'Dapitan and Dipolog Cities: Gateways to Mindanao from Negros Island'

IT WAS a pleasant personal discovery for me when I learned that Dapitan and Dipolog cities in Zamboanga Del Norte province in Mindanao can be reached via Ceres Liner in about 10-hour ride.

My friends and I did not catch the lone Ceres trip going that route and we decided to get to Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental province and catch any trip from there. To our surprise, there are lots of Ro-ro boats operating and though we initially banked on Fastcat, it was full already, so we lined up and eventually rode the Montenegro Lines. We slept our way through the 3-hour sail and we were in Mindanao already. Amazing.

From the port, we rode our first public tricycle which can seat two sets of two passengers inside facing each other and is funnily designed like the head of a sailboat which has higher front seat and lower on the other side. And so, we started our Day One after we had lunch at the famous Sunday eat-allyou-can in Kalan-an ni Manay with lechon and seafood fare in Dapitan City. Rizal in Dapitan After checking in to a prettily adorned travel inn in a quiet street of Maria Clara Street, Dapitan City the three of us, Lily, Ivy and Marga - short for Margarita, headed to where our national hero was exiled. Rizal's house in the late 1890s which still has the two surviving original posts and standing right on the spot where it once stood is perched beside the ocean.

It was almost an urban legend in the place that Rizal's sweetheart Josephine Bracken had a miscarriage and the fetus was buried under the entry stairs. Of course, there was no physical evidence on that story. Spread in the verdant property are Rizal's replica clinic and school, the irrigation, and the lover's rock where Rizal used to have his creative rest or afternoon nap, and said to have married Josephine Bracken there without any religious rituals. Incidentally, the rock is a heart shape too. (Btw, I saw a marriage contract signed by Rizal and Bracken before his fateful death on 30 December 1898 at a Rizal Museum in Intramuros which was duly authenticated by NCCA). The Rizal Museum inside the compound is impressively constructed but I was disappointed that all there is inside it were only replicas. The wooden patient chair which came from Rizal's clinic in Hongkong is the only original in the house. (Before going to Dapitan, I recommend that one reviews the Albert Martinez and Amanda Page movie on Rizal because the setting of the movie is actually in the shrine).

Generally, my consolation in the afternoon's visit to the museum was having seen the handwriting of Rizal when he was making hurried cursive drafts and his exquisite handwriting in his final letters. By the way, I cannot help but mention that the Guinness-certified smallest man alive since 2011 can be found in Dapitan City and we saw him. You may drop by the old house where he, riding in a toddler's bike, and his father can be found. Where Where We We Went Went In In Dapitan Dapitan

City Dakak Park and Beach Resort has a very huge exclusive property wherein one needs to avail of the free shuttle in order to roam around. The beach has white sand but the shoreline is not that long as the famous Boracay. It offers a lot of water sports and there is a small swimmer's area which I did not get to enjoy much because it was already low tide when we decided to check on the waters.

We were ferried to the Villa Angelina Luxury Suites where we enjoyed the view of the oceans and the short shoreline of the Nude Beach from atop the hills. Lily had her Island Punch; Ivy had her Pina Colada while Marga had her Margarita there. Selinog Island which has refreshing waters and white sand and a very long and rough 3hour ride through a fishing boat, but when we went back, the sea was calm so it took us 2.5 hours only and in time to enjoy the sunset at Dapitan Sunset Boulevard.

We tried some food fare at Gloria De Dapitan which is situated beside the Gloria Fantasyland which we opted not to go in. We were told that Dapitan has a cinema and residents of the neighboring 30-minute away Dipolog City go there to watch a movie. There are lots of eats along the boulevard too. Generally, Dapitan City is charming in its quietness yet historically rich celebration of Rizal's fruitful exile. The St. James Church has the Mindanao relief map in front of it.we revel in the tall cherry blossoms in white and pink petal hues which are growing around the park.we also enjoyed the old structures used as government offices which are lined in the periphery of the streets. Where We Went In Dipolog

City We had a good laugh when we first saw that each tricycle in the city has a notice on its back: DAY OFF ON THURSDAY. The day-off was on different date for every trike. Phil Adams, a local who played host to us and whose name is reminiscent of my fave musicians Phil Collins and Bryan Adams, explained that it was like a color-code traffic scheme where the trike cannot go out the streets on its day-off.

Basically, Dipolog is the capital city of Zamboanga del Norte and it is where the airport is located. There are luxury hotels and restos there. The eats and modern-designed restos are found in Dipolog City. Newly-wed Phil and Rina's top picks for themed cafe and resto are: Eskina, where pasta and steak are best and the owner is quite a local legend because everything started as a turo-turo in an eskina of Dipolog; Cathy's and Cafe Isabel's which are sister-restos are where hot choco and tapa are best; Tapas and Beer is where Filipino food fare can be enjoyed; and Melting Pot where ribs and salads can be enjoyed.

The three of us enjoyed Melting Pot because of its vintage-themed decors and great food, and they serve teas and herbal infusions. We also enjoyed the bookthemed dessert house called Cafe Life where among others; Alice-in-wonderland and The Little Prince come alive in the walls and ceilings. We tried the Cogon Eco-tour in Dipolog City which can be pretty inspiring for hikers and bikers. We omitted the 3,000 steps because we don't want to literally break our legs. Dipolog City is urbanized compared to Dapitan City but it has a sunset boulevard which we enjoyed very much.

The trip taken by the three flowers, Lily, Ivy and Margarita early this May was one happy tanning summer indeed.