White Water Rafting in Cagayan De Oro City

When the situation made us decide to spend our holy week in Cagayan De Oro City, one thing I looked forward to is to experience the ice cold water in the river and do the adventurous white water rafting. As I mentioned in my http://malurulida.blogspot.com/2016/04/holy-week-vacation.html blog that I got an illness so my doctor didn't allow me to do any heavy activities. I super envy with my travel buddy who really enjoyed the paddling, hehe.

We stayed in Rich Manor Pensione House where it is conveniently located nearby Centrio Mall, Gaisano Centre and Gaisano Mall. With its convenient location, the hotel provides the easy access of rafting agency named Kagay Whitewater Rafting. 

At first, we were wondering if he can do it since he was the only one customer at that morning. The staff told us to wait for another people who will book and he would join them to accommodate one raft. Fortunately, there was one group of 6 who just booked and he was happy to join them. For the solo traveler, this is your opportunity to meet new people and make new friends. I couldn't join the adventure so I was their photographer for the teaser photos! haha! Since they have an official photographer who joined them along the journey.

I waited them for almost 2 hours inside the jeepney that the Kagay agency used. It was a kinda boring for me so I did many things like; sleeping, wandering the nature, listening to the sound of the river flow... exciting, huh? When they came back, Sam was amazed the experience! The icy cool water, raging and angry, ready to throw out the unaware. According to him, the most challenging was when they jumped from river to river, haha! I agree because I saw the view along the downstream and I love it! Would definitely try it someday.

The tour guide said that it was not exactly an adrenaline filled adventure since summer season in the Philippines is not the best time to try the water rafting, just a little water and not so wavy. Best time to go there is during the rainy season in the Philippines from July to September if you really want to experience the scary - fun adventure. But they really enjoyed a lot. Meeting new friends that you get to enjoy the ride with, challenging rapids and enjoyable water that you can jump out of the raft, swim freely and feel the refreshing coolness of the water and the beautiful scenery around. You can refer to this agency:
Kagay Cagayan de Oro White Water Rafting
Corrales Avenue, Corner Rivera St. Cagayan de Oro City
email: dankaanimo@yahoo.com
mobile: 09177122442, 09187122323
office: (088) 852-1021
web: www.kagaycagayandeororafting.com

A contagious smile he shared before the rafting orientation.

The tour guide oriented them about safety and what to do in case they fall from the boat. To make the experience fun and at the same time it was safe. 

The Orientation

Started the Adventure

This is the only thing I could do while waiting for them, haha :D

The Final Destination

Luckily they did it safely and enjoyably. If you are planning to go to CDO, you must try this whether you are a solo traveller or in a group. 

Divine Mercy - The National Shrine (Philippines)

Divine Mercy Shrine is located in El Salvador, Misamis Oriental, Philippines

Majority of the christian believers considered this as one of the most miraculous shrines in the Philippines. The Divine Mercy hills has a Divine Mercy Christ statue with a height of 50 feet. This serves as a pilgrimage destination for devotees and you can also see the Macalajar Bay from above. It is 30 minutes away from Cagayan De Oro  City.

The Divine Mercy Shrine is a sacred place. Visitors are not allowed to go up wearing their mini dress, skirts, shorts and any revealing clothing. Like me, I went there wearing an above-the-knee skirt so I was advised to wear this:

This was not my first time to visit. I went here 8 years ago with group of nuns which congregation I belonged to. We went there to attend the mass and had a brief orientation about the devotion. But this time I was with my travel buddy who has no religion yet I am happy because he supports me in my belief and he observed the solemnity of the place. Anyway, while going up there, I felt the peace within, Christ's love and I thank Him for that.

My primary purpose of coming here is to experience my soul of God's Divine Mercy and Love. Taking photos and enjoying the overlooking Macalajar Bay is a bonus.

Getting to Divine Mercy Shrine from CDO is easy. You can follow my guide below:

1. From your hotel/accommodation in CDO, ride a tricycle or jeepney going to Gaisano mall (fare P7.00) and get off near the gasoline station. From there, take a jeepney going to Bulua terminal (fare:P13.00). From Bulua terminal, ride a jeepney going to El Salvador (fare:P10.00) and ask the driver to drop you off to Divine Mercy corner road. And ride a habal2x or motorcycle in English (fare:P10.00). I appreciate the driver who we hired because of his kindness and he gave us the exact price. 

