Now this is not the main reason for this article, but I want to explain a little history.

I had dreams of making an income from advertisements on the site. I soon found out, this is a difficult way to make an income online. Most readers of blogs come to read and do not even notice the ads. I then put the “Donate” button on the sidebar and then on the bottom of each post. Some readers have been kind and I do receive a donation at times, but this is not enough to support myself, my family or really cover the time and costs of this site.

I have mentioned my architectural experiences in articles and had a few who have inquired about me doing design, full construction documents for permitting and even managing construction. I have done a few designs and then never went further. I have wondered if my free designs were giving to someone else or not, I never made any money for my time.

I started this site mainly to journal my life as an American living in Davao, hence the name American in Davao.  At first, many of my articles and photos were about my family and my life. Over time, I have developed to write more about how life is here for a Foreigner in third world country.  I try to tell the truth and not “sugar coating” what observations or advice.  There are many wonderful parts to living here, but there are difficulties too. I have tried to assist people to understand how to conduct themselves here and how to be careful in different situations. Many times my wife Elena has assisted too.

Over time, I have had many comments or direct emails asking for advice, information or even assistance. I have helped visitors find accommodations, helped locate restaurants, doctors and shopping. I have had many emails from future Expats-to-be or from men with online girlfriends who were planning to move here and I have offered any assistance I can give.

Last month I was surprised when I received an email from an International Relocation Service. They had a client company sending a representative here to Davao to open a branch office. I was offered the position as a consultant to assist this person find acceptable accommodations such as a furnished house or apartment, obtaining a bank account, services and a list of restaurants, entertainment, attractions and activities.  I would be paid for expenses, mileage and an hourly rate for a preset number of hours.  The hourly rate was good even if I was in the states.

I accepted the offer and then started trying to locate high-end furnished rentals. This was no easy task. It is not like in the states with magazines and classifieds listing all the apartments and houses for rent. There are some websites that individual real estate agents have, but sometimes they do not have decent descriptions, places shown are already rented or the furnishings are not what would be desired. I felt it was my responsibility to visit as many as I could before this man arrived. I did not want to embarrass myself by bringing him to a location and discovering there was problems.

In addition, many real estate agents do not want to show a property to someone in my position with the fear I would steal the business and they would lose their commission. I did locate a few on my own and found some to be below the standard needed and one that was great. I also planned to show him a place that would be good for a temporary   residence until we could find something better.  To make this long story shorter, we found a place he liked and with my wife’s help, we negotiated a good price.

During this process, I received an email from a man planning to come here in the near future and asked, from reading my site, if I offer any services.  I told him I could offer myself and car for transportation around town, help him find accommodations and local attractions he might enjoy. I told him I would not help him find women or clubs where he can find women.

This man replied he was coming to meet his online girlfriend and offered to pay me to drive them to different attractions in the city. He stated he did not want to ride Jeepneys or has to worry about hiring drivers and/or taxis where language could present a problem.

Today I met a person who is somewhat new to the city. While we were talking about these services, he told me, if he had known about me before he moved here, he would have liked to have someone who could have assisted him finding an apartment, finding and purchasing furnishings and even getting services such as cable and internet. He said he would have had no problem paying me for my time assisting him.

Another friend I have made is planning to come visit his girlfriend he met online. Her birthday is soon and asked if my wife would assist him in buying her a present. He sent us the funds for the purchase. Elena was happy to assist. For this, he offered to take us to dinner once here and to bring both of us certain items we would like from the States.

Some people I have met through this site have offered remuneration, bringing me items from the states I might need, or just a nice dinner with my wife. All of these offers have been nice.  Even though I would like to earn a steady income, being able to assist fellow foreigners with needs, information or advice is something I am enjoying and will continue to do so. If there is a way to assist and earn, I am not against that either. From these few earnings and from the donations I have received it makes me feel it was the right thing to keep this site going and continue the time to write articles and answer comments.

It is also all my visitors to my site that shows me this site has a need and a worth.  Even though it is difficult to find items to write the three articles I try to publish every week, I will do so as long as I am able.

Thank you all for showing me my effort and work is appreciated.

This year was a special treat. Our nephew Peter, who is currently a 4th Marine Engineer, was home on his vacation. It was also special since on October 23rd was his 26th birthday. To celebrate his birthday, besides dinner and cake, that next Sunday the whole family spent the day on Samal Island at the Blue Jazz Beach Resort.

In the past, we have gone to two other beach resorts but nothing like what Blue Jazz offers. From the moment you arrive by boat, you see the upper scale facilities. The main beach area is shorter than the others are, but you see the two free pool areas. They have a lower semi-circular pool at beach level, which is fed by a horizon edge pool above. Around the upper pool are umbrella covered tables and little nipa huts that are for rent.

As we walked past a beautiful round covered bar area, we saw the covered seating areas. There are pavers and clean sand areas as you approached these tables. We all sat down and in Filipino tradition, a grill was started and food was prepared for our early lunch.

