The Promised Land, or conquering the fear factor

(Part 2)

1. Having left Iloilo City’s Fort San Pedro at around 10 p.m. on Feb. 11, we arrived at Iligan City Port by 11 a.m. the following day. This was to be our port of entry to Mindanao Island. Breakfast at the Superferry wasn’t so bad. For P95, one could have two cups of fried rice, two eggs cooked any style, a choice of daing na bangus, beef tapa or longganisa, and a cup of coffee. The only setback was that one had to wait some 20 minutes for the food to arrive as it is prepared in the kitchen three levels down from the cafeteria.

2. Driving down the ramp, Abong, Dan and I were revved up excitedly for our first day of driving in Mindanao. Going on a northwestern direction, we drove past the factories on the outskirts of industrial Iligan City towards Cagayan de Oro (CDO) City. Above is the welcome arch of Misamis Oriental Province, made ingeniously of organic materials, albeit sprayed with gold paint.

3. The fountain at CDO Gaston Park with the nearby San Agustin Cathedral in the background.

4. Heavenly scent. Well, it’s a matter of taste after all. Meeting with our contact man in CDO, Ben Deveza, manager of Sumilao Ranch in Bukidnon, owned by Manolo Agustines (Ramcar), who we met at the Limketkai Shopping Center, where we also shopped for amenities and had our first whiff of the heavenly durian (Chanee and aroncillo varieties) at a fruit stand (P80/kilo) just outside the mall.

5. Heart of the matter. Just out of the boiling pot are these puso or heart-shaped leaf-wrapped rice at Cogon Market. The puso (selling at P2.50 apiece) is an indispensable accompaniment at every barbecue stand in the Visayas and Mindanao. Did you know that most of northern Mindanao (i.e. Iligan City, CDO, Bukidnon, Butuan and Surigao) is Cebuano-speaking, hence their cuisine is mostly of Visayan origin (sugba/tinola/kilawin, more popularly known as sutukil).

6. Nanol’s hot-off-the-grill pancakes (P3 each) at Cogon Market in CDO.

7. Muhammad Ampuan and his wife Haji Aisah sell Maranao antiques and brassware at Cogon Market.

8. A favorite sumsuman or appetizer is balbacoa (also served as ulam or viand in most karinderias) made of cow’s skin boiled till tender. It is similar to the pork skin kinilaw of the Ilonggos.

9. A variant of the standard seafood kinilaw (ceviche) is sinuglaw, a combination of sinugba na baboy (grilled pork) and kinilaw, or raw fish, usually tangingue. The Visayan kinilaw is favored in most of Mindanao, but with coconut milk added. Above is a serving of sinuglaw at the Kagay-anon Restaurant at Rosario Arcade in Limketkai Center. Here we also tried oyster cake, baked imbao (large clams) with garlic, bihod (tangingue roe) served on a sizzling plate, and grilled bagaybay or the fatty glands from a male tangingue.

10. Twilight zone. The Rosario Strip in Limketkai comes alive at night with its row of restaurants and bars. P. Joe’s Diner serves American diner fare, like milkshakes, burgers, hotdogs, pizzas and steaks. A Curtiss C-46 Commando transport aircraft, a relic from WWII, surrealistically juts out of its hangar-like façade.

11. Located right in the heart of the CDO poblacion, the Divisoria, or Golden Friendship Park (at the corner of T. Neri and Abejuela sts.) comes alive on weekend nights with a street party, complete with live band performances and food and barbeque stalls galore. The name Divisoria comes from the Spanish word meaning division, a literal partition of the city layout into two sections with a wide-open space in between. This was a fire-preventive measure in case one part of the city is gutted by fire and prevents it from spreading to the other section.

12. Enjoying the street party in Divisoria are Abong Tayag, Bobby and Iso Montalvan, and Dan Tayag. Dinner was puso, sinugba na manok at longganisa (grilled native chicken and longganisa) with a pitcher of beer. Lami kaayo gyud!

13. The following morning, after hearing Sunday Mass at San Agustin Cathedral, we met up with Rupert Domingo, the operations manager of CDO Whitewater Rafting Adventure in Macahambus Adventure Park, some 45 minutes from the city. Rupert’s outfitter is the first of its kind in the country. It was to be a full Fear Factor day!

14. All set to conquer our fears at the Cagayan River are Dan, Iso, the author and Abong. The class-3 rafting adventure (elevated to class 4-5 during rainy season) was going to take some six hours, floating down 12.5 kilometers of the Cagayan River, tackling 14 major rapids along the way.

15. That’s me in the white shirt. Our adrenalin rushed as we shot the rapids. Many thanks to Dr. Don Lane who was in another boat with a waterproof camera, I have a souvenir of me in action. The boat ride was an exhilarating experience, to say the least, past pristine scenery and high vertical ridge walls, and crystal clear cold waters coming upriver from the Bukidnon highlands.

