Day 32: Samal Island

Heidi leaves for her 1 month long furlough in the States on Saturday. We're going to miss her so much!! So, we decided to spend the day on Samal Island and relax: all 4 of us (Heidi, Aaron, Jordan, and I).

Just about to board the ferry

Samal Island (part of it) - over cast day)

Goats tethered to bushes

A cow....looks like one of Selah's milkers (Miss you Sis!!)

Once we got off the ferry, we rented 2 motorbikes (and their drivers) for the whole day for 2000 pesos (equivalent to approx. $40 total). Our first stop was the famous Monfort Bat Cave. This bat cave is the home to approximately 1.8 (2010) million Old World Fruit Bats, and in 2010, was deemed the world's largest gathering of it's particular species by Guinness Book of World Records.

Notice their piles of 'Guano' (poop) on the rocks

Here is a short clip on what it feels/looks like there at the caves:

Next place was the Hagimit Falls. The Falls were pretty, and there were a lot of Filipino style campsites or huts (with a roof, benches, and a table) for people to stay in. 

 We were planning on going swimming there, but the prices to put your stuff down was exorbitant for the hour we were planning to spend there, so we walked around a little bit, and then went to get lunch.

I guess I must have been really tired, because I fell asleep on our to lunch, while we on the motorcycle!! Since I was between Jordan and the driver, no major catastrophes happened, but Jordan thought it was pretty funny.....

 Next stop after lunch was the Canibad Beach, and wow!! It was  spectacular!! The sand was really smooth and white, the atmosphere very peaceful, and the water fresh. It is also on the other side of Samal, so you can't see Davao (which was nice). I would HIGHLY recommend it, and look forward to going back!!

 I spent most of my time there in the sand like a little kid (last day, you know!), looking for shells and watching the hermit crabs. I ended up bringing 10 hermit crabs, plus a white crab home with sand in my water bottle (disposable) :). 9 out of 10 crabs made the journey home (minus a few legs-oops!), and are now in my 'aquarium' on our porch.

That was kinda interesting, because though am spontaneous, I'm not usually the type to bring hermit crabs of all things back with me!! lol But, if I get tired of them, I can always go to the beach and let them go, or boil them for dinner???? (yuck!)

On our way back home, we decided to stop at the Durian Market and try it. Durian is known for it's 'unique odor'. Here is an excerpt from dear old Wiki on the subject:

"The edible flesh emits a distinctive odour, strong and penetrating even when the husk is intact. Some people regard the durian as fragrant; others find the aroma overpowering and offensive. The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust, and has been described variously as almonds, rotten onions, turpentine, and gym socks. The odour has led to the  fruit's banishment from certain hotels and public transportation in southeast Asia....The 19th-century British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace famously described its flesh as "a rich custard highly flavoured with almonds"."

The Durian being cut

Heidi LOVES durian, and always has a coke with it...

Aaron trying Durian

Not too bad!

The Durian we bought was less intense than most (so Heidi told us). It was very interesting....kind of like a custard with a mango, banana, garlicy taste....

We have Night tonight...more on that in the next post