Himantayon nga Kagay-anon

Early in the morning everybody woke up aside of me and Edward who had been sleeping for just a few hours before the wake up call, so we’re still snoring during that hour. Migs, knocked on our room’s door to inform us that we need to go on with our itinerary (ma tongue twisted jud ko everytime I mentioned that word) for that day, so we were half awake packing our things and taking a bath in that instance.

All are packed and ready to proceed to our first stop at Dolores Farm Resort in Polomolok, South Cotabato for our breakfast. Following a straight road going to Dolores Farm Resort from Gensan is a stress-free ride, with beautiful sceneries you can catch a glimpse of, specially the breath-taking view of Mt. Matutum. At Dolores Farm Resort, we were welcomed with a large banner saying “Welcome Mindanao Bloggers”. That sight alone made us feel so welcomed and at home at the Resort, as soon as we seated they served us with breakfast meal of fried bangus, fried egg, a cup of rice with fresh cut tomato and crunchy fresh cucumber and that crispy breaded fish (sorry, I forgot that dish’s name).

MFAT Summer Safari in Mindanao from goma on Vimeo.

Thanks Goma AKA PinoyEXP for this awesome vids.

The resort has large swimming pool, if our time is not limited I surely would take a swim but we headed straight to their mini zoo. Few species of large birds, deer, snakes, crocodiles, wild boars and other animals that you can spot there. The resort also offers rooms for you to stay for reasonable rates. It really is a good place for your family and friends to stay and relax.

But we didn’t stay longer, because we can’t wait to experience the Seven Falls Zipline Adventure at Lake Sebu. But we proceed first to Koronadal for Zion Travel’s Francis and Carlo Ebeo then headed to Seven Falls Zipline Adventure. When we arrived at the site, people were all waiting for their turn to zip and it is almost lunch time so we just reserved for our turn later on and we moved out from the place and set off to Punta Isla Lake Resort to take our Lunch.

Punta Isla Resort is just located at the adjacent of Lake Sebu and we were welcomed by the T’boli tribe’s dance number before our lunch be served, though not required but they are asking for donations; “Donations Please” that’s the infamous line for that day. Punta Isla is a lovely place to have a relaxing place to dine and unwind because of the cool breeze of wind from the lake; you can also gaze at the beautiful sight of the wonderful Lake Sebu. After the long wait, foods were served at the table. Kinilaw, Bisayang manok, crispy fried tilapia, and many other dishes were just a few of what we were munching that time.

After enjoying on the lovely sight of Lake Sebu at Punta Isla, the group decided to go to our next destination at Merl’s Garden Resort for the snacks and would skip the zipline at Seven Falls, but 7 members of CDOBloggers including myself decided to go for the zipline with kuya Migs, just to experience the thrill of it. So, the rest headed to Merl’s Garden and we went back to Seven Falls. For 250 pesos you can enjoy the thrill of flying on a 750 meters zipline and breathtaking view of the seven lakes from above. We’ve waited more or less 30 minutes for our turn on that adventure because there are really a lot of people waiting to try on it, but it is worth the wait.

When all of us are satisfied with that heavenly escapade we went back to the van and drive along I-don’t-know-how-many-miles back to Koronadal City to have coffee at Sa Balai Bistro. According to them it is a steak house and they are offering Australian choice cut steaks and sumptuous Filipino dishes. But we are so full yet during that time, so we just had our brewed coffee and others ordered juice Mulberry Tea and Pandan Shake. The façade of the place is so relaxing that you can’t even feel it is a restaurant/café because you will feel at home with the things you see there, Magman said, “Feeling mo Donya ka”. There are displays of art collections around and at the second floor is the main gallery where they display the art collections of NCCA Commissioner Carlo Ebeo and other art collections. You can visit Sa Balai Bistro at 476 Abad Santos St. Near Alliance Church in Koronadal City.

Before the sunset, we pack our things and travelled back to General Santos City to stop over to our hotel at Ice Castle Experience, but since we are out of time we go straight to our dinner at the Red Tent Steakhouse but we stopped over at Kakanin Atbp. located at KCC mall to get the pasalubong and go straight to the steakhouse where the rest of the group waited for us so we can start the last leg of “Walang hanggang kainan” that night. Red Tent Steakhouse is owned by Dexter and Dina Dumaran, they are so accommodating and they served us with oh-so-yummy steak, crown ribs, tasty crabs, etc.

After having dinner everyone took pictures around and then went to Ice Castle Experience to rest and wash-up for our night cap at Coffee 101. Some decided to just stay and rest but some of us went on and revive ourselves with coffee and chit-chat over what we did for that day. Ria Jose even gave us tips on blogging, like how to effectively place your ads on your blogs, among others, secret na yung iba, hehehehe…

It was indeed an uber fun, appetizing and grand experience. Thanks so much to all who accommodated and sponsored us. Certainly, my 2nd time at SoCCSKSarGen, particularly in General Santos City is overflowing with eager enjoyment. The event wouldn’t be successful without the incessant effort of Avel and Orman Manansala. Definitely, General Santos City is a lovely place to visit over and over again.