SAMAL ISLAND...and to the world's largest bat sanctuary at Monfort.

I woke up at 6:00 am and was glad that I was able to sleep inspite of some slight inconveniences at the room in the lodging house. I was feeling some slight headache and I thought it would be relieved with a nice brewed coffee later. The dominant smell of the days old fresh paint of the room walls must have caused the headache but I didn't mind the paint odor as it somehow masked the other unpleasant scents of the room specially the one coming from the bathroom. The paint smell tranquilized me though, and thankfully on a very low toxic level giving me this slight headache, otherwise I wouldn't have woke up from my sleep. After taking a shower, I went to the veranda to order breakfast. Surprisingly, the Ponce Suite served brewed coffee and it was a treat for me because most lodging houses serve instant coffee powder . I asked the lady to serve the coffee first and i was more excited for my morning brew rather than my main breakfast of rice, egg and tocino(sweetened pork). Before the coffee came, my headache was already gone. All it took for that headache to be gone was the morning fresh air that I breathed at the open veranda, after coming out of my toxic room. With the right oxygenation on that mild hypoxia and after taking my power breakfast, I set off to JP Laurel Avenue to ride the jeepney to Sasa. No taxis, no arranged prepaid tour, no reservations, I'm going to Samal Island the way locals do. This is a zero crime rate city and I'm confident that nothing bad is gonna happen to me. My itinerary for the day, the Monfort Bat Sanctuary- unknown to a lot, the least published, and least known largest sanctuary of Rousettus amplexicaudatus/fruit bats in the world, which intrigued me a lot.

From Bajada, I boarded a jeepney going to Sasa which was on the northern part of Davao City, going towards the direction of the airport and the sea port. In fifteen minutes, I was already at Sasa but before I got off the jeepney, I asked the driver where I should get off to board the ferry to Samal Island and I was dropped off at Santa Ana wharf which was walking distance from the main road. When i got off, I saw a small crowd of passengers waiting for the boat and I approached a guy and asked in the Bisaya dialect if the boat from Santa Ana wharf would take me near the Monfort Bat caves. I was told told to go to the next wharf at Onse(Quay 11) where the boats are docking nearer to Monfort. Luckily, Quay 11 was just less than 5 minutes jeepney ride from Santa Ana. After getting down from the jeepney, I walked through the alley at a fish market leading to the quay. Upon reaching the jetty, I was one among a few passengers who arrived early to board the boat waiting. I paid the P30.00(60 US cents) boat fare, and boarded the  30 seater boat, third row from the front. As I sat, I saw some boys fishing at the jetty, and noticed the long line of shanties on stilts at the edge of the bay.....