I took his card so I can help him in my own simple way as my gratitude of his honesty. If you happen to read my blog and you are going to Divine Mercy Shrine, please find him and extend my best regards. May God shower His mercy to him and his family. 

2. I got this information from my research and based on the local people there: From  the airport:

a. There is no other airport there except the Laguinduingan Airport. It is along the highway so you can easily take a jeepney for a cheaper price going to Divine Mercy Shrine.

From there, ride a jeepney going to Bulua terminal (fare:P10.00) then follow my guide number 1.

b. You can also rent a car or a package deal with taxis from the airport to Divine Mercy Shrine. Price is negotiable so apply your haggling skill as much as you can :)

We availed the bonus of enjoying the peaceful place, taking photos and buying souvenirs. Allow me to share some of our captured memories there.

This is the stairs going up.

Schedule of activities and masses.

Beautiful front view with an aisle sorrounded with a lot of flowers.

Christ's Statue with my Sam.

Closer view of Christ's face. Seems like He's saying "Hello" to all of you while looking at the camera. AWE-mazing Lord!

That red and white color is stairs and you can climb up there closer to Him. Unfortunately, it was closed during our time probably because mass was still going on. 

The Divine Mercy chapel. It was Holy Week so a lot of people were there.

People's testimonies on how miraculous Christ is.

 At the back of the chapel you can see this building where you can find souvenirs.

Beautiful back fiew of the 50-foot Christ's statue.

The Overlooking Macalajar Bay

Going down the stairs and about to say goodbye to Jesus.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is also here.

If you want to offer a prayer or petition, enter this building and light a candle.

It is greatly recommended for us Christians and devotees who do the novena that the intentions and prayers be said together with the chaplet of Divine Mercy, since our Lord specifically asked for a novena of Chaplets especially before the feast of Mercy.  - http://nsshph.blogspot.com/

This is a must visit for devoted christians. Non-Christians will not miss much the great view, fresh air and serenity if they don't visit this place. It was well-worth the visit indeed. I would definitely come back here again, someday and somehow. 

Egg Bread (Gyeran-ppang)

According to my research, Gyeran-ppang is one of the famous street foods in Korea. I haven't been there but this recipe struck me most during my research because it is easy to bake, common ingredients and best for my breakfast. Gyeran-ppang is sweet, fluffy and cute little bread with a whole egg inside that is being sold by street food vendors in Korea. 

As I was saying, I found this recipe in my research. Yes, I do search food and recipe everyday and whenever I have a time and internet connection, hehe. I also asked about this food to one of my Korean friends who is now in AU. She laughed and wondered why of all the interesting questions, I chose this! Hahaha.. well, she'd no choice but to tell me some information about Gyeran-ppang. 

According to her, Koreans can't resist of buying Gyeran-ppang because of its sweet and fresh smell, It is affordable, cheap and delicious for your simple snack. Gyeran-ppang vendors use special machine that make them cook few dozens of bread at a time. You can see vendors who are busy pouring the batter on a rack of metal Gyeran-ppang molds, cracking eggs, covering the molds and flipping the molder to make them cooked.

Sounds simple, huh? Yes, it is. Let me share you my Gyeran-ppang that is made in the Philippines!!!

Ingredients:

Good for 3 Gyeran-ppang

1 tbsp. of  melted unsalted butter

3 tbsp. of granulated sugar

a pinch of salt

1 tsp. of baking powder

1/2 of vanilla extract

1/2 cup of all-purpose flour

1/2 cup of milk

2 eggs

1 tsp. cooking oil

Direction:

1. Combine the melted butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, 1egg, flour and milk. Whisk until it's smooth.

2. Preheat the oven to 400 degree F (about 200 degree C).

3. Brush the bottom and the sides of a pan with butter or you can use cooking oil.

4. Fill the pan full of batter. 

Opps! You can use any pans but make sure that it's small and don't put a lot of batter in it or else your Gyeran-ppang won't cook all the way through.

5. Crack an egg onto the center of the batter in a pan. 

6. Bake for 15 minutes or until it's finally cooked.

7. Take out the oven and serve hot.

Making Gyeran-ppang is fun and delicious! Enjoy!!! 

