MATI road trip every weekends

The first time I visited Mati was during my high school days, when I happen to be one of the student journalist to represent our province in a campus journalism competition. My event that time was Editorial Cartooning. I could still remember the time when we travelled to Mati, upon passing the Badas road, all our bags went up and down as our bus trailed the long and winding road curves approaching the town of Mati. I thought of Mati that time as very quiet and peaceful town. I happen to pass by PNB building along its highway.

Recently, I was transfered to Mati. As my work required me to relocate myself to this quiet and peaceful place - now called: The City of Mati. This is actually my first permanent job assignment in a place far away from my hometown. In my entire lifetime, It will be my first time to live separately from my parents and be far away from friends and relatives. To live all by myself is very difficult, finding a place to live is the first thing I did. A week before my official transfer I went to Mati to check the place and look for a place where I'll be staying not just for weeks but for months or years ahead. 

The Food

When I arrived in Mati, I recalled from a friend that empanadas and lumpia are some of the delicacies that Mati is proud to have. Pomelos are abundant too. What I did was, I went to the place where empanadas are made. 

So I went to Seaside Restaurant located just a few meters away from the city hall. Where they serve the popular fried and fresh lumpia and empanada. They also serve mouth-watering grilled tunas paired with kinilaw, shrimp in chili sauce, camaron rebosado, grilled pusit and tinolang isda is just heavenly and satisfying. After tasting the empanadas, I bought a box filled with empanadas as my pasalubong.

After tasting the food, I continued searching for the place where I could stay. Its very difficult to find a place. After circling the town looking for the right place, I ended starving again and went to check on the popular food chain Jollibee for a quick lunch. My search never ended there, as I texted some friends hoping to get some contacts.  God indeed is very good that He sent me an angel, none other than bro. rommel baya, a kumpare of mine and a true SFC brother. He texted me that there's a vacant room in the place where he is residing.

The Place

Hahaha... Suppose to be dapat first to mention ang place, but Food was the first thing na nasa isip ko. Well, Mati City is a nice place. Recently, Its cityhood was finally restored. It is the capital of Davao Oriental province. Mati is best known and is very blessed with wonderful beaches and natural environment.

The road going to Mati is very much well paved and concrete, although there are still some few kilometers that are still unpaved. When you go to Mati City, you will pass by my hometown the City of Tagum. Your route will take you to the municpalities of Maco, Mabini and Pantukan of Compostela Valley province. Upon reaching the province of Davao Oriental, you will pass through the municipalities of Banaybanay and Lupon and finally Mati City. 

Approaching Mati City, passing through the zigzag road of badas, you will be amazed at the wonders of mother nature and on how creative our God is by creating a beautiful scenery. You will be enticed to shout and scream to your loudest to wake up the SLEEPING DINAUSOR.

Tourism in Mati

Davao Oriental's selling advantage lies in its natural and exotic sites with the Department of Tourism's banner program of “From Islands to Highlands”.

Davao Oriental prides itself with the abundance of diverse natural spots such as cascading waterfalls, pristine lakes and rivers, idyllic white sand beaches, exotic islands, lush forest and a bonsai forest. There are also cultural and historical sites to which I would love to visit someday. 

Local tourists thrive in the province mostly coming from neighboring provinces and cities. The “balikbayans”, visitors of some locales, participants to conferences and seminars hosted by the province, like what I attended during my high school days. Although there are some foreign visitors brought home by locales who either worked abroad or who married foreigners.

Overall, Mati's ambiance in general is rustic and in some places you will experience nature at its best.

SKIMBOARDING in Dahican, Mati City

Skimboarding (or skimming) as wikipedia describes it - is a boardsport in which a skimboard (a smaller counterpart to a surfboard) is used to glide across the water's surface. Unlike surfing, skimboarding begins on the beach, it starts with the dropping of the board onto the thin wash of previous waves. Skimboarders may use their momentum to 'skim' out to breaking waves, which they then catch back into shore in a manner similar to surfing. Another aspect of skimboarding is 'flatland', which involves performing tricks derived from skateboarding such as ollies and shove-its on the wash of waves without catching shore breaks. Skimboarding originated in Southern california when lifeguards wanted an easy way to get across the beaches of Laguna. From here skimboarding went as a way to travel down beaches to extreme riding into big shorebreak 

The waves of Dahican, Mati, Davao Oriental is perfect for skimboarding. skimming attracts beach goers to try and master the sport. Dahican beach is facing the Pacific Ocean and during surfing seasons, waves can get as high as 10 feet, thats why this place is a mecca for surfers and skimboarders. I would love to try it, but I have to find a tough board to match my equally heavy built. hehehehe


There are more Exciting Places to visit... here are some of the places....

Pusan Point - Located at the    easternmost part of the   Philippines, Pusan Point  in Caraga is where the “First Sunrise of the Millennium” occurred. This is where the sun shines first.

Masao Beach - Situated along the shoreline of the Pujada Bay in the City of Mati, Accessible by land and sea.

Aliwagwag Falls - Located in the middle of a forest in Brgy. Aliwagwag in Cateel, Aliwagwag Falls is reputed to be one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the country. It has a series of 84 cascading falls.

Caraga Church - Considered as one of the oldest churches in Mindanao, the Caraga Church is located in the town proper of Caraga.   It houses the 1802 Church    Bell brought by the friars from Spain.

Langyawan Cave - Langyawan Cave is one of the 42 caves in Cateel. The meeting of stalagmites and stalactites is an indication that the cave was in existence centuries ago.

Till the next update, God bless us all and may we all have the most enjoyable summer of the year.