field notes: 31st birthday in north mindanao
Starting a new series called Field Notes, where I write about the places I've been to! First post: spending my 31st birthday in Cagayan de Oro & Bukidnon.
(This letter might be too long to read in email. Recommend reading it via the Substack app or on your preferred web browser!)
A couple years ago, I spent the tail-end of July going into the first week of August in Northern Mindanao—specifically, Cagayan de Oro, Malaybalay, and Valencia. I was there for work, but ended up falling in love with the place. My CDO-based friend Ena accompanied me on the Bukidnon leg of the trip (during which we discovered that “there was only one bed” is a trope that can actually happen in real life—alas, I’m very happily married and several months after this trip she met and moved in with the love of her life, so the plot was very sadly wasted on us, but if anyone ever wants to give it a try head on over to the Uno Business Hotel & Cafe in Valencia) and let me tell you, there’s really nothing that can compare to exploring places with a local friend. CDO & Bukidnon are easy to love, but being with someone who enjoyed her home and loved showing it off made me fall in love with the place faster.
On the flight back home to Manila, I promised myself I’d go back and really enjoy myself this time. Derick and I couldn’t make the trip in 2023 since most (okay, all) of our money went to wedding plans. But finally we decided to go in 2024 for my 31st birthday! Here are my field notes from our week-long trip.
Bukidnon
Day 1 - August 25
Flew into Laguindingan Airport from Manila. Flight was delayed by two hours—not a problem because, of course, I had a book with me. Also, Ena had very thoughtfully arranged our itinerary so that there wasn’t much to do on our first day other than get to Bukidnon, so we weren’t chasing time.
We took the Odyssey shuttle from the airport to Centrio Mall, where Ena and Via were picking us up with the rental car. While waiting, we had the most delicious egg fried rice I’ve ever encountered for lunch. I can no longer remember the shop’s name, but I do remember Ena telling us that the owner is a Chinese-Tausug Zamboanga local who used to like Chow King until she felt that the quality of their Chao Fan rice drastically declined—which, let’s be real, started around the time they were acquired by JFC—so she decided to put up her own fried rice business instead. Can confirm, it blows Chow King out of the water.
Met up with Via in the parking lot, loaded our luggage into the rental, and drove up to Bukidnon. Derick asked Via if he could drive, since he’d never driven in Mindanao before. Which was when the sky decided to open up and drown us in a punishing deluge of water. Derick wanted to see the countryside of Bukidnon because I kept hyping it up as one of the most beautiful drives I’ve ever done. Instead, all he saw was a wall of water.
The rain let up by the time we arrived at our first destination, the Abbey of the Transfiguration in Malaybalay. Run by the Benedictines, the abbey is located down a narrow paved road that leads you past rice fields and thick copses of trees. The silence as you get off the main highway is both comforting and eerie. The abbey’s centerpiece is the church, shaped like a pyramid and sitting atop a gently sloping hill. After prayers (in front of an altar carved from a boulder and a miraculous black and gold Madonna and Child image that apparently came from Egypt), we went off to the souvenir store to buy magnets, cheese sticks, polvoron, and tablea. There’s a small café attached to the souvenir store where the coffee is produced by the Benedictine monks. We sat down for a while to have some coffee and chat, joking all the while about partaking of heavenly caffeine.
From the abbey, we continued on to the Malaybalay town proper. Checked in at our hotel, then went out to YAKĀ for dinner. Food was really good. Also, it was bucketing down by then and the temperature had drastically dropped, so it felt terrific to finally have a hot meal. There’s live music every night at YAKĀ, and the duo performing (the restaurant’s Facebook page tells me they’re called Rise and Chied) played some easy listening tunes that matched the chill vibe of the night. It was still raining when we headed back to the hotel, but we were so full (and so ready to sleep) that we didn’t mind so much.
Day 2 - August 26
Had breakfast at the hotel, then went to this small cafe at the edge of the Kaamulan Grounds for coffee. Unfortunately, I completely forgot what it was called. I’ve tried looking it up, but alas. It was a tiny place, no indoor seating, with a shelf full of books right by the window. If anyone out there recognizes it, please let me know what this place was called. Their revel bars and Spanish lattes were delicious.