How to Make a Homemade Caffe Latte Without a Machine

To make a cappuccino or latte is ideally you should have a good machine and a milk steamer, but they can be pretty expensive. I am not a barista but this is one of my goals, to have at least a half year training because I am really a coffeholic and I like designing my food and my drinks but I still have a lot of goals and priorities for now. Last December, I was so happy that someone gave me a coffee machine http://www.myhanabishi.com/shop/category.php?id_category=55  as one of his gifts for me, yay! haha :D So it isn't difficult for me to brew and make an espresso. 

Cappuccino and Latte are the Martini's of coffee drinks (am I right?) haha.. simple and delicious with those common ingredients but very easy to completely ruin. 

So, to all mothers out there, fellow coffee drinkers who love to make your coffee without a milk steamer, here is my simple guide how to make a latte without a machine.

CAFE LATTE WITHOUT A MACHINE

What you should prepare:

1. Espresso

2. Milk

3. A tumbler with cover

4. A mug or a cup

Step 1: Make Espresso

Currently, I am using this affordable ground coffee for my espresso. For Filipinos, 3n1 coffee is enough for us and I grown up with my parents using them. But then I realized that I am using the unhealthy one. So now, put a 2 1/2 tbsp. of ground coffee in the strainer and a half cup of water. 

Step 2: Heat up milk

Heat up about half a cup(for latte) or 3/4 (for cappuccino) of fresh milk in the microwave oven or on a pan using a stove until it's hot but don't put it their for a long time. I used a broiler for mine for a minute. If possible, use whole milk for the best result. 

Step 3: Make the hot milk into a thick froth

As you can see the photo above, I used my Starbucks tumbler http://www.starbucks.ph/ (or you can also whip the milk with a wisk if you have it). Put the hot milk into it and closed tightly. Shake well for 30 seconds until you have a thick froth. If you can't see any big bubbles, close it again and shake more :)

Step 4: Pour

After your last shake, pour the milk into the espresso. Use a spoon to get the remaining foam so it will look nicely on top of your coffee and sprinkle some cinnamon powder for the best flavor. 

I am currently using this brand and so far the result is good ^^

http://www.mccormickcorporation.com/

That's it! But of course, a latte made with a milk steamer has a much thicker froth than mine. Good luck and share your experience to me as well. 

Holy Week Vacation

Two months ago I planned to take a long vacation/leave during the holy week season yet didn't have any idea what to do and where to go. A month after, I got an illness and I badly needed to take a rest that made me decide to use my 1 week leave for it. To make the long story short, we spent my vacation in the northern part of Mindanao, in the city of "The Golden Friendship."

 It was an 11th hour booking so we couldn't avail the usual Cebu Pacific airline ticket promo, plus it's a super high peak season so we gave up on flying and decided to just enjoy our 12-hour stay on the ship. Woah! 12 hours??? Yes! No joke! You have to sail for quite a long time when you travel to Cagayan de Oro from Cebu city. We used the Trans Asia Shipping Lines for Php880.00 for economy but in our case, I chose the Php1,200 for the tourist accommodation. For those who want to use this shipping line, their schedule is daily but they only have 1 trip a day every 8 o'clock in the evening. Not a bad experience. It was cozy for me and could sleep deeply.

I could only take photos for the economy accommodation. For the tourist one, berths are the same but they seem like in the room with a narrow aisle and you cannot feel awkward to the strangers near you because they put a thick curtain to cover your berth whenever you want a privacy, plus you have your own light bulb inside and an electrical outlet so you can charge your gadget whenever you want to

https://youtu.be/0Mlvbx4gazQ 

Here's the beautiful sunrise welcomed us! Time check? It was 5:15AM when we saw it. Fantastic!

We arrived in Rich Manor Penshion House at exactly 8:30 in the morning. Since it was too early for us to check-in, we decided to eat first our breakfast in their cafeteria and luckily, this hotel offers free  unlimited coffee to their guests anytime we want. 

I'm a coffeeholic person so this was heaven for me! haha :D

After an hour of eating, we were able to check-in, relax for a while, take a shower and lakwatsa! hahaha!!! We stayed in Mindanao for 5 days and let me share to you guys those fantastic nature that we've visited. Please visit my other blog for the detail of those tourist attraction.

