April Hiatus

I realized now how time really flew so fast especially when you’ve been busy for more than a month. Demands at work had made me do some huge time away from writing and my blog had been neglected since April.

 

There was never a time to put new entries on this site, although I had several stories and experiences to tell, I just couldn’t bring myself to post it on the blog. Now, it had become a personal battle to make and upload the personal compositions.

  

I found myself at a lonely hotel lobby in Dumaguete City, pounding on the keys of my laptop on a weekend. Outside the hotel, the wind is blowing so hard like its never going to stop. Mt. Guinsayawan at the backof the city is hidden by a huge canvas of mist as rain has descended on its slopes. As i look around, I remember the place and the things I’ve gone and done.

 

Last April I had the opportunity to visit Los Baños, Laguna for a week. We had a week-long training on microbiology and physico-chemical analysis at the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) which is located at the foothills of Mt. Makiling.

 

Located also in Mt. Makiling are the offices and camp sites of the Boy Scout of the Philippines, the National Center for the Arts which had its own high school for the artistic and talented individuals, and also the Los Baños campus of the University of the Philippines.

 

Several resorts and hot springs can be found in and around Mt. Makiling. We stayed at the “Palm Springs” Resort which had several swimming pools of hot spring water. Water in the Los Baños is hot. The residents are quite lucky to have hot water for shower everyday.

 

In between sessions at DOST, we slipped out of the training site and visited the campus of UPLB. At one portion of the mountain, we checked out the open air church. I was tipped by Bro Bear to visit the iglesia and check out its unique design.

 

 

The church was a little bit uncared for but nonetheless inviting. We took some time off to communicate with nature and with the one in the sky.

 

 

 

 

On the last day of the training, we passed by UPLB and checked out the campus at the foot of Maquiling.

 

 

 

Then there was Mer-Nel, a popular bakeshop known for its moist chocolate cake. I bought one for Bro Bear.

 

 

 

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Cebu City hosted a food and beverage exhibit at the Cebu International Convention Center. My company participated in the 3-day exhibit along with hundreds of suppliers and food instrument fabricators.

 

I was tapped by the marketing group in putting up exhibit materials for the Visayas leg of the World Food Expo. Merck is also a major supplier of raw materials and quality monitoring and control products for food processing and beverage manufacturing.

 

We manage to put up the display posters and brochures on time.

 

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I flew to Butuan City on the first day of WOFEX in Cebu City. I was scheduled to do joint client visits with my dealer’s sales representatives. It has been a long while since I last visited Agusan del Norte.

 

 

There are several cheap inns and pension houses in this city. One could find a standard AC room with two beds for less than 500 pesos. Not to mention the short strip of barbecue joints near the city plaza where pork barbecues cost 3 pesos a stick.

 

 

Butuan City is found at the mouth of the mighty Agusan River and the delta where the city is in often experiences flooding during heavy rains. The river channels would swell and submerge portion of Butuan City. The city woud turn into a huge mudpool during wet season.

 

 

They said that Butuan is the “Timber City of the South”. I remembered the last time I visited the place, I saw a lot of logs floating in the Agusan River. Someone told me that these logs were from the nearby forest and were transported down to the log mills via the river.

 

This time, I did not see a single hardwood floating in the water. Since it’s already illegal to cut such wood and to process such log, loggers opted to transport these old wood sections by the truckload. 

 

Things have started to change in Butuan though, A new bridge had been built and some stretch of roads had been repaired. Major highways had been widened and the streets had been better.

 

 

From Butuan, I proceeded to Surigao City and visited major medical hospitals and laboratories. It takes only a few hours to reach the city. The road is in good condition and the views are scenic at some point, especially in the towns of Santiago and Kitcharao where one could see Lake Mainit and the mountains of Surigao.

 

 

The capital of Surigao del Norte is used to be called Banahao and was part of the old district of Caraga. Both the cities of Butuan and Surigao belong to the Caraga region.

 

 

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I had the opportunity to drive from Caraga to Davao City. A good road network from Butuan to Davao City had been completed and driving down to Davao offered me a great time to relax and enjoy the views.

 

 

From Butuan, we passed through the huge province of Agusan del Sur and had lunch at San Francisco. This town is the commercial center of the province and is a host to a number of educational and financial institutions.

 

Agusan del Sur may be land locked but the heart of the mighty Agusan River is found in the province. Passing through the province, one could find a vast area of wetlands. It’s the Agusan Marsh. Its size is as big as the entire Metro Manila. This land is home to the Manobos and also to some types of migratory birds.

 

 

The province has also one of the biggest palm oil plantation in the country. Filipinas Palm Oil is located in the town of San Francisco and it stretches for several acres of land.

 

 

 

Then we passed by Compostela Valley a relatively new province which was created when it separated from the province of Davao Oriental. Then after six hours of driving and some few pull-overs, I reached Davao City at the crack of night.

 

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I forgot to mention that I cut my hair short. Actually, I had it shaved off.