Wonderspotting at Leling Beach - Hagonoy Davao del Sur

We love just sitting quietly beside the rushing of the waves, watching the few people walking along the peaceful promenade by Leling Beach. Quiet is such a luxury these days and we appreciate these moments of serenity. It clears my mind, and seems to blow away all the negative energies that pile up as our everyday activities shake our soul.

Location: Leling Beach, Hagonoy, Davao del Sur, Mindanao Island

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Fry collecting fisherman

Washing away the sand

Abandon

Dawn's early light adorns the horizon as she
lends her warmth to the storm-ravaged sea.

Tempestuous waves of the fore-night, now tame,
roll their way to the shore, then in silence recede.

I stand alone with bare feet in the sand and seek
comfort from the cold ocean water's caress.

By turns, my troubles I cast to the surf and then
pray that this time they, too, will regress.

The salt of my skin meets the cool ocean spray;
they unite as warm tears stream down my face.

I walk away quickly, leaving behind sorrow and
my memories for the sea to erase.

- Tanya Lee

Watching the colors of the sky change... is like experiencing autumn in the skies.

Leling Beach as the night takes over.

Details on our visit to Leling Beach - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2010/06/luxury-of-serenity-at-leling-beach.html

The Luxury of Serenity at Leling Beach - Hagonoy Davao del Sur

Along the eastern coast of Hagonoy, Davao del Sur is a resort not often visited even by the locals. They call it Leling Beach (pronounced Lee-ling).

This serene enclave is part of the municipality of Hagonoy, Davao del Sur which has seen a glimpse of growth under the stead of newly re-elected Mayor Calida. From Digos City, Leling is some 20 kilometers left turn from the main highway. The road may not be asphalted, but it is serviceable (though I'd imagine a rather muddy journey when it rains).

We passed by a smattering of shanties that slid by into placid stretches of fish ponds at both sides of the road. Not long after, there was an entrance block that collected a measly PhP10 per vehicle. Then we were ushered into a row of pink colored cottages (PhP100). You could park from the small spaces right in front of the cottages or find your way closer to the beach, though it's going to be crampy between dwarf coconut trees.

The promenade directly facing the beach is well planned - a side railing has been in place, as well as a concrete breakwater - which must have cost a lot. (The government of Hagonoy is said to be footing the bill for these improvements.) I was told that this used to be a neglected hole in the wall, with very few visitors. But this has to change very soon. The concrete promenade is not quite finished but the paucity of people is a pleasure to behold!

During our visit, the waves were harsh as they slapped hard against the breakwater. From a distance, you could see the docked cargo ships from Malalag Wharf. There were fishermen trying to collect bangus (milkfish) fries that they collect for culture. I was in awe of their ability to do so. How do you really spot 2-5 cm "baby fish" from a raging sea. That has to require talent and expertise. Leling Beach was one of my favorite places in the province of Davao del Sur.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

The promenade

Pink cottages

Mad rush of ocean water against the breakwater.

Placid waters of fish pond

The road to Leling Beach

A new resort beside Leling Resort is almost ready to open.

New resort beside Leling Beach

Up next: More images from Leling Beach.

Philippines - Seeing the Sea In Davao del Sur

Davao del Sur, Mindanao Island - One of the great things about roaming this peaceful province is that wherever you go, you're just a few minutes away from the beach. It is blessed with the bluest seas. It is a land embraced by lush vegetation to the west and the clear Davao Gulf to the east. Those skyscraper-tall coconut trees are an amazing reminder of the past. How come? Many of them were planted by the Japanese army during their occupation 6-7 decades ago. Not a lot has changed.

RATES

Most beaches open to public are either free of charge or require dirt-cheap entrance fees: Leling Beach - PhP20; Seagull Inland Resort (not beach side) in Barangay Guihing, Municipality of Hagonoy - free entrance; Bolinao Beach in Barangay Dawis - free; Dawis Beach - P30/car, P10 for a pedicab (trike); Eagles' Eye Beach Resort (Malalag) - free entrance but concrete seats without a shelter is P150 while a basic cottage is a ridiculous P250; Villa Isabel Resort in the municipality of Malalag - P10/adult and P5/child. Where else do you find such rates? What could be cheaper than a free entrance?

Here's an introspective poem I'd like to share, from a talented wordsmith named Sidney Lanier:

March Song... At Sunset

Over the monstrous shambling sea, Over the Caliban sea, Bright Ariel-cloud, thou lingerest: Oh wait, oh wait, in the warm red West, -- Thy Prospero I'll be. Over the humped and fishy sea, Over the Caliban sea O cloud in the West, like a thought in the heart Of pardon, loose thy wing, and start, And do a grace for me. Over the huge and huddling sea, Over the Caliban sea, Bring hither my brother Antonio, -- Man, -- My injurer: night breaks the ban; Brother, I pardon thee. ________ In its reference to the Caliban seas, Lanier refers to the feral, sullen, misshapen creature in Shakespeare's The Tempest. The Caliban is Prospero's beastlike slave; the son of a sorceress and the sole inhabitant of an island. Curiously, the Caliban represents the native people's suffering under imperialist oppression. Perfect for Davao del Sur's rich historical past under the Japanese regime. This is the Eye in the Sky!

