el encuentro: jerome y marky

two good friends of mine who has consistently inspired me to explore more. jerome, whose first trip to Mindanao, joined a nine-day backpacking trip in 2008 along with nine other friends from Zamboanga to Davao. he considered it a sort of baptism to backpacking and budget traveling. while Marky considered every Mindanao trip special. one time he and a friend celebrated their birthday in Cagayan de Oro and was hosted by a family.

                                                    "el encuentro" 

jerome baluyut                                   blogger                                  marky ramone go

balintataw                                             blog                                 nomadic experiences

beijing                                            farthest north                                        hong kong 

yogyakarta                                       farthest south                                    kota kinabalu       

camarines norte                                farthest east                                            sorsogon

bangkok                                           farthest west                                            bangkok

manila to sta ana, cagayan               longest road trip               manila to sta ana, cagayan

manila to coron, palawan                longest boat trip                        batangas to romblon

manila to bangkok                          longest plane trip                    manila to kuala lumpur

shanghai to beijing                         longest train trip                      roosevelt to gil puyat

mt pulag                                           highest point                                           mt pulag

apo reef, mindoro                             deepest swim                     kayangan lake, palawan

palaui island                                      longest trek                          mt banahaw traverse

mt pinatubo                                      hardest trek                                          mt halcon

money, shirt and towel                   item/s lost in a trip            jimi hendrix artwork shirt

roasary bead from a tibetan          item given on a trip   an intricately designed knife in kl

fried spicy worm, starfish                worst food eaten                      frog legs in binondo  

fried crickets

mindanao series questions:

dong ho: what was your best experience in Mindanao?

jerome: it would be my nine days backpacking trip in Mindanao back in 2008. i was with nine other traveler friends and most of us are first time visitors of Mindanao. it was sort of my baptism of fire on the idea of  backpacking and budget traveling. we fly out from Manila to Zamboanga City, visited the pink beach of Sta Cruz island, ate the best breakfast --- Spanish sardines in Dipolog. checked out Rizal Srhine and Dakak Dapitan. passed by Iligan. did white water rafting in Cagayan de Oro. saw my first ever waterfalls in Camiguin. wave watching at Pilar. island hopping and surfing in Siargao. saw the majestic Tinuy-an Falls near Bislig city and ended the trip at Davao for some zip line adventure.

marky: All of my trips to Mindanao was something to remember. I enjoyed our trip to Cagayan de Oro because me and my friend celebrated our birthdays there and we were hosted by the family of another friend. We went river rafting, toured the countryside of Bukidnon and went to nearby Camiguin Island. When I went to Davao, it was with my then girlfriend and visited places such as Camp Sabros in Digos City and Samal Island. During the SEX Tour (Soccskargen Experience tour) I met other travelers and visited places like Lake Sebu in South Cotabato, Saranggani while staying at General Santos City. 

dong ho: when you return to Mindanao, where will you go?

jerome: i have two areas in mind, first is the SOCSARGEN provinces because i want to see Lake Sebu, the beaches of Sarangani, and the Tuna capital of the Philippines and lastly Tawi-Tawi because like Batanes, it is something you can brag about.

marky: I have a flight booked in October for Zamboanga City since I've heard so many amazing stories about the place that is complete opposite of what mainstream media has been feeding me all these years and what better way to find out than seeing and experiencing the place by myself.

                                                                                                                        

note: 

1. farthest places reached are referenced from Manila (with Manila to Europe as West and Manila to Guam as East).

2. records here are subject to update. as we know travelers break their records from time to time. records here are updated as of this posting

previously featured:

edcel suyo and ferdz decena

chyng reyes and ga-el hilotin

allan barredo and oggie ramos

nina fuentes and upper viceo

angel juarez and james betia

lois yasay and monette fernandez