spend the day exploring the waterfalls of the Nature Park, but we ended up spending most of our time slouching and relaxing in the ranch house. I guess it's really a lazy day for the whole team.

it wouldn't be bad if we give rest a chance, after spending most of our time in long treks in the mountains.

The place, so close to nature, would surely look pretty amazing in the eyes of a nature lover. We saw great things when we roamed the park - waterfalls, greens, and wild animals which freely wander around. Kahit papaano dinapuan din kami ng sipag na lumabas para maglibot sa park.

Panandaliang sipag para maglibot

Mapawa Nature Park boasts numerous explorable waterfalls in its 2,500-hectare land.
Pupuntahan sana namin yung iba kaya lang nagkatamaran kami.

hindi lang waterfalls, meron din naglalakihang puno sa paligid

As much as we want to spend some more time to explore Mapawa Nature Park, our schedule tells us otherwise. Right after lunch, we began packing up our things four our flight back to Manila. But before we left the place, I discovered something very interesting.

Little did we know that the place where we spent a night is actually the rest house of the late Emmanuel Pelaez, Vice President of RP during President Macapagal's term.

CDO is famous for white water rafting and I would try that fun activity only if our time permitted us. Oh well, next time na lang. At least, on our way to the airport, we stopped at some of the city's landmarks.

CDO's San Agustin Church.
Not really an old one since the original 1845 structure was destroyed in 1945.

we also visited the City Museum, which used to be the city's water tower (built in 1921).

At 4 PM, we're already at Lumbia Airport. Dahil napaaga kami, Pasalubong shopping muna! And then at 6 PM, we flew back to Manila.