Spent this day exploring the outdoors (although not in the way Via, an actual legitimate mountaineer and camper, does—Derick and I are but mere wimpy city folk, who only enjoy the outdoors as long as we can go back to a soft bed and indoor plumbing right after). Since we were already at Kaamulan Grounds, we started there.
Ah, Kaamulan Grounds. Quite possibly my favorite place in Bukidnon. Huge green public space with zero entrance fees, surrounded by coffee shops and street food vendors, filled with students hanging out (and practicing sabayang pagbikas, skits, or otherwise completing other school group projects), families having picnics, joggers and other exercise enthusiasts, cyclists, and people walking their pets. Honestly, it’s everything I want for Manila—but the pessimistic part of me says, “Manila could literally never”.
Decided to snack on kwek-kwek before proceeding to our next stop. While eating, found out from Ena and Via that apparently the Suzuki Every is a very popular vehicle in North Mindanao and that we’d probably see a lot of them in Bukidnon and CDO. Started counting every Suzuki Every I spotted.
From there, we headed to the Communal Ranch at Impasug-ong. The dirt road from the highway to the ranch was a scary drive, with mud pits (that a massive Mazda pick-up got stuck in) and cliffs galore, but Via drove like an absolute champ. Not sure anyone else—not even Derick, who prides himself on knowing how to handle difficult drives—could have pulled it off.
I saw a massive sign by the parking lot that said it was the “cinema capital of Bukidnon”. Apparently, it’s called that because the movie Love Me Again starring Piolo Pascual and Angel Locsin was shot here. I personally have never seen it, but even if I had, I can with one hundred percent certainty say that seeing it on a movie screen would not have compared to seeing it live.
The Communal Ranch is surrounded by the rolling peaks and valleys of Mt. Kulago (read Ena’s field log here), which give off the impression that you’re surrounded by an actual ocean of green. I have literally never seen that much open space in my whole life. Green down below, blue high above us, and almost nothing else in between. It was surreal.
We took the Old Sayre Highway to the Impasug-ong Lovers’ Lane, where we enjoyed a breathtaking view and satisfied a craving Ena and I had been having since earlier that morning: hot boiled corn.
Last stop of the day was Dahilayan in Manolo Fortich. We passed through Camp Philips, the location of the Del Monte Pineapple Plantation. There was nothing but pineapple fields as far as the eye could see. The sea of pineapple only ended once we drove through the residential area, where the houses that Del Monte built for its employees all made us feel like we’d gone back in time to the America of the 60s or 70s. I felt at any minute a serial killer was going to jump out from behind one of the clapboard buildings.
After checking in to the inn, we went to Antonio’s Cafe. Honestly, Ena has me pegged pretty accurately—she really wanted to take me to Antonio’s because, and I quote, “It seems like the kind of place you and your Instagram feed would enjoy.” And it was, dear reader, it was. The coffee was fragrant and piping hot. The sandwiches and pastries were filling but not too heavy. It was rainy, foggy, and very, very cold. The hoa hoa hoa levels were off the charts. (🐀)
We went to Dahilayan Pizza Shack and had two brick oven pies for dinner (margherita and pepperoni), shared two cans of beer between the four of us (and bemoaned how our ages meant that we could no longer comfortably get down, turn up, and various other euphemisms for partying and drinking that play merry hell with our knees, sleeping schedules, and liver functions), and went to bed.
Final Suzuki Every count for the day: 13.
Day 3 - August 27 - my 31st birthday
Woke up bright and early the morning of my 31st year on this planet. Derick and I had a moment together in the inn’s flower garden (which is gorgeous, by the way—if you’re ever in Dahilayan, stay at the Dahilayan BHL Tourist Inn, your Instagram feed will thank you), quietly marveling at the fact that this was my first birthday as a married woman.
