Golden Gate Adventure Resort - 02/2014

Golden Gate Adventure Resort is a mountain resort located along the Bukidnon-Davao road, almost 4 hours away from the center of Davao City. If you're coming from Davao, the resort is located on the right side with a tall, yellow gate.

The entrance gate welcoming you to the resort.

The resort is very good for team building or family gathering. They have one big house with a living room, kitchen, dining room and one big room upstairs where you can rest for the night. They also have a fireplace when the place gets too cold.

The walkway and the hanging bridge

If you have planned some group activities, there's a vast ground where you can play, just like what we did. If you have a strong heart (which I didn't have), you can walk on their hanging bridge. It was short, but worth the try.

The room and the pool

For adventurous members of the group, you can go spelunking into the resort's small but tricky cave. Be sure to prepare your knees for some crawling, and wear footwear that won't let you slip. Oh, did I forget to mention that the trek to the cave is a good exercise for the heart? Yes, as it's several steps down! Wooh!

Spelunking and resting

After the exhilarating, heart-pounding trek, you can dip into their ice-cold pool (if you're brave) to freshen up. Be sure to push/pull your friends to enjoy.

If you're planning to stay in the resort, be sure to buy your stock in the city or when you pass by the Calinan public market. They have a functioning kitchen where you can cook your food. And don't forget to buy coffee to warm up your day. :)

Trip to Canibad, Samal - 07/2015

Canibad has always been in my bucket list since I read about it in 2010 and saw pictures online. I like the idea that it's not so accessible, which means the beach itself is not commercialized and very natural. I like the fact that it's isolated and so its beauty is preserved.

Since the team has a 3-day consecutive off, we agreed to have our team building in Canibad. Although some were hesitant because of its reputation when it comes to accessibility, I was glad the majority was up for the adventure.

It was already almost 12PM when we arrived in Samal wharf where our contact (multicab transpo) was waiting for us. After buying additional grocery items in the convenience store, we started the 1-hour journey of what seemed like a forever uphill drive.

The beach, the shoreline.

It was a relief when we finally reached our destination. We could feel our back burning due to the constant work of the cab. And when we saw the stairs down to the beach, we knew it was another battle to conquer. The way down was steep and tricky with around a hundred steps. When we finally reached the resort, we immediate ran to the beach, with knees still shaking. It was awesome!

e 

View from the top.

The beach was quiet and it seemed like it was reserved only for us. And we remembered that it's monsoon season so the waves were huge and scary. But its beauty remained pure, untouched. After settling our things, we had few hours of taking pictures and searching the place, wandering.

The road, the stair, the cottage and the grilling session

When it's almost dark, we started preparing our food. Their kitchen was nicely set for grilling that can accommodate several people at the same time. It also has running water, which was really a plus. The rest rooms were also clean and well-maintained.

The night came quickly and the cold air started to brush on our skin. It would have been nice to light a bonfire, but it was not allowed in the resort. We rested - some in the cottage, some in the tent - and called it a day.