FootNote: Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte

I've always wanted to travel since then. Months before my 25th birthday (two years ago), I decided to go somewhere far from Cebu and that perfect place is Dapitan, Zambo del Norte. Along with me were my gay friends  James, Butch, Odie, and Julius.

We took George and Peter Lines via Dumaguete for a $900+ fare v.v. Yup, it's the cheapest, I guess! The ferry left Cebu at 7:00 PM and we had a stop-over for about an hour or two (around 4 in the morning) in Dumaguete where we roamed around the city a bit, took some pictures of their plaza and the famous Silliman University (though taman ra pod mi gate! ;) )

We arrived in Dapitan around 10 in the morning and stayed at a very affordable Adaza Beach Resort which is a 5-10 minute ride from Dapitan wharf. I originally would want to stay in Dakak Paradise Resort, but Julius (who stayed there during his college years) told me that there's not much fun in the resort and its a bit far from the “centro”, so we decided to stay within the Dapitan “centro” instead.

Finding a good place to stay is never a problem in this Shrine City because a wide range of accommodations that fit the discriminating taste and budget of all types of visitors can be had at almost any time and day of the week.  

After lunch, we headed to Dakak Beach Resort which is hardly 15 minute drive away from our resort. The coastline is wonderfully adorned with coco groves to create a new kind of charm here. The place is serene, peaceful and so private. Much to your advantage, the popular tourist attractions of Dapitan are also located within the vicinity of this resort.

 

 

 

The resort boasts 15 hectares of wooded land, a natural reservoir for native plants and animals, and a 750-meter private white-sand beach. It is known for its calm seas, as it tactfully avoids the typhoon belt, making it the ideal all-season destination.

 

Our next stop was in Rizal Shrine Dapitan. The historical shrine have six native structures or replicas apart from the main house and among them are:
* Casa Redonda (an octagonal-shaped hut which is believed to be Rizal's clinic where George Taufer (Josephine's foster father) was operated.
* a certain Casitales Hospitales
* Casa Redonda Pequena

Casa Redonda (Replica of the Octagonal Clinic of Rizal)

The Casa Residencia. This was reconstructed in 1960 and sheltered Jose Rizal from March 1893 until he left Dapitan on July 31, 1896. It has a bedroom and features a veranda on three of its four walls and a comfort room accessible through a bridge at the rear. On various occasions, the house also sheltered Rizal's mother Teodora, his sisters Trinidad, Maria and Narcisa, some nephews, his niece Angelica and his loved one Josephine Bracken.

 

 

Casa Cuadrada (Replica of the Pupils' Dormitory and Workshop)

You will also find Rizal’s self-designed water system, and various memorabilia inside the shrine. Though Jose Rizal’s house, kitchen, and clinics are all replicas all of its memorabilia found inside the Rizaliana museum are original.

The museum walls showed Rizal's photos from childhood and even the women of his life.

One of my fave part was waiting for the sun to set at the Mi Retiro Rock (Retreat Rock of Rizal), which derived its name from Dr. Jose P. Rizal’s poem “Mi Retiro”.

We also visited other historical sites such as the Punto del Desembarco de Rizal (Rizal’s Landing Point) in Sta. Cruz beach. This is the site where Rizal landed in Dapitan on board a row boat from the steamer Cebu at around 7:00 o’clock in the evening of July 17, 1892. Rizal was holding his hat and to his right was the Captain of the steamship Cebu while the other three are artillery men.

With an area of 1,500 square meters, this has five bronze ten-feet tall larger-than-life human statues and a boat. The figures are Dr. Rizal, Capt. Delgras and the three artillery men carrying 'farol de combate' to light their way up to Casa Real.

We also happened to visit the Relief Map of Mindanao located just across St. James Church. It is resting on a total land area of roughly 900 square meters and was made by Dr. Jose Rizal with the assistance of Fr. Francisco de Paula Sanchez. Their intention is to educate and motivate the native about the study of geography.

 

 

Since we couldn’t take a photo of the entire area, I just took pics of a certain part of the map. Check here to see how the map looks like.

At about night time, we headed to Gloria De Dapitan's FantasyLand, a three hectare commercial complex located at Sunset Boulevard, which houses computer game arcade, resto bars, coffee shop and bakery, boutiques, souvenir shops, derma and spa center, money changer and foreign exchange, and an automated teller machine. Its highlight is its amusement park ala "Enchanted Kingdom", which operates at night.

We spent the night strolling around the park and checking for every rides. It was really fun that it makes you feel like a kid again! Also, on that very same night, we celebrated my 25th birthday at Adaza Beach Resort, wherein they surprised me with a cake. Twas indeed memorable! Thanks, gay friends! :)