Gail Travels: 43rd birthday of Auntie Jean at Tubajon Aquamarine Park, Laguindingan, Mismis Oriental
Unmasking the true beauty of nature with its simplicity Anyhow, yesterday together with my family and relatives, we celebrated Auntie Jean's 43rd birthday at Tubajon Aquamarine located at Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental. Wohoo! Happy birthday to one of the coolest woman I have ever met! Why am I in such a cheerful mood?
The Aquamarine Park is located on the same municipality/ town where the airport is situated, so if you plan to visit this place, you could easily locate it. It has lots of mangrove trees that houses different marine creatures (such as turtles and different types of seawater fishes), and white sand beach.
Unlike most of the beaches, the water is always calm here - as in no tidal waves! It probably has to do with the mangroves planted. Aside from that, with the efforts of the local government unit (lgu) of Tubajon and of the residents, there are cottages around that are connected with footbridges made of kawayan or bamboo sticks which are three inches wide.
Although we have an idea that there are restaurants and other forms of kainan nearby, we decided to bring food with us. Auntie Jean decided to buy ingredients that were cooked deliciously early in the morning before the trip. My mom, ate Jojie, and I together with the birthday celebrant brought some grocery items at Rustan's Ayala a day before the birthday celebration. I find preparing and cooking your own food during family gatherings and outings important because when you can secure that whatever you prepared is safe. This is also to avoid food poisoning which could be lethal.
We had lechon (roasted pig), tanghon (a type of noodle dish with mandarin sausage, shrimps, and spices), nachos, crabs, shimps, chicken, and etc.. For desserts, we had macaroni salad, mango float (yum), and a lot more! Yum! Yum! Yum!
If you are from Iligan or towns nearby, I suppose there are tons of public utility vehicles that would take you there. It is cheaper and more convenient.
You can also ask a friend to send you off to the place and pick you up on designated time. Or have other options such as renting a van. If you have more time, you can check out other tourist spots or travel destinations sround Misamis Oriental.
What we actually did was that we had a convoy from Cagayan de Oro City. My aunt drove her EcoSport while her husband followed with their Ford Ranger. The two multicab (owned by Uncle Roger and Uncle Nonoy) decided to travel ahead of us because according to Uncle Roger, my aunt's driving speed is a bit faster. Inside the Ford Ranger were eight people all in all but most of those were with us were kids.
Since all of the cottages were booked, some opted to put their tent near the entrance while some decided to stay on this area. Have your bookings ahead of time!
Like seriously, you should! Since it is summer time, most of the families would opt to go out and enjoy the beaches, pools, or do other outdoor activities. This Aquamarine Park is one of the favorite destination to those who would love to enjoy nature while having quality time with their family and friends.
You can call their local hotline for reservation to avoid some hassle, like some of what the people on the photo experienced.
There are cottages are for rent for Php300.00 up to Php1,000.00. Meanwhile te entrance fee per person is Php25.00.
It really took a lot of time before the area has been decided. Like seriously, we discussed about more than twenty places over our facebook messenger group. The things thst were considered were 1) would everyone enjoy the place considering that there were adults and kids 2) is the location safe 3) would it bring a closer bond to everyone around.
It was then Auntie Jean who made the final decision. We trust her taste and it is her birthday anyway. I had been to this place before because of our tree planting program in our Graduate School so I highly recommend this place and seconded her.
When we reached the destination, the children were all so giddy to swim. Some of us decided to eat, while most of them could not help themselves but endulge with the water. Baby Raj, my nephew was so happy and curoous about the mangrove treed that he decided to chew a leaf of it. Yay!
A lot of them, including my younger but big (in size) brother decided to jump. I wanted to post his video but my data is limited to only upload short video clips. Here then is a video of my niece jumping off from the railings.
If your kids would do the same thing, just tell them to be careful as they may end up hitting the small bamboos that were attached to the mangrove seedlings.
The seabreeze is also cool. It was hot but the wind would surely put you to a nap (or a sleep on my case).
Despite of being laughed at (but not in an offending manner), these two coult not be stopped!
We seriously could not get enough of their antics as Jose Alfredo and Audrey Heart used aluminum plate and foil to have great effects on their photos.
5 out of 5! This place is a true beauty that my camera phone could not give justice to it. My family and I highly recommend this place to all of you all. It is not that visible on our faces how satisfied we are?
Phone camera used: Moto E4
hey galbelga,
i bet it was ridiculously good as i see the great prepared food and all of those bright eyes in the pictures after it ;)
Enjoy your time there,
and all the best from Germany,
Johannes (: