Travel to Malaybalay City: Laid Back Bukidnon from Illustrado
Laid Back Bukidnon
Text by Vic Albornoz Lactaoen
Photography by Robert Altamirano
“Hindi ba delikado dun kuya?” (Isn’t it safe there sir?) my trusted and loyal housemate asked when he learned I would be traveling to Malaybalay in Mindanao. I guess the situation is similar to foreigners who have never been to the Philippines and have nothing to base their impression on but what they see on CNN. I wasn’t too worried though. Anything can happen anywhere if it is meant. I have to admit that I knew very little about the province. Save for its mountainous terrain and endless trees, the guidebooks nor didn’t the internet travel websites say much about this only landlocked province in Mindanao, 8.294 square meter province in the heartland of Mindanao. Together with my photographer, Robert we flew in to Cagayan de Oro for Bukidnon for a three – day tour of wandering, sightseeing and unguided bliss.
Cagayan De Oro City is your entry point by air to reach Malaybalay City, Bukidnon’s capital and one of two cities that the province has. There are no direct flights to Bukidnon, but the province has several private airstrips used by agricultural and corporate planes. It is about two hours’ drive from Cagayan de Oro Airport. Upon arrival to Malaybalay, we were met by our guide and host representative, Ruth and Juliet, two “motherly” women who saw to it that the visit wouldn’t have any glitches along the way.
Seeing Bukidnon for the fifth time still strikes me as a pleasant surprise to say the least. The place is still quiet, peaceful – a definite break from stressful Manila. People looking for activity and action may be a bit disappointed but it was the perfect place for me for a few days. Seeing green mountains (with more of Benguet pine trees, actually!) was relaxing enough. And there are quite a few monasteries there which we noticed as we drove along the many municipalities we visited. But what took my attention as we were brought all over the province was the abundance of natural springs and waterfalls.
Visiting Bukidnon, which translated literally is “people of the mountain,” is a lot like being in Baguio, but a little bit warmer or in Tagaytay, but with more trees and less dining or entertainment establishments. There were no signs of mass transport, except for the red Rural Bus Line, that runs all over the province and connects to Cagayan De Oro or Davao to the south. They also had their “easyrider” – a three wheeled, local version of the local tricycle.
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