This was the highlight of our trip. Pearl Farm is really a must-see when you go to Davao.
We were picked up by Kuya Jason, the tricycle driver from yesterday, at 7am. We rented his services for the whole day for Php1000. Plan was to check out from Red Parrot, go to Pearl farm then Giant Clams at Adecor then Hagimit Falls and if we still have time, go to Monfort Bat Cave then check in at Samal Island Huts at Babak. Sounds like a good plan, right? But as the title of this post goes, we got to see only 2 of our planned itinerary for the day.
Activity1: Pearl Farm
We traveled to Pearl Farm from Red Parrot Inn through a tricycle — bad idea. Now I understand why part of the package tour (Php1800/person –discounted probably due to off season) from Pearl Farm is the boat ride to and from Sta. Ana wharf. It was kind of unthinkable to go to Pearl Farm by land – even via habal-habal. The road was rough and a bit dangerous. Probably because the road near Pearl Farm was made for habal-habals not tricycles. But even for a habal-habal, the trip would be terrible especially if you have your things with you. After around 1 hour and a half, we were able to reach Pearl Farm tired from the tricycle ride. But seeing the beauty of Pearl Farm, we (almost) forgot about our tricycle (mis)adventure.
Pictures aren’t enough to describe how wonderful the place was. Upon arrival, we were given our welcome drinks while one of the staff explains to us where the pool is and that there’s a boat that could bring us to the other Pearl Farm which they call Malipano Island. Our bags were put in a locker provided by Pearl Farm then we explored the place! We stayed there til around 2pm. The lunch buffet, included in the package tour, was really sumptuous!
Activity2: Giant Clams
While Kuya Jason was waiting for us at Pearl Farm, we were surprised to find out that Kuya Robert, the boatman we rented (Php1000/boat) for our Giant clam trip, was already there at the gates of Pearl Farm ready with his boat to take us to the Giant Clams. That saved us a trip to Adecor, which was quite near from Pearl Farm. We were taken by suprise when we found out that the Giant Clams were far from the shore! I apologize for our ignorance but the pictures I saw from travelingkit seemed like they were just near the shores. It was due to the lowtide. Since we went there after lunch, the tide was high already so we had to snorkel just to see the clams. I wanted to back out but I thought, my bf wanted to swim with the whale sharks in one of our future trips, and if I can’t snorkel with these clams how will I be able to swim with the whale sharks too? So snorkel with the clams I went. We were provided with life vests (for free) so we were safe to snorkel. Snorkeling gears are also available for Php100 but we brought our own goggles so we didn’t have to rent those.
After the snorkeling and tricycle adventures, we felt tired. And just thinking about the 800+ steps at Hagimit Falls made us want to just check in at Samal Island Huts. We thought of pushing through the Monfort Bat cave but the staff from Samal Island Huts told us that they don’t let people in after 5pm. It was already past four then so we decided not to go. We thought of going there the following day just like we planned together with the Vanishing Island tour but hiring Kuya Jason again (he asks for Php600! but we were able to negotiate for Php400) plus the boat ride for Vanishing Island tour (Php500/boat) plus the thought of us bringing our things for the whole trip made us just say “nah, nevermind; let’s just visit Davao again.”
Accommodation: Samal Island Huts
So we went straight to Samal Island Huts. The place was not quite how we expected it to be. It was kind of private but very cozy and homey. I think they only have 4 rooms and 1 small pool (you couldn’t even do a lap). The staff were all men but they were very accommodating. We had our dinner outside because their food were pricey. The place was also far from the main road so it was difficult to get a ride from there but it’s easy to go there from the main streets. We spent the rest of the night at the warm pool.
The staff at Samal island Huts can arrange tours for you. Just let them know beforehand so they can make arrangements. Here’s their website:Â http://www.samalislandhuts.ph
Other Davao Posts:
agitopassim 