Thursday, December 5, 2013

Traveling Kitty - Botona Beach & Amihan sa Dahican Trip

Hey!

Sup!

yeap, every month is summer month here in southern mindanao!

and I will tell you another trip to our favorite vacation spot: Mati. It's the best destination where you can unwind and have yourself a dose of nature-meds. I love going back here, it will always be like our second home, and the locals are absolutely kind and hard working. Welp! hang loose everyone!

One fine morning, we headed to Bo's coffee to have our breakfast. This is not a recommendation but I crave for their cappuccino and whole wheat tuna and eggs. I think this is the best place to have a chill breakfast, however if you want something fast and affordable I recommend Sinangag Express, it's the same building with Bo's. I only know a few 24-hour coffee shop in Davao and Bo's, I think they're very good.

After breakfast, we head on to Mati, it's a 3-hour drive from Davao City. If you're on a personal car - don't drive the road to Tagum City proper, go to the path where the road takes you to Mabini, you will eventually know when you read the signboards.

Okay, we went for a stroll around Mati City proper, and decided to shop at the Super Mall. I coincidentally bought Tsubasa Masuwaka false lashes which were pretty rare and authentic for 175.00 php, I mean WOW! that's really cheap! Internet sellers go way too expensive! 


we had lunch at our favorite restaurant in Mati - La-ne's Kan-anan before heading to dahican.


Tadan! Seafood bicol express with lots of vegetables HELLYEAAAAH!


Mom's order - Chicken BBQ with rice Pares


I love their sisig! It's fucking awesome! You must taste it!


 Of course the best and never forgotten Sinurol. I love this, whenever I visit Mati - this shit is a must!

After lunch and buying other necessities, we went to Botona Beach Resort, it's the nearest resort to Amihan sa Dahican.


We rented the 2,000 php room. It was surprisingly big! good for 4-6 persons, neat with toilet and bath room, and the aircondition was going well although a bit noisy but who cares when you're totally tired and sleepy.


The rooms have big tables and a lot of chairs. Birthdays are usually celebrated here.


Botona Beach Resort is sort of like a laid back place but with music on, covered in trees and plants, and recycled materials. 


Reasons why you should stay in Botona Beach Resort: 1 is they use recycled materials to something comfortable - like soft chairs along the beach, lamps and other things. 2 it's really beautiful here and 3 it's affordable for your family and friends.


The path to the beach, they also have a mini bar.


You might wanna chill here drinking cold beer or juice and maybe, read a book?


Sheff posing at this wonderful grotto-ish spot.


This outdoor set looks like art to me.


me and mom. We have the same roxy slippers design although the colors differ. mother-daughter love <3


Botona Beach. Kinda rocky but you can manage! :D


feelin' the sea breeze...


gotta love waves man. Big waves scare the fuck outta me but you can't stop them. Surfing and swimming is learning to face your fears.


Sheff tumblin' while the waves crash on the shore.

We came back to our rooms to check.


A comfortable state. Kinda like a vintage surfer's room.


yup no smoking inside, and this lamp is beautiful.


Lights turned off.


toilet and bathroom with clean water.


At my back is the bath room.



Afternoon view


That crowded area is Amihan sa Dahican.


foamy


I have not taken a photo of the sunset cause I think I was busy in the bath room. So here's me enjoying the water after sunset, or before?


We had Yoyo's special grilled chicken - it was sweet and delicious! love it! and of course kinilaw (raw fish) local food on the go! I will tell you the details about the food we had.


our guys and special guest Wan Plaza (with the green shirt). Wan is an athlete in skim boarding, he is part of Team Amihan - a group of skimmers and surfers from Amihan sa Dahican, Mati, Davao OR, he has fought in international skim competitions including the one with Bayogyog. We must support them as fellow country men and as pro athletes. My mom invited him for dinner since they were the ones who were communicating, mom met Wan in our family store when he bought souvenirs. She asked him if he was a surfer and told him that her daughter (me) wanted to learn surfing, then Wan invited her to visit Dahican, and voila! hehe
He is a total sport! very humble and kind.


with the best skimmers in the Philippines :p
Sonny Boy "Bayogyog" Aporbo and Wan Plaza. yeeeaaawwwhh!
here check this out: http://youtu.be/B4yzPY_jYcc
There was a recent 2013 interview but I couldn't find it on YT, anyway Bayogyog is an international champion, and their team should be given more credit.



