SURFING in MATI, DAVAO ORIENTAL

Welcome to the City of Mati, a part of the prosperous and peaceful Davao region. Bounded in the east by the great Pacific Ocean, scenic Mati embraces the majestic Pujada Bay. . . 

Mati is a town in the province of Davao Oriental, Philippines. It is the capital of the said province. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 105,908 people in 21,293 households. Residents of Mati are called Matinians.

Looking for a place to SURF along white sandy beaches? Where else to go? but GO SOUTH to Mati City, Province of Davao Oriental. It is a blessing for me to experience nature at its best, as I am heading to this wonderful tourist destination... MATI.

History

On 1942, the Japanese Occupation forces was landed in the town of Mati, Eastern Davao. On 1945, the liberation in the town of Mati, Eastern Davao was accompanied by the Allied Philippine Commonwealth troops of the 6th, 101st, 102nd, 103rd, 104th, 106th, 107th and 110th Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army, 10th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary and the Davaoeño guerrilla units against the Japanese Imperial forces until the end of World War II. The town of Mati, Davao Oriental was founded in 1903. It celebrated its' centennial in 2003.

Tourism

Dahican is one of the most popular destinations in Mati with clear waters and a 17-kilometer pure and fine white sand shore. Indeed, Mati is the best-kept secret of Davao Region. [www.kanakbai.com]. Masao is also very known.Tourists from Finland, Australia, USA, Japan and Korea have enjoyed the resort. Also, local tourists from Surigao and Davao abound in Mati to experience the totally different aura of Masao. There are a lot of places in Mati that are truly haven: Camp Jericho; Tourism Complex; Waniban Island; the sleeping dinosaur; the Pujada Island and a lot more. Pujada Bay has also been considered as among the richest bays in the South East Asia. There are 15,700 species of sea creatures that can be found in the Pujada Bay. Lobsters, Sea Cow or locally known as Dugong, hammerhead shark, blue whale, manta ray, and different kinds of turtles are just among the many sea animals that can be found in Mati. Scuba diving is also experienced here.

Nowadays,skimming and surfing is one of the most favorite sports to Matinians because of the lovely wave in Dahican. Many tourits also got to Dahican Beach just to skim. The LUKOT also is known in Mati. It's from a sea creature and it taste good. Mati has a good road also, where others called it as BAGUIO ROAD because of its zigzag shape. So, come now to Mati and experience a lot of things which you never experinced before.

It will be my HOME away from home... this is just a taste of my great adventure in Mati, Davao Oriental...

SFC ICON side trip eXperience

Last February I'm so blessed that I was able to attend our 18th International Conference for the Singles for Christ. Our venue was located at the Provincial capitol  grounds of Camarines Sur in the Municipality of Pili. 

Every year we SFCs gather in a BIG conference, last year's ICON, over 3,000 delegates went to Davao City. And this year, all 6,000 delegates attended this years edition of the SFC Icon, celebrating 18 years of community life for the single men and women. To give you a glimpse of the host province, I will bring you to its capital city... Naga. 

Naga City is known as the Heart Of Bicol because of its centralized location in the Bicol Region of the Philippines. Naga City residents are known as Naguenos and speak the Native dialect of Bicolano. Naga City is located about 380 kilometers southeast of Manila on the Southern Part of Luzon. It is located in the middle of the Camarines Sur Province.

Naga City was named from the abundance of Narra Trees, Naga in Bikol. In the mid 1500's, Naga was a flourishing village along the banks of the Naga River. For hundeds of years Naga City has been known for its history of trade, education, and strong catholic culture. Traslacion happens every 2nd Friday of September and this is the trasfer of image of Divino Rostro and Penafrancia which is called "Mahal na Ina". This shows the culture and the strong belief of the devotee especially the Naguenos and the Bicolanos.

One of the prides of the Naguenos located at the Provincial Capitol Complex. It is a man made body of water designed for the riders of wake boarder and wake skater. It has plenty of room to perform different tricks on perfectly smooth water at which have a cable at about 700 m long. There you can see a small island built in the middle of the lake, as well as smooth, sand beaches on all sides. CWC is extremely cool because it offers complete accommodation such as the restaurant, a bar, hotels with AC and WIFI ready, bungalows, huge swimming pool, pro shop, beach volleyball area, souvenir store, massage spa, convention center, and many other recreational facilities all designed to grow CWC and the entire region into a welcoming resort destination for visitors from all over the world.

This years International Conference theme: I STAND gathered thousands of SFC soldiers ready to charge for a fresh battle. The theme itself was the message of God for me. The experiences that I am enduring right now in my work, and in many aspects of my life, My God is telling me to STAND with Him.


I'm so blessed that God allowed me to experience this once in a lifetime event of my life. He provided me with people who shared and helped. I thanked God for the gift of having the CFC Singles for Christ community.


Next years ICON will be in Bohol. God willing, next year's background scenery will be Chocolate Hills. but before that, we have to take charge of our respective battlegrounds, and allow others to experience Christ among ourselves. God bless everyone. 


This year, my Travel Bag brought a lot of unforgettable memories from CamSur. Next month, my TRAVEL BAG will once again be filled and packed as I head for my new job  assignment in Mati, Davao Oriental. Madayaw Mati!