Well this time the family went overboard on food. The grilled pork ribs and small tuna. There was also shrimp, chicken, kinilaw, salad, tortillas, and of course rice. We relaxed while all was prepared and then the feast commenced.

During our lunch, two girls dressed as a mime and clown stopped by to invite us to their Sunday family activities at one of the pavilions. Later they came back with someone in a Tweety Bird costume.

Later a few of us walked up to their water slide and pool. Along the way, we passed the overnight rental units that looked very neat and accommodating.

The water slide pool is only 80 pesos per person and the first use of a floatation tube is free. I have never used a water slide, and at first was hesitant to try. However, with a little prompting from the attendants and Elena, I grabbed a tube and climbed the hill and steps to the top. As I sat on the tube and laid back for the ride, the attendant pushed me off with the words “Super Fast”.

Well I shot down the slide going almost vertical up the sides of the turns and then felt my butt bump as the dips on the straightaway towards the bottom. Next was the splash into the pool. Wow, what a ride that was. After some laughs and jokes, Elena and I went back up to ride the double tube together. Again, as we were pushed off, the attendant pushed us off, he called “Super Doper Fast” and with the added weight, we were flying.

This time on the curves, we slide up the banked side so high I thought we would fall out, but with the centripetal force, we stayed on the raft. Then once the straightaway started, our momentum kept us going back and forth up the sides until the last part and the butt bumping drops started. Gee, that was so much fun and I cannot believe I had never ridden a water slide before.

After a while we walked back to our table, some went to shower, and change clothes before our trip back. We needed to watch the time since the last boat leaves at 5pm and if you miss it, you will need to spend the night. Therefore, by about 4:30 we packed up and headed for the pier to get the boat ride back to Davao. The ride back was also a thrill, the normal calm Davao Gulf was choppy and they had to slow the boat to keep everyone in their seats.

This is now the third beach resort I have visited on Samal and to me it is the best so far, my hats off the man who designed this wonderful place to relax and enjoy.

Evelyn had a whole day planned for us and wanted us to arrive by 8 am. I set the alarm on my cell phone for 4 am, but for some reason it never went off. So Elena woke me at 4:50 and we rushed to get done and get on the road. We hit the road about 6 am and started our drive south.
This was my first experience driving to General Santos City and enjoyed the beautiful scenery along the way. I saw open fields, rice paddies, Mountains in the distance and clean open areas of green.

Traffic was not too bad and we arrived in GenSan about 8:30. I sent a text to Evelyn and she told us were to meet her. About 10 minutes later Evelyn, her friend Glynda, her daughter-in-law Elke, and a new friend for us to meet, Gilda.

One of the things that caught my eye there was their tricycles. They were so much smaller than the ones you see in Davao. There were mainly 2 styles, one where the passenger compartment roof is lower than the drivers head with a little seating area and a newer style where the driver is under the roof of the compartment.

We followed them in our car to the other side of GenSan to a place called Sarangani Highlands. The location overlooks Sarangani Bay, which is a beautiful site with the glistening blue waters and the view of Sarangani Bay. Their flowers and plants are arraigned around the property with paths to different covered seating areas. We met the owner and I apologize for forgetting his name. He was a nice man and told us about how he acquired the location and how it started out as a garden. Then they developed it into the current restaurant. The views of the gardens and the bay in the distance are just amazing. We dined on mushroom soup, a Shrimp, pamalo and mango salad, steamed pompano with rice and behon noodles. It was a nice and relaxing breakfast where we could talk and get to know each other.

From there we drove to the General Santos City Fish Port Complex. General Santos, which is known as the “Tuna Capital of the Philippines” has a large complex where many fishing boats can dock to unload and sell their catch.

First we went to the Administration Building and met Mike Lambarte, the facility manager. He was very informative and gracious to allow us into his office where we talked about the facility and the fishing industry. He then walked out with us and called one of the security personnel to escort us to the different wharfs where to boats are unloaded and sold to the different vendors.

Because of the over fishing, most of the ships have to travel 15 days to the fishing grounds in International Waters near Indonesia. Even though there were many boats still docked, we were too late to see the large Tuna being unloaded and prepared. We did see smaller tunas and other fish processed there.

After our visit to the Fish Complex we got back into our cars and we followed Evelyn and her crew to the Dole Pineapple Farm to have lunch at their golf course County Club. The farm is huge, 10,000 hectares and we drove for a while through miles, or should I say kilometers of pineapple fields. We finally arrived at the country club after stopping at a Guard post to give our names. The Country Club had a nice open air restaurant overlooking beautiful green landscape. We took some photos of 2 cute statues of a pineapple and banana and then sat down for a steak lunch. On the table were 2 pitchers of their “4 Seasons” juice which is a mixture of pineapple, mango, orange and guava juices.

After we left Dole, we went on a tour of downtown General Santos City. After over a year in Davao and trip to Kidapawan last Christmas, I was pleasantly surprised of the wide 4 and 6 lane roads separated with nice clean greenways separating thetraffic in opposite directions, the clean and orderly stores and the modern buildings and malls. The only traffic congestion was when we came to an area of 2 shopping malls and there were many tricycles there to pick up and discharge passengers. At many intersections and traffic circles there were nice parks.

