Banana Beach, paradise!

In Tagum, the ladies Rotary Club, the Tagum Golden L.A.C.E.S. took us to Banana Beach.  Banana Beach is apparently the world's only beach within a banana plantation!  It is a resort that focuses on ecotourism and is also a working plantation.  They farm coconut trees for coconut water and also to make coconut syrup and sugar.  Yes, they also grow bananas...the name of the banana plantation is Hijo Plantation.

Coconut trees

A lizard - good eyes Colleen!

Monkeys!!!  

There was a series of 9 suspension bridges over the forest!

The very yellow river

Mangrove trees, they have 14 species in the Philippines

The group with Kublai, a famous Filipino artist.  He has created the sculptures of native people in a lot of our photos.  He also created the largest rosary beads sculpture in the world in Tagum.  I will post pictures later.

L.A. worn out from a big day at Banana Beach!

The next day we returned to check out the operations at the plantation.  Here are some pics.

This is how they get the bananas to the processing plant!  This guy walks, in flip flops, from the back of the plantation dragging thousands of bananas!

Bananas going to Japan.  We learned the Japanese are very picky about their produce

The group with the head of the banana research team.  His family started the plantation.