Experiencing Mindanao Again – Part 2

The second leg of the journey was a trip to the cities in Northern Mindanao.

This is my boss with Yolly, our dealer for instruments and clinical products in Mindanao (except Western provinces). Ma’am Yolly had scheduled a visit to a prospect buyer of an instrument in Ozamis City. My boss and I will represent Merck as the trader of the unit.

March 7, we left Davao City a little after lunch and headed north towards the direction of Bukidnon.

Bukidnon is a landlocked province in the heart of the Mindanao island. It is associated with pineapple plantations and cattle-raising. The province boasts of a cooler climate as it is a rich tableland with an average altitude of 915 meters. The Kitanglad Mountain Ranges of Bukidnon include Mt. Dulang-dulang, the second highest mountain in the archipelago.

Going up to Cagayan de Oro (CDO) required us to use the Buda (Bukidnon-Davao) road. Buda is a shorter route than the Davao-Agusan-Butuan route. The travel time for the Davao-CDO trip via Buda runs between 5-6 hours. 2/3 of the travel time is generally spent in Bukidnon.

At 4pm, we decided to pull over at a mountain resort called Seagull.

This resort was built to cater to the weary travellers plying the Buda road. Seagull attracts motorist to stop and take a brief rest in the resort either for a cup of coffee or a short nap.

Bukidnon resembles Mt. Province in terms of flora and climate.

This is Neneng, the right hand of Ma’am Yolly. We thought the place could rival any resort in Baguio City.

A couple of minutes later, we were on the road again. The highway coursed its path through the component city of Valencia and the capital city of Malaybalay.  

We arrived at Cagayan de Oro City at half past 6pm. According to the 2000 census, Cagayan de Oro or CDO is the 12th largest city in terms of population. The 2005 population estimate was 600,000. The city is the capital of Misamis Oriental and is also the regional center for education, trade and services.

Due to time constraint, we were not able to get a good glimpse of the city nightlife. We were joined by Nonette, the dealer’s representative to the Northern Mindanao. We decided to eat dinner in CDO and continue on with the journey to Iligan City.

Iligan City is home to the famous Maria Cristina Falls and is the industrial center of Mindanao. It is a 2-hour drive to the former capital of Lanao del Norte.

We decided that Iligan will be the pitstop for this leg. At the city proper we looked for a decent hotel where we could spend the night on. We went to a lodge along Badelles Street and checked its rooms and amenities. The hotel had no hot water so we decided to look for other inns.

We found another one along Roxas Avenue and upon thorough checking, we decided that this pension house would be our pitstop. Once again, my boss got a room with two beds. Room rates in Iligan are not too high. The average rate for a de luxe room is Php 1000.

We got a room for only Php 580, complete with aircon, cable tv and hot shower. I felt tired and exhausted from the long travel. After I prepared my things for tomorrow’s client visit, I took a short bath and went to sleep.

I woke up 5 hours later only to find out that my boss was up the entire night.

She told me that last night, while she was already lying down and was preparing to sleep, she felt that someone was about to hug her. She thought that I was still up and was about to embrace her but when she glanced on her side, she saw this black shadow trying to hug her. My boss looked over her side and saw me completely asleep. When she looked back, the shadow’s still there. She saw another spirit in a form of an ancient native woman trying to approach her in bed.

My boss said a prayer to St. Benedict and pulled out a magazine with Brad Pitt on the back cover and read for the rest of dawn.

By 5 am, we were all set for Ozamis City. We were on the road once again.

From Iligan, we drove west to the town of Maigo and took the ferry boat ride to Ozamis City.

Ozamis City is a second class city of the province of Misamis Occidental. Ozamiz was used to be called as Misamis. Misamis was an old Spanish town dating back to the colonial times but the city was named after José F. Ozámiz, who served in different terms as a governor, a member of congress,  and a senator.

We arrived at Ozamiz at 7 am. Since we were very early for the appointment, we dropped by the city church and prayed for our success through The Virgin of the Immaculate Conception.

Ozamis City has a pilgrimage site in an old fort (cota) with the Blessed Virgin as the object of devotion. Pilgrims call her Nuestra Señora del Triunfo de la Cruz (Our Lady of Triumph). According to a site, it was believed that in the Spanish colonial era, the Blessed Virgin helped protect the fort from fierce Muslim attacks.

The image of the Nuestra Señora on the fort wall is that of the Lady of Mt. Carmel. It was believed that this particular image is miraculously growing. Many pilgrims gather in this side of the fort, especially every July 16, the feast of the Our Lady.

At 7.30am, we went to the prospect client’s office near the city center. The client was a pediatrician who owns a diagnostic clinic that caters to the Northern Mindanao area. Our product presentation went very well, almost 2 hours of sales conversation and we came to an agreement that the client will be flown in to Manila this month to observe how the instrument is being used before he decides to buy it or not.

We left his office in a positive vibe that we could close the deal with him in a shortest time. At 10am, we started our return trip to Cagayan de Oro City.

My boss had a plane to catch at 3pm so we hurriedly went back to the City of Golden Friendship. The city airport is located far from the city on a highland near the border of Bukidnon. When we got there, my boss bade goodbye and thanked everyone for the wonderful Mindanao experience. I thanked my boss for giving me this wonderful opportunity to see Mindanao again.

This is the provincial capitol of Misamis Oriental located in Cagayan de Oro. A lot of medical clinics, hospitals and free standing laboratories can be found in this area.

Ma’am Yolly and the rest of the people of Global Diagnostics took me to the pier at 7pm. I was very grateful for their hospitality and I thanked them for sharing this opportunity to enjoy the wonders at this side of Mindanao.

I know that that I have to be back to the so-called Land of Promise and strive to experience the canopy walk, zip-line and whitewater rafting in Cagayan de Oro, visit the Maria Cristina Falls and the Tinago Falls in Iligan, Cota de Santiago and the Birhen sa Kotta in Ozamis and witness the Kadayawan Festival of Davao City.

I was delighted with this trip. I had a wonderful time. I have to experience Mindanao again.