A closed-knit Family from Davao City visited one of the fastest-growing tourist destinations in the country, the City of Mati, and we visited for some good reasons, we visit the wake of Kenny's grandmother and as we went back to Davao City, we happened to pass by the famous sleeping dinosaur island located at Badas Point and Pujada Bay.
The World's Famous Sleeping Dinosaur Island in Mati City
The famous "Sleeping Dinosaur Island" of Mati City is considered one of the most popular tourist destinations in Mindanao, aside from Dahican Beach, which is dubbed the next Boracay of the Philippines.
Dahican Beach is also the venue of the highly anticipated FrolicBlock Event this coming June 9, 2023, which will feature Hive and D.Buzz, major sponsors in the event which is expected to bring in more than 2,000 to 3,000 blockchain and Web3 enthusiasts from different cities of Mindanao to converge in a discussion at Mati City, Davao Oriental.
Reasons for Travelling to Mati City:
The main reason why we visited Mati City in the early morning of Saturday is to visit the wake of Kenny's grandmother which is already a tradition among Filipino families to gather together during the time when someone from the family passed away, particularly those elder ones.
I am a newcomer here in Davao City, I originally hail from Bantayan Island in Northern Cebu and I just traveled here for work as I try my self once again to venture into the start-up world.
Traveling from Cebu to Davao City is indeed challenging but for me, venturing into a start-up scene is promising, because I believe that through D.Buzz, I could help build a community that would someday rival Twitter in terms of popularity and reaches on a platform that is built under the Hive blockchain.
It's already part of the Philippine tradition and culture that every family members are gathered together during the wake of someone who is close to their hearts, particularly elder people who passed away.
During this time of sadness, each family members embrace each other and help one another to secure that all the expenses will be paid for and divided among members of the family just to make sure that everything will be fine before paying for the last homage to the elder family who passed away.
Traveling from Davao City to Mati City
Cliffs Along the ViewDeck
We traveled from Davao City to Mati City using a pick-up truck, I was seated at the back of the truck together with Kenny's father and his cousins because the inside seats were already occupied.
At around 4:40 AM, we departed from Barangay Catalunan Grande in Talomo District of Davao City as we tried to travel earlier for not to catch the scorching heat of the sun on the way to Mati. We estimated that we will arrive in the city of Mati or at our destinations consuming three to four hours of traveling.
Aside from the pick-up truck driven by Kenny where the D.Buzz team was seating, Kenny's brother also drove a sedan where the other members of the family rode. I was at the back of the pickup truck together with his father and Kenny's cousin, Mac Mac.
We were having a joyful ride and had a lot of conversation, introducing each other, and for me as a new member of the group just keeps on listening to their stories until we reach the place of Kenny's relatives in Mati City.
Sleeping Dinosaur Island View From the ViewDeck
Strange and Spooky Things Happening at Mati City:
When we arrived at the place of Kenny's grandmother's wake, Chris Rice (
According to Chris, there was a time when he tried to buy a deck of playing cards that were intended for his son Zac to memorize something but instead of buying just one card he thought of buying more cards and it will be given to Kenny.
What is strange about this happening is the fact that the playing card that was supposed to be given to Kenny was still in Chris's bag so once we arrived at the venue of the wake, Chris immediately took out the card and leave it in one of the tables for the wake visitors to use during the evening.
For Chris, it's not really a good thing to buy more deck of cards and give it to someone else particularly your close friends by the way there was an accident that happened earlier to Kenny's friend that resulted in their death. This happened during the time that Chris had already his deck of cards to be given to Kenny but they failed to visit Mati City.
Coincidence or not but it's up to you to decide, there's another strange thing that happened during our visit to Mati City particularly at Kenny's grandmother's wake. There was no phone signal and there was a total blackout.
