Back to Davao City from Samal Island

Thank you Samal Island! :)

It was indeed a great moment visiting the Island Garden City of Samal. We first went to Talicud Island for some swimming moments at Isla Reta Beach Resort. Have some road trip via Island City Express Bus passing the districts of Kaputian (where we met Princess Dapia), Peñaplata (quick stopover) and Babak (to see the Guinness World Record holder bat sanctuary). It was a great whole day adventures in Samal Island.

We went back to Davao City and good thing that our tricycle driver waited for us at the Bat Cave and brought us to the Babak port and we thanked them for assisting us while we were at Babak district. 

Rode a trike to the port

at Babak port

Thank you Samal!

group pic

will visit again soon!

that's Island City Express Bus

We paid PHP13 fare on our 15 minute ferryboat to Km. 11 Sasa Wharf. As we traveled to Davao City, I saw some dark clouds surrounded the city so we guessed it will rain. After few minutes we went off to Sasa Wharf and hailed a taxi to Gaisano Mall of Davao, it rained very hard.

off to the ferryboat

went up

there's Davao City

seated at the top

happily waited to the city

dark clouds ahead

at Sasa Wharf

Thank you for short and safe travel

picture again

We arrived at Gaisano Mall of Davao for about 30 minutes from Sasa Wharf. It was one of the biggest malls in Davao City and one of the pioneers of putting up a shopping mall. The place was huge and many shoppers since it was Friday night. We had our dinner and shopped for pasalubong. :)

huge mall

to the food hall

dinner on a budget

tealoca branch

present! :)

choco milk tea for me! :)

bought some pasalubong from Davao

me and Jayson

check some Davao shirts

another pic

We went back to our hotel, Green Windows Dormitel. Our hotel was nearer to Davao Doctors Hospital and it was very accessible. Taxi drivers are aware of this place so it was no longer a problem. By the way we got the dormitory type of room which costed PHP188 per night, each person. We stayed there for 2 days and it costed us PHP376. That's a huge amount of savings. It was highly recommended place especially if you travel on a budget like us. :)

hotel logo

our room

group pic

Thank you for our 2-day stay in Davao City! :)

More information about the hotel:

Green Windows Dormitel

Address: 5th Floor FTC Tower, 

1034 Mt. Apo Street, Davao City

Phone Numbers: +6382 300 3893 / +6382 300 3896

Mobile Numbers:

Globe +63927 820 1305

     Smart +63999 680 2400

     Sun +63932 336 3040

Website: www.greenwindowsdormitel.com

E-mail: greenwindowsdormitel@gmail.com

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Green-Windows-Dormitel/150793584972214

It was a great adventure on our first two days of our stay in Mindanao. We already visited Davao City and Samal Island.  We toured different attractions and spots and we really enjoyed it. On our 3rd day, please stay tune on our next adventures as we headed south of Davao. :)

Daghang Salamat (Thank you) Davao & Samal Island! :)

Visit the Amazing Monfort Bat Cave, Samal Island

Swarm of fruit bats!

After our almost one hour journey in Samal Island via Island City Express Bus, we arrived at Babak district. It was the northern district of Samal Island. Since I asked the driver to dropped us to the tricycle terminal and gladly he did. He called two tricycles and the time we went off the bus, they approached us right away. They asked on our destination and I immediately told them to bring us to the Bat Cave. All locals knew that place so finding the route was no longer a problem.

From Kaputian to Babak. Source to this blog

Monfort Bat Cave was located in the northeast of the island. Our tricycle ride took only 20 minutes. But it may take less than 10 minutes because of the bumpy and rocky road that will surely hit your head while inside the tricycle. Signages were shown along the way so you will not feel lost. We turned left and we arrived to the site. The good part is the sanctuary will be close by 15 minutes so we were lucky to be here! :)

Trivia: This sanctuary is the home of the world's largest colony of fruit bats with an estimated 1.8 million living in the five cave areas here in Samal. The specific type of bats here was Geoffroy's Rousette (Rousettus Amplexicaudatus) where this place was entered in the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest colony of fruit bats in the world. The name Monfort came from the owner of the area, Ms. Norma Monfort.

Here's the stamp of Guinness World Records

picture with the Guinness Logo

entrance to the cave

We were excited and at the same time a bit scared because of what will happen once we visited this area. I, myself was afraid of bats but since the tour guide explained that they were on the area until night where they will fly. The smell of bats' urine and manure gets stronger as we moved closer to the area. The moment we went on the first cave, we were stopped and amazed.

First Cave

picture with the first cave

The tour guide explained to us the importance of bats. Stories told that farmers blamed bats on ruining their crops and they shoot or killed them but with the recent studies that bats helped in pollination of flowers in the trees most especially durian trees in Davao. During the guide's explanation, we headed to the next cave until we reached the biggest cave and amazed the swarm of bats. We thought it was just saw this in movies or television but we saw it live. :)

More bats

picture with bats

another cave

many bats

picture with the gang

here's the biggest cave

all bats covered the cave! :)

seems scared, eh

another cave

solo picture again

The tour guide explained to us that bats are part of the ecosystem and we must protect it since it played an important role in the society. After that, we thanked the crew of the sanctuary and we took some photos within the area and had a great moment visiting this place.

Cave Bat Workshop happened last 2011

picture with the group

good thing we reached this place before it closed

picture with the Guinness logo

smile! :)

Thank you for the learning and experience!

More information:

Monfort Bat Cave Sanctuary

Address: Barangay Tambo, Babak District, Island Garden City of Samal, Davao del Norte

Opens: Daily from 8:00AM to 5:00PM

Entrance Fee: PHP100

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/MONFORT-BAT-SANCTUARY/180522226738

Other website: http://samalbeaches.com/index.php/Resort-in-Samal-Island/Amenities-|-Rates-|-Pictures-|-Reviews/Monfort-Bat-Cave.html

How to get there?

The best way to visit is through Island City Bus Express and ask the driver or bus conductor to drop you to Babak district. From Davao City, travel time was approximately 40 minutes, depending on traffic. Fare costs PHP 30. Hire a habal-habal or tricycle that will bring you to the site. Fare ranges from PHP20 to PHP60. If you travel by groups, fares will be lower.

Same goes if you travel like what we did from Kaputian district. Just ride the Island City Express Bus and travel time will take approximately one hour before you reach Babak district.  Fare also costs PHP30. :)

Continue to the next blog! :)