Went off for breakfast, where I was promptly greeted by Ena loudly chanting, “HAPPY NA BIRTHDAY MO PA!” Had breakfast. Servings were huge (Via and I had tapa, Ena and Derick had corned beef), and the coffee (hot chocolate for Derick) was piping hot. All in all, a great start to my birthday.
Packed up, checked out, and headed to Dahilayan Adventure Park. Rode the Razorback, which is apparently the Philippine’s first alpine coaster. We thought it was gonna be a chill ride where we could take in the surrounding greenery of the mountain and enjoy the cold morning air. It was not, dearest reader, a chill ride. Pretty sure they could hear our screams all the way down the mountain. Stopped to have coffee at the Dahilayan Alpine Village at the end of the coaster track, then went to Dahilayan Forest Park Resort to try out the luge ride.
By the time we got to the hanging bridge that leads to the luge start line, it was raining hard. But that made the luge even more fun. It was freezing cold, the wet ground made the luge carts go faster, and there was an added element of danger because the pelting rain made it difficult to see. Ah, the thrill of risk.
We stayed dry enough, thanks to plastic green raincoats that Ena gamely modeled next to the rubbish bins. Garbage-core will be in next season. Reduce reuse recycle couture is all the rage.
After drying off a little bit, we headed back to the parking lot and drove back down to Cagayan de Oro.
Cagayan de Oro
Day 3 continued
Once we’d arrived back in the city, we headed to the restaurant Ena and Via had recommended for lunch. The place is called Redtail Shrimps & More and, as you can probably tell, serves seafood, although they also have grilled liempo, salt and pepper wings, and other entrees on the menu. Ena’s allergic to shrimps, but she refused to not partake and popped an antihistamine (and I guess it helps that Via’s an ER doctor). Odered two pounds of shrimps in Redtail’s special sauce, two pounds of crabs in Redtail’s special sauce, and baked cheesy mussels.
Blood pressure concerns and Ena’s allergies? We definitely don’t know her.
After lunch, we checked into our AirBnB in CDO. Ena recommended that we find one in the same building where her and Via’s condo is located, which we managed to do. Tired from the drive down from Bukidnon, we all decided to stay in and rest.
Derick and I ordered pizza and watched Longlegs. Not a great movie to watch on my birthday (iykyk) but a really good movie nonetheless. Oz Perkins is turning out to be one of my fave directors.
Final Suzuki Every count for the day: 16.
Day 4 - August 28
Started the day a little late because Ena had a Zoom meeting. But we wanted to be out of the house by 9am so we could maximize our time outdoors, as the weather forecast predicted clouds and rain in the afternoon. Derick and I had gone grocery shopping the night before, we were able to cook a big breakfast.
Headed for Initao, a small beachside town to the east of CDO. Spent the morning at Isidro Beach. The water was a beautiful crystal clear blue. The sound of the crashing waves was both overwhelming and soothing. Swam (and yapped a lot, haha) with Via and Derick. Ena hung out on the shore reading (Courtney Milan’s The Countess Conspiracy, if anyone wants to know).
We swam for about forty-five minutes to an hour. Derick, unfortunately, had a light sunburn on his scalp and shoulders. (Don’t forget to reapply sunscreen if you’ll be swimming, kids.) Spent the rest of the morning lying down on the sand underneath the shade of this massive tree. I read Tiempo Muerto by Caroline S. Hau (and ended up really liking it).
Headed back to CDO a little after 1pm. Went to this cafe called Husband & Wife Coffee and Tea for a late lunch and, of course, coffee. (Ena dryly informed me that, given the number of coffee businesses sprouting all over the city, the C in CDO can actually stand for “coffee”.) Loved the food and coffee, ended up buying a tin of tea leaves to take home to Manila.
Learned about the legend of Oro, the gold fish that lives in the Cagayan de Oro River and nests beneath the cathedral (as portrayed by drag queen Khianna on the episode “Viral Queens” from Drag Race Philippines Season 3).
Final Suzuki Every count for the day: 14.