After eating our breakfast Kenny decided to bring us to the city of Mati to look for a place to stay because Chris have some limited time of sleep during the past few days. We were traveling alongside Kenny's wife and me, when we were at a place with a strong signal and I have already taken a picture of Dahican Beach entrance, the sister of Kenny's wife called him and brought some bad news, their mother also passed away during the time.
Is it a coincidence or not, if we decide to just stay at the house where Kenny's grandmother was temporarily held, we will surely not get the bad news about what happened to the mother of Kenny. We decided to go back from our destination and Kenny decided to bring his wife to Compostela and that's another long story to tell.
Returning from Mati City to Davao City:
This article was supposed to be about the "Sleeping Dinosaur Island" in Mati City. Still, I could not control my emotions not to tell the strangest spooky things I experience when traveling from Davao City to Mati City.
At around 2:20 in the afternoon of Sunday, May 14, 2023, Kenny pitched us from Villa Merced Hotel located at the downtown center of Mati City.
We traveled once again from Mati City to Davao City, this time around I have different co-passengers riding with me and we were just enough to fit inside the pick-up truck.
The travel was good and I have some naps inside the car, unlike the time when we were traveling from Mati City to Compostela Valley when I felt dizzy and even vomits along the way. This time around it was really a smooth ride and we made a stop-over at the famous "Sleeping Dinosaur Island" viewing deck which was located at Sitio Baso, Barangay Badas, Mati City.
Four-Lane Highway from Davao City to Mati City
The viewing deck of the Sleeping Dinosaur Island is just around 17 minute's ride by car from the center of Mati City via Pres. Diosdado P. Macapagal Highway and Surigao-Davao Coastal Road. It is around 11.3-kilometer-long stretch of paved road and a long winding road around Mati City.
Sleeping Dinosaur Island:
The Sleeping Dinosaur Island is actually situated in Barangay Dawan, Mati City, Davao Oriental but it is best viewed along the paved winding road in Badas Point, or at Sitio Baso, Barangay Badas, Mati City.
It is called a sleeping dinosaur island because the shape of the island resembles that of a resting dinosaur, which according to some experts, the island looks like a resting plesiosaur dinosaur, an aquatic dinosaur.
According to some locals who were selling street foods in the area, this natural attraction has a total land area of approximately 579 hectares. Some tourists are even more adventurous and they go to the island itself through trekking.
Right Side of Sleeping Dinosaur Island
Mati City and Davao Oriental Tourism:
Mati City, being a part of Davao Oriental which was earlier declared as a Tourism Development Area (TDA) by virtue of Republic Act 10560 otherwise known as "An Act Declaring the Province of Davao Oriental as a Tourism Development Area" signed last May 17, 2023. It is now visible that improvements were made in Davao Oriental particularly the construction of a four-lane paved road going to Mati City.
The Local Government of Mati through their official website also stated that is the capital and only city in the Province of Davao Oriental in Mindanao, Southern Philippines.
Mati City has a total land area of approximately 79,109 hectares, the city derived its name from the Mandaya word "Maa-ti" which refers to the town's creek that dries up easily even after heavy rains in the area.
The City is home to three protected areas: the Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary, Mati Protected Landscape, and the Pujada Bay Protected Landscape and Seascape.
Other Tourist Destinations of Mati City:
Aside from the famous view of the Sleeping Dinosaur Island, Mati City is also famous for its other tourist destinations such as Dahican Beach, the venue of the upcoming FrolicBlock crypto event, Mindanao Saga Flying Club, and the Subangan Museum, the provincial museum of Davao Oriental to name a few.
Pujada Bay in Mati City, Davao Oriental
Dahican Beach is considered by many local and foreign tourists as the next Boracay of the Philippines for its long stretch of wind sand beach and it is home to the famous SummerFrolic Festival in Mindanao.
According to the organizers of SummerFrolic they are expecting more than 7,000 attendees of the said beach party featuring some of the world's most notable disc jockeys (DJs). It is considered the most anticipated Summer Event in Mindanao for the past few years.
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All Photos are mine and taken from my mobile phone, thank you 