After an entire day filled with challenges, I finally arrived at my ultimate destination that day, Cateel, Davao Oriental. I bet many Filipinos haven't heard of this small town in the Northeastern part of Davao Region. Thankfully my extensive research introduced me to Cateel and the other municipalities in Davao's eastern coast. I've scoured the internet, reading blog after blog before I came across [Camp Sano].(https://web.facebook.com/campsanocateel/?_rdc=1&_rdr). Mystified by their generosity and the usual warm Filipino hospitality, I booked a night's stay. There were a handful of other hostels and inns on this must-visit beach in Cateel. I'd go with tranquility on any given day so I went with Camp Sano. I'll take you to Camp Sano some other time.
Before heading to Camp Sano, I asked my driver if we could quickly visit Cateel's town center. I've checked Google Maps more than once and that afternoon is my only chance to see for myself what's in Cateel's town center. I know for sure that it's nowhere near Cebu's busy business hubs but it's a good opportunity to discover how this town looks like in person.
Not too long thereafter, we entered Cateel. We were only supposed to drive around their boulevard, located at the back of their small town plaza. The boulevard is facing the Pacific Ocean. Things escalated quickly. I asked my driver if we could spend a few more minutes, there were few people on their boulevard. People from all walks of life fled here to jog, walk, and enjoy the fresh ocean breeze; it would be nice if every town will have something this like.
While my guide parked his motorcycle, I walked around and discovered that our destination, Camp Sano, was right across the tail-end of the river flowing to the Pacific Ocean. It's literally an arm's reach. Unfortunately, no bride connected the two land masses, so we had to travel south to reach Camp Sano.
Another noteworthy thing I discovered that afternoon was how Cateel was affected by a recent flash flood in their region. Strong and persistent rainfall led to a flash flood that took an unimaginable number of logs from the mountains to the shoreline of Cateel. These were carried by strong currents during the flood. I could only imagine how huge that flood was that it was able to sweep all these logs to shore. You can refer to the photos. Locals of Cateel took advantage of these logs which are apparently owned by nobody. They're gathering as many as they can. I've asked some locals and learned they'll make uling or charcoal from the logs they've gathered. It's been a year since my visit and I don't know if they've successfully cleared the shore from all the debris. We bought food and headed to our final destination.
I'm so excited to bring you to Camp Sano! So stay tuned! You're about to see how beautiful Davao Oriental is. ❤