Day 2 in Botona Beach resort, but this was taken at Amihan sa Dahican. It's a walking distance to Botona. Just playin' around, pumpin' up our morning. The surf coaches were still having their breakfast but they wake up early in the morning, I don't know maybe like 4 or 5 to practice cause the waves are a lot bigger.



Bangkung (2014 update: Bangkung is now our friend, but recently he quit amihan team and joined a new one, team kagitingan) teaching me the basics. Honestly I got really nervous cause the last time I played with a skateboard was 2005 so I don't know shit balance but I do know squat training postures lol




y'know what? I am proud of myself! lol I should be cause this was my first time and I nailed it. Look at my smile! it was ecstatic! hell yeah!

The rest of my surfing sesh weren't photographed but I'm working on the video. I did my first long ride, unfortunately it wasn't caught on film. It's hard to tilt the long board since it was too heavy; good for beginner's practice. Also, I've already reserved Wan's short board to be purchased next month, surfing is the right sport for us (me and sheff). The guise cheered for me and as a first timer who ain't happy about that? It was indeed awesome!

Here are shots we took during Amihan Team's practice:


her name is Iyay, member of team amihan. She is such a cool babe and really kind.






And the last shot of Sheff


With the protector of the city Sir Badung, he also likes to surf and skim; invited me to paint their walls but sadly we didn't have much time.. abs, abs everywhere.


Last photo sesh with the skimmers

After this, we've packed up and ready to hit the road again going back to Davao.
I've dreamed wanting to surf even for an hour and now I think I'm addicted.

Now I'm going to tell you about the resort and how to learn surfing (I mean who to contact and where to start)

First of all, What we brought during this trip:

- Tents. But we haven't used it since we got here cause we stayed in Botona, they have affordable rooms.
- Cooking utensils, pan and rice cooker. Botona has good source of electricity and water.
- Drinking water. Fortunately, Botona facilitates a water dispenser in each room, convenient it is!
- Guitar and beat box for the musician type.
- Bath and toilet stuff, and toothpaste too.
- Icebox, then we bought ice at the convenient store.
- we bought fresh fish at Mati's wet market to be stored in the ice box, and some coal for grilling.
- we also bought chicken at their Super Mall and condiments for marinade.
- Oh and my camera and a lot of bikini ;)

Room in Botona Beach Resort:
- we rented the 2,000 php room - good for 4-6 persons, with toilet and bath, and water dispenser and CABLE TV! wow! We also added an extra bedding for the other guys.
- our entrance fees were already paid, it is part of the 2k rate, and there is a corkage fee which is corkage to every thing you bring - food and drinks, don't worry it's affordable.

Amenities:
- cooking station (the staff were kind to help us cook our meals too)
- other amenities you may check their website: http://botona.com/Amenities___Activities.php
- they have a mini bar, booze and cigarettes for sale.
- they have tables and chairs along the coast, they're so comfortable made of recycled rubber wheels :)

Advantages of the resort:
- It's near amihan sa dahican.
- Everyday they change the gallon of the water dispenser.
- They have outdoor music, you may ask them to lessen the volume or they turn it off once it's bedtime. Anyway, it's such a chill place you will hear the sound of the waves.
- Staff of the resort were awesome! and they have pet dogs! don't fret! these dogs won't harm you. I love dogs so I don't have any issues being with them. We also fed them with our extra food.

Disadvantages:
- I can't think of any lol

You can check their homepage for more info: http://botona.com/

We were walk-in visitors. They told us that it's better to reserve rooms before going there so it's hassle free. We were fortunate though to have rented the room without hassle, even on a sunday. I recommend that you call them first for inquiry and reservation before taking off because sometimes there are birthday parties and weddings so the whole place is rented out. This resort is recommended for families and friends even with your pets, I would also recommend this place for surfers and skimmers for a comfortable and pleasant stay.

Enjoy your trip! enjoy the waves!