Going back to Davao, I left Zamboanga with a heavy heart, because my trip was way too short and there were still places I wasn’t able to see (like the Tree House in Pasonanca Park and the beaches of Sta. Cruz). And because I had a restful — and yet invigorating! — stay in Asia’s Latin City. Don’t you just love their city’s tagline?

Flying to Zamboanga last 17 October, it turned out I was on the same flight as Yolynne Medina and her husband. Upon landing in her city, she immediately set the wheels in motion to have my stay as pleasant as she could manage. I owe it to her — as well as to Ryann Elumba, Jerome Locson and the other bloggers — that I enjoyed my first trip to their beautiful metropolis.

What you’ll notice immediately is the city’s clean streets. The early morning of last Sunday, I strolled a few kilometers around the downtown and port areas, and I saw no garbage piled up anywhere. Oh, another thing I noticed: they have many Mister Donuts outlets!

Of course, I didn’t pass up the opportunity to try the famed Alavar Restaurant. There used to be a branch in Davao, but unfortunately they’ve long closed shop. When you go to Alavar, don’t make the mistake of missing their curacha in alavar sauce. It’s a deep-sea crustacean and the dish is to die for! Looks like a crab but the meat is much tastier.

OK, something more dramatic this time: el pueblo boasts of having the oldest bank in the Philippines outside of Metro Manila, and it’s the 2nd branch of Banco de las Islas Filipinas, otherwise known as BPI. (I have a photo somewhere in the album embedded here.) What historians will surely appreciate in Zamboanga is their drive to preserve their heritage. This is evident in their local tongue, which is a mix of Tagalog/Cebuano and Spanish, and in the surroundings.

For example, there’s Fort Pilar, home to one of Mother Mary’s many representations. It is maintained as a monument and as an open church. It’s interesting to note that both Christians and Muslims revere this place, because they all believe that the blessed Mother once protected the city from devastation from the angry sea. Too bad I wasn’t able to see the inside of the museum behind the fort. Next time!

Zamboanga City does have all the modern amenities, such as wifi access in many restaurants and coffee shops, HSDPA Internet connectivity via mobile, all the major banks and other financial institutions, air & sea linkages to and from a good number of domestic & international destinations, etc. Amid the modern, vestiges of the bygone eras are yet deeply rooted in the present.

Here are photos of my first-ever trip to Southwestern Mindanao.

The day trip to Basilan was a very welcome change in pace for me. Idyllic, fresh, quiet, peaceful — those were the words that came to mind the whole time I was there. People who’ve never been to Basilan hold the notion that it’s a perennially dangerous place. Well, we can’t deny that there were incidents in the past that have tainted the island’s reputation. So, I went there to experience the place and try to dispel this notion.

Thanks to my new friends, RJ Ian and his former student Faye, I was able to do a 5-hour tour of Isabela City and the outskirts of the town of Lamitan. The roads were cemented and well-maintained so the motorbike ride was not unpleasant. The views during the ride were breathtaking. There were the orderly rubber-tree plantations, the cool waterfalls, the mesmerizing undulating hills and valleys.

It was my first time to be in a place whose population has more Muslims than Christians. Contrary to popular perception (outside of Mindanao anyway), life in Isabela is harmonious. Christians and Muslims live together in the same space without any visible sign of conflict. There’s a church and a mosque less than a stone’s throw away from each other. There are murals showcasing amity among peoples of different religions.

To visit Basilan, it’s a good idea to have someone local to show you around. For inquiries, please call the City Tourism Office on these numbers: +63(918)945-7316 & +63(906)767-5735. E-mail address: isabela07_tourism@yahoo.com.

I’m so pleased I made these trips. I hope that, through my eyes, more people will come to appreciate that Zamboanga and Basilan are amazing and peaceful places. I’ll definitely be back there very soon!

The Zambo bloggers started becoming active and participatory in the Mindanao Bloggers Community around last year. They even sent tentative feelers to the MB core group as to the possibility of their hosting MBS3. This is a clear indication that they could very well be prepared for the opportunity to host the 4th Summit next year…

Present during the meet-up at the Country Food & Tea House (excellent choices of loose-leaf tea, by the way) were Yolynne, Ryann, Jerome, Pics, Jet, James (aka “John Lazy”), Cedric, and others. Some of those who came had never before met their fellow Zamboangueño bloggers. And this is why I found the meet-up gratifiying: because there is an apparent willingness to strengthen the local bloggers’ group in Zamboanga.

I was also able to meet a couple of Tausug bloggers, and they told us that they have a very active group of about 50, and they blog about Moro and Muslim topics, among others. Getting to know them, especially Nur Danial, was an eye opener for me, and has made my resolve to broaden the scope of the Mindanao Bloggers Community even stronger.

We’ll hear more about what’s been going on with the bloggers of Zamboanga Peninsula from Ryann Elumba, who will deliver a report at MBS3. Ryann is the blogger behind Hola Zamboanga!, and the one who designed the creatives for MBS2.

Last 19 October, I also went to Isabela City, Basilan. Another first for me! I’d like to express my gratitude to Yolynne for introducing me to RJ Ian, who took the entire day off on a Monday to show me his beautiful city. Thanks to RJ, I was able to visit some schools in Isabela and encourage high school and college students to take up blogging. We certainly need more man-on-the-street accounts of what’s really happening on the much-maligned island of Basilan.

I’ll certainly make a trip to the Zamboanga Peninsula again soon and, God willing, for a much longer stay. I’d love to be able to visit Pagadian and Ipil, as well as other places in Basilan Province. I’ve visited Dapitan and Dipolog back in 1996, but going back to those places to get acquainted with the bloggers there is on my priority list.

Muchas gracias, amigos de Zamboanga!