One sunny weekend in January, I decided to give one of my best friends a ring! I told him I wanted to go swimming in Samal island. I was lucky he’s free and so we both agreed to swim and snorkel. He told me that they just bought two units in one of the prime subdivisions in the island with free access to the beach and its facility. So off we go…
Before I continue with my weekend getaway anecdote, let me give you a brief background about the island. Just to be clear, Samal is a 4th class city in the province of Davao del Norte and accessible by barge/ferry or private small boats coming from Davao City. There are two ports to jump off either in Sasa or Sta.Ana wharfs. Your destination in the island will determine which port to go.
The official name of Samal is Island Garden City of Samal (Filipino: Pulong Harding Lungsod ng Samal, Cebuano: Pulong Harding Dakbayan sa Samal) and it is made up of Samal Island and the smaller Talikud Island in the Davao Gulf, making it a part of Mindanao island group. It is part of Metropolitan Davao area and is located two kilometers away from Davao City.
Enough with information about the island, our destination was Cavanico Il Mare, a new resort 3kms away from the port of Sasa. My friend told me that we’ll commute since his car wasn’t available that time. We only paid Php10.00 for the barge fare and then we rode a habal-habal going to the resort and paid php50 each. Be careful though and read the huge tariff tarpaulin posted at the exit of the port, some locals willl try to rip you off, we were victimized on our way back! The tricycle demanded that we pay 400pesos for a 3km ride! It was a lesson learnt the expensive way! Haha
Anyway we enjoyed our 10minute barge ride though we were standing since all seats were taken…like this kid who had a great time.. I however wanted to give his parent a word or two for allowing the boy to stand near the railings..it’s unsafe!
Trip is frequent, barges cross the island every 10-mins
Enjoying the habal-habal ride with my friend under the scorching sun without a helmet!!!! Warning this is unsafe and not advisable… the locals do not provide helmets tho… so ride at your own risk!
We’ve reached our destination, Cavanico il Mare
The rates for non-members and non-homeowners of Pacific Heights Subdivisin..of course we didn’t pay.. my friend is a homeowner
The cabanas, we didn’t stay for the night so I didn’t get a chance to see the interior, besides why stay if my friend has a house few blocks away…
This is the restaurant, we didn’t bring food but the menu are okay and serving size is good for two
Stare at the the blue sea and fine white sand (I was told they grind the sand to make it powdery) while waiting for the food to be served
I love the beach more than the pool, but there are several pools for the young and old
And yes the beach area……
We brought our own snorkeling set but you can also rent though quite expensive… and lastly the contented us after the swim 😂😂😂😂
Should you decide to go at this resort here’s their contact details… cheers…
Niceties Of Life 