A Walk With The Clouds At Camp Sabros

A WALK WITH THE CLOUDS AT CAMP SABROS

 

The third day of our Davao City trip was marked by ambiguity in the sense that we were having a hard time deciding whether to see Camp Sabros or not. We were faced with financial/practical versus natural wonder experience concerns and all three of us have different views regarding this matter. Personally, I really wanted to go to Camp Sabros and see Mt. Apo as my back drop while zip lining. For me it would be one of the highlights of this trip because Camp Sabros would be the closest I can get to see Mt. Apo!

The financial concerns didn’t stopped me, I can’t bear the thought of being in Davao City without even a glimpse of the highest peak in the Philippines. I mean how hard was that to decipher right? And I guess the trip to Digos City was meant for us after all because I was able to come up with a DIY plan. It was a shot for the moon in the sense that we’d be going out of our comfort zones. The night before, I talked to one of the security guards of Banco de Oro branch near our hotel. He told me that there are buses that travel to Digos City and we can take that as our first step. The plan was still vague at that time, I suggested it to the other 2 nonetheless.

We woke up around 6:30AM, Sheila was the first one to dash to the shower room, nature call I suppose. While waiting for our turn, I asked Janyl if it was okay with her. Good thing she told me that it’s quite dangerous but she’s all for it. I was smiling, at the back of my head. Dangerous is something that we both love. After all of us were settled with our morning rituals, we decided to eat breakfast. Where else? Dimsum Diner of course! Sheila had a ‘silog meal, Janyl had her dimsum craving and I had my pork dish with lots of rice. Need energy for this day, and I’m sure the other 2 were thinking the same. When we were done with our breakfast, we immediately ran outside to take a cab that would bring us to the City Terminal. To summarize our DIY to Camp Sabros, here are the steps that we took.

DIY from City Terminal to Camp Sabros

Step 1 Take a cab going to the City Terminal.

Step 2 From the City Terminal, ride a bus going to Digos City (fare P70 each).

Step 3 Hop off at the new Digos City Terminal.

Step 4 Ride a tricycle and go to the old Digos City Terminal (fare P10 each).

Step 5 Locate the van going to Kapatagan (fare P80 each, non-aircon).

Step 6 Hop off at Camp Sabros entrance, Kapatagan.

Step 7 Commission a habal-habal to take you all the way up to Camp Sabros (fee P30 each for one-way).

The plan worked until we reached Step 5. We did found the van that would take us all the way to Kapatagan however the waiting period was unforgiving. According to the driver, we needed to wait until the van is full of passengers before they would take off. It was already 11AM at that time and we were waiting for 3 more passengers to complete the cast of characters. We realized that we must have plenty of time to wait. However, Sheila talked to one of the passengers on board. She was told that the travel time from the terminal to Kapatagan takes about 1.5-2 hours at maximum. Oh no! Time is running out. By 11:30AM there was no sign of additional passengers. The 3 of us took action. Sheila talked to one of the cab drivers and asked how much it would be for a round-trip fare to Camp Sabros. She was told that it would be P1500. No other choice but to should the remaining 3 passengers’ fare which means that the 3 of us would have to pay P160 each for a one-way fare to Kapatagan. Plan B was the most feasible of all, and the other passengers would be elated as well.

12PM marked the start of our bumpy ride to Kapatagan. We didn’t realized it was a non-aircon van. Much to our surprise, we were being taken all the way up to a mountain! We were met by rough roads  for like 1.5 hours and we were dropped off at the foot of the camp in Kapagatan. Another surprise, no habal-habal! But it was replaced with something more dangerous, a horse-back ride to Camp Sabros! The one-way ride cost us P30 each. We took the bargain.

inside the van

rough roads going to Kapatagan

drop off point in Kapatagan

The way up to Camp Sabros was marked with the sun blazing on top of us. Janyl and I brought our umbrellas with us, Sheila had no choice. She faced the sun’s rays with courage and sunscreen lotion. The air was amazingly cool. And the views, BREATHTAKING!!! I was so close to heaven I could almost taste it. I was glad that there was no habal-habal around at the time we came to Kapatagan. I am glad that I took the shot of going to Camp Sabros otherwise it would be one of my regrets for the rest of my life.

the horse-back ride all the way up

the road up looked like this

But the views were as spectacular as these:

Whew! Amazing views everywhere I looked. Sheila’s clicking was non-stop. It was an opportunity for me to hear serenity, I was surrounded by silence. With no noise to hear but the sound of ourselves. I can almost hear every breath, every heartbeat, evey click of the horse’s hooves. Nature fashioned this place in such a way that I felt peace within. Combined with a misty atmosphere, it was an entirely different experience!

I was elated to see the sights upon reaching the camp. Originally the plan was to experience the longest zip line in the entire Philippines. And I guess, the plan was slightly modified the last minute, mentally. I was there to zip line alright. Paid P550 each for all the 3 zip lines plus the cable ride. But then I realized there was more to it than that. The place is overwhelmingly so picturesque, the peak of Mt. Apo including. Looking around the camp’s cafe, I realized that the owner is quite an artisan. The pictures would tell us so.

 

The place is very reminiscent of an old bar that you see in American Western movies. Complete with paraphernalia including an antique cash register. It’s almost as if I was teleported back in time, with the exception of the food we had for lunch which tasted so modern. Until I saw Superman…

….and it’s not easy to be me.  [Superman]

I immediately found myself singing to the song Superman by Five For Fighting. And it all made sense to me right at that moment. The road that we took just to be able to come to Camp Sabros was not that easy. There were at least 3 men who will assist us to zip the lines, it won’t be that easy. In other words, it’s not easy to fly!

And as tribute to my all time favorite super hero, our zip line adventure pictures is on a seperate page, all dedicated to you Superman. Because I was able to fly and felt like you even for just a couple of hours. I was so glad I preferred the road less traveled, the road to Camp Sabros in Digos City.

We finished all the 3 zip lines including the cable ride in about an hour and a half. The very last zip line was the longest but the most exciting ride of all. You may find our zip line adventure by clicking this link. We stayed at Camp Sabros until 4PM. The van driver that would take us back to the old Digos City terminal has sent a message to the staff of Camp Sabros informing us that they’re already waiting for us at the foot of the camp. The 4PM van would be the last trip going back to the city. We hurriedly scoured for our respective horses and got ourselves ready for our trip back to the city. At 4PM, the views are still amazing. Which we were able to capture some.

 

The ride back to Davao City was somehow dealt with us sleeping all the way through. I was tired, so were they. Because it wasn’t easy to fly…