Davao -- day with the Downtown Davao Ladies

So, we finally made it to Davao!  We were greeted by a large group and met with our host families. We had an evening with our host families.  Colleen and I had a great night with our hosts daughters 10th birthday! We had a great Japanese dinner.

Next day we all spent with the RC Downtown Davao, an all ladies group and Jun, a member of the Sta. Ana Davao club.  They took us to a new construction site of one of the rotarians (our host Boy's company), a recycling plant (owned by one of the rotarians), Malagos Garden Resort (also, owned by a rotarian!), the Philippine Eagle Park, and to one of the Rotary Community Corps projects.  It was a great day!

Our arrival to Davao with our hosts and other rotarians

Birthday dinner, Irene, Trixie, and Boy -- Colleen and Rae's hosts

Colleen at the Recycling center.  The machinery there compresses all the recyclable materials so they can be shipped easier.

The Downtown Davao Ladies, Jun, and us

Collen at the aviary at the Malagas Garden Resort

Alexis -- loving all the animals we have seen!

and Tiffanie

Owner of the Malagos Garden Resort.  The fruit she is holding is Cocao.  The pit under the white fleshy part is dried to make cocao. 

These are the cocoa beans or pits drying.  After they are processed into chocolate.  They have sold their chocolate to Mars in the U.S. to be made into dark or milk chocolate!

The bird show with Dr. Bo.

A Philippine Eagle at the Philippine Eagle Park.  These are some of the biggest eagles in the world, they eat anything from rodents to small monkeys!  They are a critically endangered species.  They park has a successful breading program, this eagle was born in the park!

Jim, so brave!  Holding a white bellied sea eagle!!

'only in the Philippines'

The RC Sta. Ana Davao RCC project. The RCC is an amazing program.  This center trains individuals on livelihood skills, like cooking and handicrafts.  Then these trained people (many retired teachers) go into the impoverished areas and teach people skills so they can make some money.

The Downtown Davao and Sta. Ana clubs with the RCC participants in the middle.

A quick and great visit to Panabo

We had a quick visit to Panabo, a city in between Tagum and Davao.  We enjoyed a great lunch at the Roadside Cafe, owned by Rotarian Pete, and then headed to the fish farm, Tedeco banana plantation (Del Monte bananas), and the city museum.  They also took us to Samal Island, again!!  It was a great visit relaxing and in the morning we went to the bat cave!  This is the world's largest population of bats...I think.  Here are some photos.

Our boat for the Panabo Aquaculture Park tour

An example of the fish cages, with a list of the types of fish

The other half of our group taking a joy ride

Bananas!!

Colleen getting some vocational experience!  She learned how to pack bananas to maximize the space! She did a great job and she looks great in a hair net!

Colleen, the apprentice!

More of Kublai's statues at the Panabo city museum.

Samal Island!  Thanks RC Panabo for the relaxing and fun evening!

Bats! Sleepy time

The black areas are ALL BATS!

Tiffanie and Colleen at the bat cave.  

View from the Samal Island Bat Cave area

Lunch!  'Only in the Philippines'

Good-bye Tagum

We had such a great time in Tagum!!  Here are some photos from the Tagum Joint Meeting/GSE Night.  It was so great to get together with all the clubs, thanks for organizing it!!  I'm also adding in a few photos from an amazing lunch and my first night with the ladies club, the Golden L.A.C.E.S.

Rae's first night in Tagum with the ladies club

We are actually all trying to do the same dance... we are not following Mylene very well!

Yes, more Karaoke!!

Had to add this in.  Greatest lunch!  Those are soft shell crabs!  Yummmm. Thanks Glen!

Colleen and Alexis are VERY FULL!!

Group photo from our joint meeting in Tagum.  Such a great group!

Rae's host Tweet (real name RAE!!) and Jim.  This is the usual size difference Jim has been dealing with...

Girls just wanna have fun! And give mugs!! Thanks for all the gifts Ladies!! We will forever remember you ...especially while having morning coffee!

Just a 'wacky' photo of Rae and her host family in Tagum -- Keena, Keemie, Tweet, Mike, and Keeko. Thanks again!!! 

Tagum tours and service projects

Here are some of the other things we did in Tagum, including meeting with some local government officials, visiting the Catholic church, and visiting the Rotary service projects.

The group with the vice mayor of Tagum

Myleen, a rotarian, lawyer, CPA, council woman, and A LOT OF FUN!

Visiting the largest rosary beads in the world, sculpted by Kublai.  The beads were made of iron wood and steel chains...so heavy!!

The front of the cathedral.  It was designed by a local architect and her engineer sister, Arlene, who is a rotarian.

Wacky shot at the city water district.  The woman in charge is another rotarian.

The woman's club, L.A.C.E.S. and their feeding program poster.

The Golden L.A.C.E.S. Sibol Learning Center kiddos.  The kids prepared some songs and dances for us, it was so cute!!  The classroom was built for 1st and 2nd graders.

The foodbank program.  Every 12 weeks they get a group of undernourished kids and feed them each Saturday.  In addition, they get a sack of rice for the week and vitamins.  This project was created by Dave Wasson, a expat and chef from the U.S.  This project only costs $28 for each kid for 12 weeks.  They have a 100% success rate of bringing the kids up to a normal weight.  Recently, they also had a reunion and the kids they weighed, they kept their weight on!  They have also educated the parents on nutrition.  This is an amazing program and costs hardly anything.  Think about what you throw $28 away on...

We were able to help serve this group of kids their last meal with the program.  They all graduated and we also were able to hand them their certificates.  Pictured is Dave Wasson, Rae, Alexis, and Colleen

Happy boy!

Last service project for the day was a relocation project.  The City of Tagum is doing great things to give people homes for little or no cost.  The Rotary of North Tagum has helped sponsor some of the relocation homes.  The families help build the homes and everything is donated, so they have a nice place to live, for free!

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.