MATI, DAVAO ORIENTAL

Davao Oriental province, a destination not frequented by tourists, has much to offer: from one of Mindanao’s most beautiful and powerful waterfalls to secluded islands fringed with powdery cream sand and azure waters. At the end of the year, people are flocking to the province to witness the Philippines’ first Y2K sunrisein Caraga, the Philippines' south eastern-most main town.

When I was in Davao City doing research for our travel books Peter Angliongto and his cousins invited me to Mati, the capital of Davao Oriental. After the scenic 3-hr car ride (good roads too!) our first stop was the capitol. Situated on top of a hill, the capitol commands a magnificent view of the Pujada Bay. Here, we picked up Juancho Serrano, Mati’s tourism officer who showed us around his hometown.

After a tasty lunch of grilled fresh seafood at Seaside Restaurant, a simple native restaurant on stilts over the water, we headed to Sitio Guang-guang, in barangay Dahican. Here, during low tide, you walk in shallow water through the mangrove nursery to the DENR' sea turtle raising project. Climb the tower to get a good view of the turtles swimming about, and do buy softdrinks that are provided by the family of the caretaker, Manong Nestor Dapitan. On our way to and from the turtle nursery, hundreds of tiny crabs each with one bright yellow large pincher (about the size of its body) scampered about the mangroves.

Next stop was the pretty cream-sand Dahican beach. Dahican, lined with tall coconut trees, is an ideal place for a leisurely stroll followed by a refreshing dip in the clean blue-green sea.The best time to be here is March-May (by June, the beach is lined with coconut husks and seaweed washed ashore by the currents).

Then we continued on to Mayo Bay beach resort and the fresh water lagoon right beside the sea. Near the main lagoon is a smaller one, ideal for children to swim in. The dark gray sand beach is a bit rocky, but the aquamarine waters of the Pacific Ocean are inviting. Mayo has shaded picnic tables for rent, and basic changing rooms with toilets. A small entrance fee goes towards maintenance.

Our final destination for the day was pretty Pujada Island. During our 30-minute banca (outrigger canoe) ride to the island we saw a school of dolphins, a common sight in the bay. White sharks and dugongs (sea cows) have been sited in the area, but these occurrences are rare. Pujada has a small, fine cream sand beach on one side, mangroves on the other, and is fringed by aquamarine-emerald waters. I was told that migratory birds abound from Jan-May. Nearby Oak Island is a sand bar. Oak island is at the mouth of the bay, so the sea can be rough—strong swimmers only! Small shells abound on the sandbar.

As the sun dipped toward the sea, spreading brilliant colors across the sky, we left Pujada and returned to the Spanish villa-style inn on the scenic grounds of the Menzi Plantation for dinner, a dip in the pool, and a good night’s rest.