Friday, August 26, 2011

Salamat Davao

I had some very cool pictures that would have accompanied this blog post but I forgot my flash drive in a public internet cafe and now they are gone... You live and you learn I suppose. I'll write anyway...

The city of Davao is on the island of Mindanao, the southernmost "main" island of the Philippine archipelago. Davao is the second largest city in the world in terms of land area. There are many things to do around the city. To the south stands Mt. Apo, the highest peak in the Philippines at 2954 meters or 9692 feet. To the east, an ocean playground, and all around, friendly people and good food.

The small island of Samal, a short ferry ride across the channel, is home to the World's largest colony of Geoffrey's Rousette fruit bats. The smell  is worth the experience. Millions of tiny winged rodents chatter as they hang throughout the day in the caverns, five or six skylight openings allow a view of the bats. Every inch of the cave wall is occupied by a little snout nosed bat and mothers may hold a little one under their wings. The bottom of the cave, as expected, has been filled up with excriment from it's nocternal residents. When the breeze blows the right way a warm, thick, can I say sweet?, aroma finds it's way to your nose. On the way out of the viewing area we spotted the "princess bat", the colony's only albino member, a small white spot in a sea of brown.

 We have taken advantage of the cheap rates and have enrolled in the PADI Open Water Scuba course. For only 13,500 Pisos ($321 US) and four full days of diving and studying, you can have a life-time dive certification. The ecology and environments under the surface reveal themselves as both thrilling and meditative. The Philippines lays right in the middle of the "Coral Triangle". This is the area most densely populated with corals, and therefor, extremely biologically diverse. In the past year, 50 new species of sea slug, a sea star who only feeds on decaying drift wood, and a deep water shark who swells to fend off predators, have been discovered in the Philippine archipelago. When we dive, the reefs come in to view displaying multicolored corals, giant sponges of varying shapes, fish of bright colors and amusing shapes, and alien like crustaceans. Underwater photography interests me as a possible future pursuit. The ocean floor is a totally different world from the one we walk and it's such a privileged to have the means to visit it, if only for the duration of the air on my back.

 In Davao, a culinary hot spot, one can visit any number of  markets where fresh fish, chicken, beef, pork, vegetables, fruits ect. can be bought. Rows of open air stalls fill a huge warehouse like space. Fish and meat is laid out over ice that has been shaved and broken off of large, delivered blocks. The quickly melting ice, the smell of fish, and the pairing of the words "open air" and "meat", may be enough to scare away a lot of people wary of health risks. I was cautious at first too, but was quickly assured by our native Davao host and guide, Mary Lou, that the meat is the freshest cut and the fish, the freshest catch you can find. "They will not have a chance to go bad before we prepare them." We bought fresh squid, green oysters, live crabs, the largest shrimp I've ever seen, and a whole chicken. Outside we hopped on the back of three motorcycle taxis, bags in hand and weaved our way through traffic. When we got home Mary Lou fixed the feast and we enjoyed every last bit.  Cheap, fresh and delicious.

The Kadayawan Festival is a large festival held every year in Davao in August. It started when local tribes came together to celebrate the bounty of the years harvest. Now it's just a big week long celebration with parts of the past interwoven. The Festivities climax with a huge parade and a tribal dance competition. Colorful costumes inspired by bright flowers are worn and floats are adorned with plants and flowers. People eat, drink and dance all night, (as they seem to do anytime of the year) and schools and businesses are closed. This festival is only held in Davao. Every other province has it's own festival, some celebrating harvest, fishing seasons, or saints. It doesn't take much to get people to celebrate in the Philippines, and why should it? Life is a celebration!

I will miss the fun here in Davao and will take the memories with we to the next great place. Salamat, "Thank you"- in Filipino, Davao! Your people, atmosphere, food and way of living make it hard to leave. 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Wow the philippines sound amazing, i am happy to read your journal, knowing you're having a blast and living the moment...keep it up !! too bad about the pics you lost...
later,
olivier.