DEL MONTE AND CAMP PHILLIPS, BUKIDNON

FROM WIKIPEDIA: 

Bukidnon (English pronunciation: /buːˈkɪdnɒn/; Cebuano: Probinsiya sa Bukidnon; Filipino:Lalawigan ng Bukidnon) is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in theNorthern Mindanao region. Its capital is Malaybalay City. The province borders, clockwise starting from the north, Misamis Oriental, Agusan del Sur, Davao del Norte,Cotabato, Lanao del Sur, and Lanao del Norte.

Bukidnon is considered by Filipinos to be the food basket of Mindanao. It is the major producer of rice and corn in the region. Plantations in the province also producepineapples, bananas and sugarcane.

There are no seaports in the province, although there is an airport in Malaybalay City. The airport is currently closed. To get to Bukidnon, one must travel by land from Cagayan de Oro City in Misamis Oriental Province.

From Dahilayan, we were on our way back to CDO. We were already so amazed at the Del Monte Pineapple Plantation which never seemed to end. 

captured while on the run...

Del Monte Pineapple Plantation in Manolo Fortich is said to be one of the biggest pineapple plantations in the world. The plantation was incorporated in 1926 and is one of the oldest and largest agro-industrial firms in the country. Of course, it is known worldwide for its export of pineapples and pineapple products!

During this trip, we felt adventurous so even if we missed some turns, we got excited that we found a new route. We found three roads to and from Dahilayan!

We also wanted to see the Del Monte Clubhouse, so we had a short stop there....No, not for a hearty steak because it was snack time when we passed the place.

We also decided to take a detour and pass by the Camp Phillips. Some of the interns from Cebu Doctors' had a chance for a rotation in Camp Phillips and so we wanted to see the place and the hospital, too. This is also one of the other roads to Dahilayan.

We enjoyed our day trip to Bukidnon and I couldn't imagine we did a whole lot in such a short time!

DAHILAYAN ADVENTURE PARK, BUKIDNON

This was really the best and fun detour since Dahilayan was not part of our itinerary... and we didn't even know about Dahilayan...

This was just suggested by the lady in the Hotel that there was the longest zipline then in Manolo Fortich.

Our feelings at that time was that of adventure...so why not look for Manolo Fortich and the zipline!

We left Cagayan De Oro at 9:25 a.m. and arrived in Bukidnon by 10 a.m. We had to ask where we were going next but it seems people we asked at the gasoline station had different suggestions where to pass. We asked a guy in a motorcycle to lead the way, but he charged us Php 200.00. Why?!? Was it that far? We thought that was expensive so we decided to just find it on our own!

We now found the way to Dahilayan and the guy by the roadside just answered us "Derecho-a lang" with the Visayan accent (diritsu-a lang) and with his mouth pointing straight ahead. 

It was indeed straight ahead but he didn't say that straight ahead meant an hour and a half away! (No wonder it was Php 200.00!) 


We were three vans in convoy and my sister-in-law was about to turn since she knew that we also didn't know where to go. We just had to trust what people there told us...

Along the way, we were amazed by the huge pineapple fields. As far as our eyes can see is a very literal description.

seems like a desktop screensaver but being in that field is awesome enough...

Joko called it the Dead Tree, but this became one of our landmarks in a sea of pineapples...

So we just had to go on, with lots of side comments from the other two vans. In our van, we kept our cool and just laughed at funny (and corny!) jokes cracked... to keep away the boredom of a really long ride which we didn't know what to expect!

But when we arrived in Dahilayan, all the negative vibes jumped out the windows. It was a world apart... cool... beautiful... and we were really surprised that there were really lots of people there, too!

There are three (3) stages of zip lines. The 150m, 320m, and last is Asia’s longest dual zip line, which has a distance of 840 meters (up to 2010).

As described by one of the zipliners, "We were “flying” for one-minute, with a view as high as 4,000++ feet above sea level! What a rush! Doing the math, we were “flying” at 50kph! " (carloyescravings.com)

 

We actually couldn't queue for the zipline because the line was really long and we had to go back to CDO the same day.

So we moved on to Saddle Ridge Lodge for lunch and it was also a very amazing place to eat and also to stay.

with the pine trees and cool air... we could think of Baguio or Tagaytay...
 and even more beautiful and clean!

we inspected the cute wagon cottage... and the other cute cottages downhill... the place was  great!

the food was good...but they didn't expect that many guests (?) , they still had to cook rice for us...
and later they also lacked soft drinks... ( a little downside!)

In a landlocked place, they placed a huge shallow pool for little kids

This was really a very fabulous place, and I am sure the kid will prod us to go back to this great adventure park!


On our way out of Dahilayan, we missed the turn and went another way and when we say "the dead tree", we knew we were back on track...we realized there were so many ways to Dahilayan, and missing some of those turns made us the wiser!