Northern Mindanao Road Trip – Day 3

I woke up early today. Perfect, I thought because I wanted to enjoy the sunrise. But it seemed cloudy when I went out of the verandah. Then, a few minutes later, the sky changed its colors. Even if it wasn’t as bright as the previous days, it was enough to paint the sky blue and peachy. When you’re beside the beach watching this, it seemed so peaceful and glorious.

There weren’t many people out yet. So I was able to enjoy my morning with just the sound of the waves. Beautiful…

Sunrise at Duka Bay Resort.

About an hour later, everyone woke up including my nephews. I had to wake up John because we were scheduled to ride the glass bottom boat by 8:30am. Right after breakfast. 🙂

Crab on the rock. At Duka Bay Resort.

On the way to the restaurant for breakfast. 🙂

The waterlilies beside the restaurant.

Duka Bay Resort offers an extensive buffet breakfast. But it was mostly Filipino food. I enjoyed their “suman” and tsokolate. 🙂

John prefers American breakfast though, that’s why during roadtrips, I make sure to bring Goldilocks Sandwich Bread and Maxwell Coffee. Just in case. 🙂 The restaurant incharge was kind enough to prepare bacon for our table. Believe me, I found that so amazing of Duka Bay’s employees. You get so pampered by their staff.

After eating, we proceeded to their boating and diving area. This is when we met a Norwegian diver who has been diving in Duka for years. He told us that he really makes it a point to visit the place everytime he’s in the Philippines. I understood why when I was able to talk to their marine biologist.

Duka Bay Resort’s Marine Biologist.

John and the Norwegian Diver. 🙂

The cycle..

He explained that during lean season, they put up structures under the sea. And plant more corals. That way, more fishes will have a home. Due to their works, fishing is not allowed in their area. No corals are allowed to leave the premises as well.

Before we boarded the glass bottom boat, one of the staff brought us bread. We were told that while we’re in the coral garden, we will be allowed to feed the fishes.

That was one of the coolest experiences I had.. Ever!

John and my cousin, Samson. On board the glass bottom boat.

Ruben, Blaire and Dandan.

It was an exciting trip for us. With the glass panel at the bottom of the boat, we could see the corals and other sea creatures. Nemo was one of them. And a lot of colorful fishes. 🙂 I also saw blue starfish.

I wish I was able to get better pictures, but I wasn’t. Sorry… 😦 Maybe you would like to experience this for yourselves if and when you come to Mindanao. It is worth the trip.

Even the kids would love the experience. It’s like watching an aquarium but this one is real…

Yellow fishes eating the bread we fed them. 🙂

We would have wanted to stay longer but the waves, rocking the boat, made us a little dizzy. So we went back to the shore after 30 minutes or so.

Duka Bay Resort is located in the town of Medina, Misamis Oriental. For those coming from Manila, you have an option to arrive in Butuan airport or Cagayan De Oro airport. From there, the trip is more or less 2 hours by land.