Day 5 - August 29
Our last day in North Mindanao! Didn’t get to see Via since she had an 8am shift at the hospital, so we sent her a message thanking her for helping plan the trip and showing us around. Had breakfast, then packed up all our luggage and checked out of the AirBnB. Went down two floors to Ena and Via’s unit (and gave Ena the remaining salt, eggs, and instant coffee from our groceries that we didn’t manage to finish). Left our bags in their living room, where we’d pick them again before heading to the airport.
Ena took us to Sunnyside Coffee and Roastery, her and Via’s usual coffee spot. The vibes were immaculate. We spent most of the morning there, reading, journaling, and gossiping. Ended up buying two bags of espresso beans to take home with me to Manila. As I write this, I’m currently drinking a cup made from these beans. Ah, heaven.
We went back to the fried rice shop from Day 1 of this trip for lunch. This time, I ordered shrimp fried rice. It was just as delicious as the egg fried rice, if not more so. As we were eating, a got a notification from the AirAsia app that our flight would be delayed by 2 hours. Laguindingan Airport doesn’t have much in the way of food options so I decided that just before we boarded the Odyssey shuttle from Centrio Mall to the airport we’d get two more orders of the fried rice to have as dinner. (By the way, it’s been 2 weeks since this trip and I’m still thinking of that fried rice.)
After lunch, Ena took us to Basa Books, a bookstore that turned up on my Instagram feed thanks to the algorithm’s dedication to making me spend my money. Picked up the following: On Beauty and White Teeth by Zadie Smith, and His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie.
Hung out at Ena and Via’s place while waiting for the Odyssey shuttle. Found out that Ena collects stamps and foreign denominations (been friends with Ena for nearly 5 years and am just finding this out now—there’s always something new to learn about someone, I guess). Browsed through her bookshelves, took photos of her BranSan books, and sent them to Kiko, Spens, and Klauds (the only other BranSan fans in my life, haha).
Boarded Odyssey shuttle at 5:30pm. Arrived in Laguindingan at 6:30pm. Unfortunately, flight departure had been further delayed from 8:55pm to 9:55pm. Baggage drop-off wasn’t even open yet. Derick and I found a corner to eat in and polished off our fried rice. By the time we were done eating, the baggage counter had opened. We dropped off our checked bags, went through security, and waited by our gate. Flight was delayed further to 10:40pm. Finished Tiempo Muerto and read almost half of 2001: A Space Odyssey while waiting for our flight. Finally in the air by 11:00pm. Landed in Manila at midnight, and pulled into our driveway by 1:30AM.
Final Suzuki Every count for the day: 8.
Final Suzuki Every count for the whole trip: 51.
Last reflections on turning 31
The year I turned 29, I was so filled with fear. Being 29 meant that I was just one year away from a birthday I’ve been dreading. In a world where the pressure is on at all times to achieve things before a certain age, I was so fearful of reaching the big 3-0. I lived in daily terror of not meeting the standards I set for myself that I should meet by this age. But the year I turned 30, I really embraced the fact that I am so much more, than the arbitrary deadlines and guidelines that I set for myself. It’s so ridiculous to set such strict timelines for life. Life will happen, no matter what. All you can do is be ready for it.
My 30th birthday was the first birthday I’ve had where I was so at peace with who I am and where I was in life. My twenties were a bundle of nerves and insecurities, my teens even more so. But my thirties are proving to be a time of conviction and self-assurance. Now that I’m 31, I feel stronger and more solid in my discernment. I have confidence that I have the ability to discern what criticism, advice, and feedback is given to me in good faith, what aspects of myself need to be better. Similarly, I also know that I have the ability to tune out and ignore everything that is not going to serve the pursuit of the best self that I can be.
I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am for the rest of my 30s, 40s, and so on. I have so much more learn, so much more confidence and sureness to gain, so many new things to incorporate into who I am, and I can’t wait for it all.
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Belated happy birthday, Ate Kate! I had lots of fun reading this field note style letter (it is very Emily Wilde hehe!) and I am so glad to hear you had so much fun on your trip! The scenery looks so gorgeous ✨💛