First Trip to Samal Island

I was thinking back about my various trips to the Philippines, and most of them have been whirlwind tours. Too many obligations, and people to see. We are promising ourselves that our next trip, though it will be awhile, will not be the same.

The first time I went to Davao was to meet Rechie’s family, and ask her mother’s blessing to marry her. Thankfully the family made the trip from the province, as I now know what a chore that is. Somehow I was able to make reservations at the Royal Mandaya online, though it didn’t go so smoothly when I got there, as is often the case in the Philippines. The dinner was arranged by a cousin, and we went to Jack’s Ridge. That went much smoother, and I was amazed to find out that I fed 13 people (with drinks and generous US tip) for $43. I was a getting a little low on funds, and had been worried about the dinner, expecting hundreds of US dollars.

The next day we were headed to Paradise Island, again arranged by a cousin. We stopped for some chicken (Adobo?) on the way, crammed into some kind of van/Jeepney, and then took the boat over to the island. I had no idea where Paradise Island was, even after we had gotten back. There was just too much activity going on for me to be able to think about it. I did enjoy Paradise very much, and was amazed at it’s blue water, in which we spent a little time exploring. It reminded me of the beach in the Bahamas, with the white sand, and deep blue waters.

My memory of Paradise Island is a bit hazy, though. I was a little sick at the time, but I do remember drinking several Mango shakes to try to ease the sore throat. This was my introduction to these, and I must admit they have become a favorite of mine. There was a little zoo area, mostly tropical birds if I remember correctly. We also got an interesting visit from a helicopter that got very close to the beach. The helicopter had “Philippine Air Force” on the side, but I was never quite able to determine what they were doing exactly. I also remember speaking to a gal that had a little booth set up to sell lots and homes. These were somewhere around Davao, not Samal Island. I was interested mostly to find out what knew construction was going for, but I believe it was my first inclination that I might want to retire in the area.

In all it was a fun trip. Just a small part of a very busy visit to the Philippines. I wish I knew at the time that I would end up buying land on the island. I would have spent much more time paying attention to my surroundings. Maybe my wife knew more about that than I originally thought.