The Backpack Adventures

Marriage in itself is a lifetime adventure for any couple. Honeymoons, on the other hand, is another kind of adventure. While most newlyweds prefer to stay in expensive resorts or hotels during their honeymoon. My wife and I had better plans. We packed our backpacks and hit the road. With only P11,000 in our pockets (minus airfare and sea fare which we paid in advance) we flew to Mindanao and did what only a few (if there really is one) newlyweds dreamt to do -a 7-Day Honeymoon Backpacking in Mindanao.



DAY 1
Our adventure began a week after our wedding. (This gave us a chance to rest and let the spirit of marriage sink in.) We flew from Manila to Cagayan de Oro City very early in the morning to catch the first bus to the province of Bukidnon. 



It took us only a few hours to reach the town of Manolo Fortich for the first leg of our journey. We stayed in the residence of the Gamutan's, my wife's longtime friends, their house is inside the Del Monte Plantation compound. After a few …

After a semi-sleepless night (Due to the fact that I feel like I was on guard for the group), we packed up at around 5AM then drove a few kilometers to one of the nearest food stalls in Gingoog City for our breakfast. All I can say is - "Nothing beats a warm cup of coffee and a sandwich in a cold morning." Our next stop was in Talisayan, Misamis Oriental were my father-in-law and brother-in-law enjoyed their early morning dip in Talisayan's brown sand beach. I was so engrossed documenting the trip, that I skipped the chance of joining them. Aside from the mentioned reasons, it also dawned on me (just recently) that I had no guts swimming on my undies in front of the local folks. (Yup my father-in-law and brother-in-law swam wearing nothing but undies.) After the side trip in Talisayan, we hopped on our truck and proceeded to head towards Cagayan De Oro City (CDO). However, my father-in-law promised to take us first to one of his usual stop over venues whenever he'…