The lighthouse near Eagle's Eye Beach Resort in Malalag, Davao del Sur

Reflections in Barangay Leling in Hagonoy, Davao del Sur.

Eagle's Nest Beach Resort, Malalag, Davao del Sur

Dawis Beach

A deserted spot in Villa Isabel Resort. Malalag, Davao del Sur.

Fish pen in Malalag, Davao del Sur.

Visual poetry

Previous post: More photos and basic information about Davao del Sur here -http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2010/05/philippines-serene-charm-in-idyllic.html

Dawis Beach in Digos City - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2011/01/dawis-beach-digos-davao-del-sur.html

Philippines - Serene Charm in Idyllic Davao del Sur

In the island of Mindanao, south of the Philippines, lies the province of Davao del Sur. Nope, this isn't Davao City (which everyone is familiar with), Davao del Norte (which encompasses Pearl Farm Resort), or Davao Oriental (which I have yet to visit). This is a stretch of land characterized by the richest agricultural soil, rolling hills rich in flora, a vicinity teeming with the country's most exotic fruits, and the Pacific seas as its eastern border! Except for its contiguous neighbor of Cotabato City to the west and General Santos City further south, this rich conglomerate is a bastion of peace.

Its capital is Digos City and the province borders Davao City to the north, and Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato, and Sarangani to the west. To the east lies Davao Gulf. It has a land area of 3,900 square kilometer and a population of 830,000. Its municipalities include: Bansalan, Don Marcelino, Hagonoy, Jose Abad Santos, Kiblawan, Magsaysay, Malalag, Malita, Matan-ao, Padada, Santa Cruz, Santa Maria and Sulop. Sarangani (where boxing champ Manny Pacquiao recently won a seat for Congress) is now part of General Santos City. It used to be part of Davao del Sur!

Davao del Sur was ironically founded by its Japanese colonizers in 1942, but it didn't take long before the Davao guerillas helped free it from its "captors" - with the help of the Americans who then assumed the rule of the land. Language is Cebuano or Visayan, with a great majority alternating Tagalog with ease. English is widely accepted as the language of commerce and instruction (education).

Digos City is roughly 75 kilometers south of Davao City (the country's biggest city). It's an almost 2 hour ride along beachside communities and undulating hills of sugarcane, coconut, Mango and Banana trees, and grazing lands. The roads are some of the best maintained thoroughfares in the country. When navigating the area, Digos City would make a reasonable basecamp. A plane ride from Manila takes roughly 1 hour and 30 minutes. Cebu Pacific seat averages P2,500 ($55.30) one-way if booked 5 days or so prior to the trip.

There are sites that are being briskly developed for local and foreign tourists.These accelerated developments make the region an exciting area to explore. There are plenty of off-the-beaten tracks.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

A fishpond in Leling, Hagonoy, Davao del Sur.

Dawis Beach, Digos City. An afternoon frolic.

A child diving away!

Dawis Beach

Father and child. Bolinao Beach, Barangay Dawis.

Clusters of very sweet lanzones (langsat in Malaysia, duku in Indonesia, tongue -wisting gadu guda in Sri Lanka, bonbon in Vietnam. In rural Visayas, some people refer to it as "buwahan". Nutritional composition is a rich supply of calcium, phosphorus, vitamin C and iron.

Bounty of Davao del Sur. Huge prawns. This lot costs PhP480 ($10.60) a kilo.

Fresh catch.

All cooked.

Crabs!

Lechon de leche!

Bananas as far as the eyes can see in La Panday Plantation. This was taken from Padada Bridge (formerly Guihing Bridge).

Ostrich taking her close-up. Seagull Inland Resort, Barangay Guihing, Hagonoy, Davao del Sur.

Seagull Inland Resort.

Seagull Inland Resort

P100 (about $2) cottages in Leling Beach.

Eagle eyed fry catcher. This lady is "harvesting" those almost microscopic baby milkfish ("bangus"). They are smaller than tadpoles, thus I am in awe of how they can catch these "fries" (once bigger, they become "fingerling" and would fetch a higher price) from the raging waves of the seas. They collect these fries then sell them to a nursery in Digos City they refer to as "Dipalubos Bodega". Fishpond farmers who grow "bangus" (milkfish) buy these "fries" in thousands from the bodega.

Dusk in Leling (pronounced "lee-leeng").

Silhouette dreams

Parked away. A bangka in Malalag, Davao del Sur.