Island Garden City of Samal | Post-climb Treat

After the physical drains and emotional highs of our Mt. Apo climb, I really did look forward to a laid-back rest-filled day.

Lake Agco, a 10-minute walk from the jump-off, was obviously the most sensible choice; but the adventuring spirit in Agnes took hold and brought us to the island garden city of Samal.

Surprisingly, this breather of a place was also only a 10-minute pump boat ride from the wharf.

Being indeed very close to the city, I started to envy Davaoenos for having this heaven-like island so close to their homes.

After shelling out 40 pesos and 10 minutes of waiting, I readied myself to 3 days of extensive napping, sumptuous eating and comfy relaxation as if I just walked from one province to another, which I really did.

The first day was mellow. We placed our tables outside the cottages and had lunch while savouring the view of the white sand beach back-dropped by the majestic view of Mt. Apo.

It was like that the whole day: spent laughing at how we walked with massive muscle cramps, reminiscing our just concluded Mt. Apo trek and eating our hearts out after being deprived of quality food at the campsites.

After our tranquil first day, we decided to explore other places Samal Island had to offer.

The beauty of Talicud Island was such a revelation to us. The place has clear blue waters reminiscent of the Beaches in Bantayan, the powdery white sands comparable to Coron's Malcapuya Island and the lime stone cliffs like that of El Nido's.

I started to feel the "bitin-factor" that I was not expecting to have. Just one afternoon allotted to explore the island was too short that I really regretted waking up late that morning.

Damn! Just by writing this article, I suddenly thought that coming back to this island is a must.

We explored every niche of Talicud island; the Angel cove, the beach and its coral garden.

We snorkelled, swam and dived.

Before long, the day was over. The sun was on its way touching the horizon so we had no choice but to go back to our resort.

Going to Davao City the next day was yet another great experience.

Our city tour fortunately took my mind away from the sad fact that I took for granted the things that I could have done while at Samal.

Nonetheless, the time we had wasn't really enough to take hold of the whole beauty of the island and to add up to our little misfortune, our bodies, at that time, could not actually tolerate another intense day of activity.

Anyways, at least we had fun. The moments we had exploring the little island was unforgettable.

I realized that this kind of relaxation is a must after having one of the most intense days of our lives.

We only had to thank the Island garden city of Samal for our new found way of relaxation after a strenuous multi-day climb.

Group Itinerary

day 1

11:30 - departure from Lanang Davao Beach club wharf

11:40 - arrival at Blue Waters resort

12:00 - lunch at Blue waters, rest

17:00 - buy meat at Babak market

18:00 - prepare dinner

20:00 - dinner, socials

day 2

01:00 - lights out

09:00 - wake up, breakfast

11:00 - take habal habal to Kaptuian district

12:00 - arrival at Kaputian beach club, arrange boat

12:30 - start Island hopping

13:00 - lunch at Isla Reta II

14:00 - departure for Coral garden and Angel cove

17:00 - back at Kaputian beach club

17:30 - buy meat at Penaplata market

18:00 - back at resort, prepare dinner

20:00 - dinner, socials

day 3

02:00 - lights out

09:00 - wake up, breakfast

11:30 - departure from Samal to Davao

11:40 - back at Davao city

How to get to Samal Island (through Blue Waters Beach resort)

From Davao city, take a cab to Lanang Davao Beach Club and look for the Blue waters office. From there you'll pay 20 pesos per head and the pump boat will take you straight to Blue Waters resort. Schedule is from 7:00 AM to 4:30 PM

You can check their website here: http://www.ebluwaters.com/

The cottage we rented from the resort

*we would like to thank Bryan Cuesta and Agnes Navales for the photos in this article, also to Agnes Navales for organizing the trip