Ang Dabawenyo

The people of Sarangani Province are gearing up for their annual summer festival, which will take place in the last week of May 2009. Everyone is welcome! In fact, a group of bloggers from Davao, General Santos and Metro Manila are going to join this year’s celebration of the Sarangani Bay Festival 2009.

Below are the activities planned for the 3-day event. Thanks to Michelle Solon of Go Sarangani Travel for the information, and for helping in the arrangements for the bloggers.

28 May (Thu) • Kiamba

Ceremonial Opening Program, Lumba Bugsay (paddleboat racing), Bike Adventure Race Challenge, Skim Boarding Competition, Skim Boarding Clinic, Dive Sarangani, Underwater Photography, Beach Football, Beach Volleyball, Sayaw Sarangani – Hataw sa Tag-araw, Beach Concert and Fireworks Display.

29 May (Fri) • Maasim – Glan

Swim across the Bay (from Maasim to Glan), Bay Bodies Pageant, Scubasurero (dive to harvest crown of thorns), Sand Castle Competition, Bay Fair (selling and promotions fair), Beach Party with Club DJ and Fire Dancers, and continuing activities of Bike Adventure Race Challenge, Skim Boarding Competition, Skim Boarding Clinic, Dive Sarangani, Underwater Photography, Beach Football, Beach Volleyball.

30 May (Sat) • Gumasa, Glan

Bombo Bancarera (motorboat racing), San Miguel Concert Party (Manila band), Recogntion and Awarding Ceromonies, and continuing activities of Bike Adventure Race Challenge, Skim Boarding Competition, Skim Boarding Clinic, Dive Sarangani, Underwater Photography, Beach Football, Beach Volleyball.

I’m so excited! These three days will surely be a series of scorchingly hot parties and über-cool outdoorsy events! Can’t wait…

Glan, Kiamba, Maasim and the other towns surrounding Sarangani Bay are largely undiscovered jewels of nature. For example, the beaches of Glan are reputed to have sand as fine as that found in Boracay. And the scuba diving is spectacular, by all accounts (check out my post about Lemlunay Dive Resort). Parts of the bay, I was told by Michelle, are protected sanctuaries, so that divers now see much growth and resurgence of indigenous species in the area. When we went for a dive, we saw the cement domes that were installed in different parts of Sarangani Bay to promote the growth of coral.

And the food! I bet I’m going to gorge myself on tuna, sturgeon fish (I wish!), crab, and other goodies from the sea! On the flip side, however, accommodations facilities in the Sarangani province are rather rudimentary.

The bloggers’ excursion into Sarangani is being coordinated by yours truly, Avel Manansala (of Bariles Republic fame), and the indefatigable Michelle, the wife of Vice-Governor Steve Solon. But blogger or not, anyone is very welcome to join the festivities. Budget? Less than ₱3,000 (including transportation to & from Davao) per person will most certainly suffice. To be there to party with everyone is free, but the clinics, competitions, etc. will have minimal participation fees.

For more information, please get in touch with Go Sarangani Travel — gosaranganitravel[at]gmail[dot]com, (83)552-8015 or (83)304-4398. This festival is being organized under the auspices of the Sarangani provincial government. Check out their official site: www.sarangani.gov.ph.

I’ve found paradise!

Nestled atop a precipice overlooking Sarangani Bay in Maasim, Sarangani Province, is an alluring place called Lemlunay, which, in the B’laan and T’Boli tongues, roughly means “the good place one goes to in the afterlife”. The Lemlunay Dive Resort is a countryside getaway that will take your breath away, with its rustic ambience, relaxing surroundings, lovingly-prepared cuisine, personalized service… all encompassed by an expansive sea of unspoilt blue.

It is a paradise for nature lovers, but most especially for scuba-diving enthusiasts. The resort itself is still being developed — with only a few guest rooms available at the moment — but the diving facilities they have in place are at par with the ones I’ve seen in high-end resorts. I’m not really a scuba diver, but after an exhilarating intro dive I did there (with Chattee, Lyle, Angel and Leonard), I just might become one soon!

A short distance from the cliff’s side, the bottom of the sea drops dramatically to about 30 feet, then a coral wall presents itself with marine life all a-bustle. The variegated colors on the fish and on the coral is a delight against the backdrop of soft-hued sand and dark-toned rock that dot the seascape. I wanted so much to go deeper and check out the coral wall, but I couldn’t because I’m not yet certified. It was too bad none of us thought of bringing an underwater camera. I’ve actually gone diving twice before already, but before the dive at Lemlunay, I had never seen so many kinds of tropical fish in their natural habitat.

Our group of intrepid bloggers (6 from Davao and 2 from GenSan) were hosted by Sarangani Vice-Governor Steve Solon and his wife Michelle to a sumptuous lunch at Lemlunay, whose amiable queen of the kitchen served each a delectable plate of roasted chicken and grilled gindara peppered with heavenly golden garlic. Oh and there was also steamed pompano (also called dolphin fish and mahi-mahi), served in a rich brown sauce with olives and garnished with tomatoes and spices.

The owner of Lemlunay Dive Resort, Paul Partridge, who is also the head dive instructor, gave us a very colorful interview. He told us about how he built the resort in 2005, and his plans for expansion, which will become reality starting this year. He plans to add more cottages, a recreation room, meeting facilities, and a swimming pool. There is also a separate area that will be completed soon, and this will be for day-trippers. For people who want to get away from the city and learn scuba, Lemlunay could be the perfect destination: learn how to dive from the classroom to the pool to the open sea, all in one place. And be pampered with good food while you’re at it!

The diving operation is a separate entity, and is known as South Point Divers. Judging by the way the dive master and the staff handled our group — and to think they had other guests who were also going to dive — I am confident that they will be able to satisfy any seasoned scuba diver’s needs and whims. And I shouldn’t fail to mention, the more exciting dive spots are reportedly full of marine wonders. Michelle (who is a blogger herself) was telling us that there live a growing school of a rare species of wrasse in the waters of Sarangani Bay, which has in fact been declared a marine sanctuary. Head on over to South Point Divers’ online photo gallery to view spectacular underwater shots.

I’d like to thank Michelle and Vice-Governor Steve for giving us a grand time at Lemlunay, the paradise of Sarangani Bay. And to Paul and Joel, the dive master, for making it possible for us to have a wonderful time underwater! Most especially, in behalf of the bloggers of Davao, General Santos City’s lead blogger, Avel Manansala, deserves our gratitude and admiration for organizing that elating weekend in General Santos and Sarangani Province.

For your GPS locators, here are Lemlunay Dive Resort’s coordinates: 5° 52′ 24.00″ N, 125° 05′ 13.00″ E. From General Santos, Maasim is about half an hour’s drive. You can contact the resort via mobile phone: +63(920)914-9259.