16. Share a table and win some friends. Stopping mid-way through the rafting, the group took a break for some snacks and buko juice, freshly harvested within the premises. Sharing the meal with us are some free-range native chickens.

17. After the rafting, we were back at the Macahambus Adventure Park for the knee-wobbling Skywalk. It’s a three-part hanging bridge, measuring 51meters, 18 meters, and 54meters, precariously clasped on trees 47 meters (154 feet) high above a deep ravine.

18. Crouching tigress. That’s Iso Montalvan doing the Zip ride. Harnessed on a cable wire, the 120-meter length ride happens in a blink of an eye, with riders moving at an average of 20kph.

19. Tickle, tickle (the palate, that is)! Completing our Fear Factor day, we went straight to Cogon Market for a shot at the real thing – the original "Remember Me." The "center log," as euphemistically called by the locals, is the sexual organ of a bull, boiled together with other meat scraps, tendons and bones in a stock steeped in lemongrass, ginger and black pepper. This concocktion (pun intended) is considered an aphrodisiac. Chef patron Henry Ariate claims to sell three large cauldrons of his specialty daily. His store is open 24 hours a day, and serves a lot to female customers during the wee hours of the morning coming from their work as GROs. Definitely not recommended for the squeamish and faint-hearted!

20. Unforgettable. Braving a taste of the real thing at Henry’s Remember Me outlet.

21. Watching the sunset at the Agustines Ranch in Sumilao, Bukidnon. Grazing freely in the meadow are Wagyu cattle, the breed that produces Kobe beef. Manolo Agustines has been into cattle breeding for eight years now, and has successfully bred F1s (half-breed Wagyu and Brahma cattle) and F2s (a cross between an F1 and pure Wagyu cattle). The marbled Wagyu meat is now available in Manila.

22. Our host Iso Montalvan, chef Esperanza, and Iso’s mom Chelo Javellana pose with some canapés served at the Javellana Ranch House in Lurugan, Valencia City, Bukidnon. The Javellana house sits on a vast pastoral farmland, bought by Iso’s dad, Angel, when he was still working for Philippine Packing Corp. in Bukidnon in the early 1970s. It has been the family’s retirement home since the 1997.

23. A sumptuous lunch spread prepared by Chelo Javellana consisted of chicken noodle soup, grilled pork ribs, roast lamb ribs, lamb stew, and grilled vegetables, all raised and grown in their farm. Dessert was a fabulous leche flan topped with fresh strawberries, which were accidentally discovered by chef Esperanza. The Javellanas are willing to prepare a similar luncheon for the hungry travelers, but only with reservations. With Chelo’s artistry and her 15 years of service with the Marriott Hotel in the US and Cebu City, you’ll surely be in good hands. A natural comedienne, she kept us in stitches with stories of her stint in Cebu training the staff when the Marriott opened there.

24. Work in progress. Artist Chelo Javellana hones her talent with a large reproduction of Michelangelo’s "Delphica," a figure from his work at the Sistine chapel. She also does some woodcarving and signs her name Chelo Jay.

25. The spacious living room of the Javellanas. Note the bunch of pink-lady heliconias on the left; they grow in wild abundance in the Javellana garden.

26. On this rock you shall build my Church. The main altar table of the Benedictine Transfiguration Monastery in Malaybalay, Bukidnon, is a large boulder found in the premises where the church was built. It was the last architectural landmark the late National Artist architect Leandro Locsin was to be involved in before his death. He never saw it finished.

27. Our cabalen Dom Martin (erstwhile fashion designer Gang Gomez of San Fernando, Pampanga) has been with the Benedictines for 15 years (including his seven years as a novice). Having the true-blue Pampango blood in him, he is in charge of the kitchen (but, of course) and the retreat house.

28. Spartan lodging space at the Transfiguration Monastery Retreat House. Transients are welcome for an overnight stay at P450/night, double occupancy, including three meals and two snacks, and single occupancy at P600, or for a retreat with proper guidance and counseling.

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Next week: Marawi City.

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For inquiries on the Whitewater Rafting Adventure, call Rupert Domingo at 0917-7073583, telefax (088)857-1270 or e-mail riverguide@yahoo.com.

Contact the Transfiguration Monastery in Malaybalay, Bukidnon at (088)221-2899. You may also contact Dom Martin at 0917-5105885. However, do send an SMS message first before calling because he might be in prayers.

Call Pines Hill Hotel in Malaybalay, Bukidnon at (088)221-3211.

Contact the Javellana Pastoral Sanctuary in Lurugan, Valencia City, Bukidnon at 0917-7167172.

For organized ranch tours, cowboy horseback riding and visits to Lumad communities, call Chi and Maite Abellanosa at 0927-2664398.

For tribal music, arts and crafts, visit Waway Saway in Lantapan, Bukidnon. Call 0920-4884639 for inquiries.

For inquiries on Wagyu beef in Manila, call Allan Cueva at 373-1234 local 6402 and 0917-8558384.