The Island Explorer

On this day, December 20, I was expecting smiles and a lot of fun from our Mindanao Christmas party in a lovely resort in Jasaan.  Today, we visit them with smiles to cheer them up. I have come to love Mindanao, and CDO has been special to me this year. This is what Emily Homes looks like now, which is reminiscent of Ondoy's wrath in my former home in Provident Villages. It has happened again, and will happen again soon.  Help CDO and Iligan and all the other affected areas of Sendong, by donating in whatever way. We are here to help.

It's a weird name, but Mallberry Suites was named such because it is located beside the Limketkai Center and Robinson's in Cagayan de Oro. It's a great location to be at when in the city of Golden Friendship, having a lot of restaurants and happenings nearby. Mallberry Suites is a relatively new hotel, and thus, looks modern and clean. The lobby is spacious and the staff are warm and friendly. It's more of a business hotel, and you can get wifi in your room, but for a price (which was disappointing). For around P2000 to P3500 a night, you get a comfortable experience with breakfast. Take a look at the pictures of my room: The room was quite spacious, though a bit bare I think. The bathroom was also spacious and even had a tub. Oh, and there is a nice restaurant near the check in area. Rosso serves Italian and American food, which are relatively cheap. I tried their Blue Cheese Burger and it was satisfying. Their pastas look normal. We did order one, I forgot, and I reme...

Let me take you all the way from Cebu to Cagayan de Oro City, the city of Golden Friendship (what a weird description). One of the more popular restaurants in the city is Sentro 1850. Now, I don't know if this place is connected with the Cheateu group in Manila. Does anyone have any information? Sentro 1850 is located at the heart of CDO, the bustling Divisoria area. Yes, they have Divisoria too, but call it their nightspot. There are several restaurants and bars in the area amidst a busy night market that keeps the city alive. Bands play on the plaza, and you can see a lot of tourists around. Sentro 1850 is in front of Bo's Coffee, I forgot what street, but it is in one of those perpendicular to the night market. The place was packed when we arrived for dinner, so I was expecting good and comfort food. The menu had a lot of choices, but some of them weren't available. We started with calamares and bread with a spinach dip. I am in search of the best calamares in ...

Cagayan de Oro is one of the most pleasant cities in the Philippines. It has great restaurants, a laid back city culture and a passion for the arts. However, CDO is more known for something totally different, its adventure spots. I always wanted to go white water rafting, and so we headed off to CDO in the month of August, supposedly a good time for white water rafting as it was the rainy season. We took an early morning flight via Cebu Pacific, and was met up by our tour operator, Red Rafters. We arrived around 7AM in CDO, and grabbed a quick breakfast before heading off to the jump off point on the river. We were given some quick lessons. I was so excited that I really didn't pay attention to the lesson. We were joined by our tour operators, since you need at least four people to make the ride stable. I gave my camera to our driver and instructed him to take some pictures as we took off. It was great that we left early, as the tour operators said that most of the tourists arrive ...