IN TRANSIT FROM LAKE SEBU TO MIDSAYAP IN NORTH COTABATO ~ MOUNTAINS&BEYOND

It was around 1130am when we returned to the terminal after our Lake Sebu Seven Falls adventure. Koronadal [more known as Marbel to the locals] bound vans are scheduled to leave every 30 minutes so with half an hour to spare, hubby had a quick soup while I had my coffee paired with binangkal [sesame seed balls].

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We arrived at Koranadal an hour thereafter but since there has no direct Koronadal-Midsayap trip, our only option was to take the Koronadal-Tacurong-Kabacan-Midsayap route. So with rain pouring heavily and hungry tummies, we settled for an hour and a half ride in an elderly non-aircon bus to Tacurong. Then at Tacurong, lucky for us to catch the 3pm last trip van to Kabacan. It was my first to experience a public fully-loaded as in fully-loaded van. A supposed 14-seater was able to fit 18 passengers with a conductor pressed hardly while standing by the door… Whew! Thankfully, we reached Kabacan without a single cramp. Then at Kabacan, we brawled with the others for a decent van ride to Midsayap…

I can’t believe we just passed 4 provinces in Mindanao namely South Kotabato - Sultan Kudarat - Maguindanao - North Cotabato with a fare of about P275 per head and a total travel time of 6 hours.

Finally, a little after 6pm we were settled in our room. Our Cotabato host-friend suggested Hotel Angelo and we availed of their P900 room with breakfast for two. While hubby was out looking for a place for dinner, I stretched my tired body… It has been a jam-packed day and in as much as I wanted to check the town also, I opted to rest. I thought hunger was disregarded by the weary muscles but as soon as I saw hubby’s take home food, I jumped out of bed and consumed a plate of Cotabato’s version of pinakbet with lechon as the main dish.

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On our next day, while waiting for our host-friend for our Alamada trip, we had an early walk at the Town Hall and the Plaza. All of a sudden a loud siren or alarm startled our stroll… We proceeded pretending to be okay, I know and I believe it’s a safe place. We then found out that it was a 7am town alarm.. Whew! I never knew that such practice still exists.