Tourist Spots:

1. DIVINE MERCY SHRINE http://malurulida.blogspot.com/2016/04/divine-mercy-national-shrine-philippines.html

Address: El Salvador, Misamis Oriental

2. WHITE WATER RAFTING

http://malurulida.blogspot.com/2016/04/white-water-rafting-in-cagayan-de-oro.html

Address: Brgy. Mambua, Cagayan de Oro

3. MAPAWA NATURE PARK 

4. MARIA CRISTINA FALLS

Address: Brgy. Buruun, Iligan City

5. MIMBALUT FALLS

Address: Brgy. Buruun, Iligan City, Lanao Del Norte

6. TINAGO FALLS

Address: Linamon, Iligan City

Half of our trip we spent for eating, going to shopping malls, etc. Detailed posts will be coming soon...

Let It Begin 2ksixteen

First Stop Of This Year's Journey

As I've mentioned from my previous blog ( https://malurulida.blogspot.com/2016/02/did-you-enjoy-on-new-years-day-in.html ), me and my boyfriend ended up spending the rest of my holidays in the beach. 

We decided to go to the sleepy town located in southern Cebu. Best known as a place of great diving, colorful underwater and the best snorkeling site called MOALBOAL. I've been here for a lot of times already but still could enjoy everytime I visit, especially this year that my man was with me. We also visited Kawasan Falls located at Badian town on the next day. Our original plan was to only have a 2D/1N trip but due to a lot of passengers going back to the city, we couldn't able to catch a bus. We decided to stay again for a night in Lambug beach in Badian. It is 15 minutes away from Brgy. Matutinao, where the bus stop located when you are from Kawasan falls. 

It was around 4PM when we arrived in Lambug beach, It was our first time and we were amazed looking at the view, it was simple, natural and yet to be developed. We decided to just use a tent instead and it was a dream come true for me... I haven't tried using tent and indeed I was glad and delightful to have had tried it with my man. For us, it was a fun adventure!

For those who haven't visited yet, let me share our simple itinerary.

From Cebu City to Moalboal:

We took about 2.5 to 3 hours going to Moalboal. We just directly went to south bus terminal and looked for a Ceres bus, fare was about P110. We asked the conductor/driver that we were going to Moalboal and they dropped us off to their town. If you are not in a hurry, you can also ride a Librando bus bound to Badian but it is a little slower than Ceres bus, and if you want a more comfortable one, you can use a van located at One Citilink Terminal, it takes less than 5 minutes from south bus terminal on foot.

When we arrived in their town, my boyfriend were shocked seeing those numerous motorcycle /habal2x driver trying to convince passengers to hire them for going to the beach. Since I experienced a lot here, I was able to manage the situation and could avoid being ripped off. He asked only P50 for 2 people but we gave him P100 since he was kind to us and he helped us find a hotel nearby the beach. We found the only one available room in Basdaku for P1,000 per night. 

Our Expenses:

Day 1

110 - Ceres Bus to Moalboal

50 - Motorcycle to Basdaku

50 - Dinner

500 - AirCon Room (1,000/night)

TOTAL: 700

Day 2

30 - Motorcycle back to Moalboal Town

115 - Brunch

30 - Bus to Kawasan Falls, Brgy. Matutinao

30 - Falls' Entrance Fee (60 for foreigner)

60 - Motorcycle to Lambug beach

250 - Tent 

100 - Dinner

TOTAL: 615

Day 3

60 - Tricycle from Lambug to Badian Town Center

30 - Breakfast

114 - Bus back to Cebu City (We used Librando Bus)

TOTAL: 204

OVERALL TOTAL: Php 1,519 per pax for 3D/2N - 2 people

Amazing price, huh? I was amazed really!!! And trip wouldn't be complete without visual proof!!! LOL! Let me share some of our photos :)

At 2PM I walked around, soothing under the sun and saw this fantastic nature

I forgot to share that we arrived at 9AM here and slept right after we checked in. Hunger woke me up so I searched for food outside and saw this emerald sky. My "Me Time" while he was still asleep.

This was not filtered, swear! It looks like I'm knocking on heaven's door and being opened and accepted.
GRATEFUL!

I so love sunsets.. so we decided to enjoy swimming while watching the sun setting. Wonderful!!!

These are just some of the memories we had in this sleepy town. Thank you Moalboal! I'll be back again~

He looks having a blast in these photos, right? Because he really did!
Kawasan Falls

Here's my most favorite moment.. the TENT! hehe~ It reminded me of our Baler Trip last year.

 TWO - THUMBS UP!

Moalboal is one of those beautiful beaches in the Philippines. There are a lot more.. See you then ~