As we drove around town out in the more residential areas you would see open land, farms and just green open spaces. Also everywhere there was a view of Mount Matutum, a majestic mountain that is also a dormant volcano.

There is a new mall being built too. Unfortunately with only Elena with me in the car and Evelyn and her friends in their big pickup truck, I was unable to get the names of the places we passed.

We also passed a beach area where there is plenty of room from the fence to the water and concession stands to buy food and drinks.

We then were told we had one more stop to make and to just follow them. We drove for a little while and then noticed an overhead sign stating we were entering Sarangani Provence. We passed the Capital building and then arrived at Isla Parilla Resort. As we drove in we saw many lakes set up as a Bangus Farm. Bangus is a favorite fish here in the Philippines, also known as Milk Fish. Then we saw pretty little cottages on concrete stilts with walkways from the main building. We parked and walked around a little to see the lakes and the views.
Then we all sat at their restaurant for cappuccinos and some more jokes and talks about our day. It was then getting late and we needed to start back. As we were walking to our cars Evelyn told us we had to make one more stop at the Provincial Capital to take a few more photos.

As we left the Capital, we followed their vehicle until they brought us to where we were able to get on the road to head back home. As the light was getting dim with evening approaching a light rain started. By the time we reached the winding road over the mountains it very dark with a constant rain. This slowed our trip but we kept on. By the time we passed Digos the rain stopped and the roads were dry. With the slower traffic it took us about 3 ½ hours to get home. Once we arrived we went right to bed for a much needed rest.

I have to tell Evelyn, thank you so very much for a wonderful day and her gracious friendship and showing us the city she loves so much. Elena and I am Blessed with her kindness and it is another proof of the kindness of the Filipino people. I am amazed such a friendship has become from a lady who one day found my site, left a few comments and then wanted to meet me when she came home for her 2 month vacation before she returns to California to resumes her position as a Caregiver. From her sweet personality and caring and kind ways I know the man she is employed by is truly blessed having her in his home to take care of her.

We have many photos, too many to place on view in this article, so please look at the slide show video.

Also visit Evelyn’s site “Ferns thoughts” where she is a new blogger. http://www.coolfern.blogspot.com/

Also you can see Evelyn’s Photos clicking here

The reason for this night was an Oktoberfest party. The association Friends of Mindanao has a good relationship with Bong, the owner, so we got free entrance. I was glad to see Bong again since it has been months since I saw him last.

In their main entertainment area they had tables and chairs set up with about 4 tables reserved for us.

Last year I heard they had it decorated like a German Village and had German foods. But since it did not sell real well, this year they had mainly local foods including Hungarian Sausage.

On stage there was a band, and the female singer was also director of entertainment and games.
She at one point brought up John for all of us to sing Happy Birthday to him since his 50th Birthday was the next day.

The first game was “Bring me” where she calls out an item and the first person that brings it up to her gets a prize.

The third item she asked for was a credit card. I went up with my debit card and won a deck of playing cards. Just as I got back to my table she asked for eye glasses. I raised mine and turned back and got another deck of cards. My friend Luis won next with a 1000 peso bill and won a Coke glass.

Later they had a drinking contest, first for ladies with a 12 oz coke to drink and later for men with a San Miguel beer. 2 friends, Luis and Chris tied and won glass beer mugs.
They had a modeling group there and had a most beautiful single lady contest where all 3 were one of the models.

I had met some of these models where they demonstrated at Davao Area Expat Assoc meeting.

Later a sexiest husband contest. The MC grabbed me and then brought Luis and Ted, an Australian man from our group. We had to dance to some music and then the voting was by applauding. First she pointed to Ted and all of our group clapped. Then Luis with the same result. When she pointed to me, our group gave the same applause, but then all the models started clapping and shouting. Well I won a plastic drinking mug that has water inside to freeze to keep drinks cold and a San Miguel T-shirt that was so small Elena is using it.

They also had a sexiest wife contest and other fun games. They also had some dance troops and different singers.

It was a fun night seeing a lot of friends, their wives, daughters and in-laws.
Since I am not a beer drinker I enjoyed cokes.

We stayed until about 10 when most in my car was tired and asked if we could go home.
I want to thank Ian, John and Bong for arraigning the party and for everyone there that made it an enjoyable evening

I want to thank Chris for bringing his camera and letting me use his photos.

Oneof the members, Chris has a large ocean front lot and house which he uses on weekends. The plan was we would have the services of a jeepneys owned by one of the members brother-in-law. We were to meet at 6:30 in the morning at the parking lot at Victoria Mall and ride the jeepneys.

On Saturday I received a text from Ian, the leader of the organization, that he sent me an email and would appreciate my assistance with the trip. Well I was working, so I text back that I would look at it when I got home. The email stated that we were not going to get the jeepney and also Ian was in the provinces with his family and would probably not be able to be there. He said we could take a bus to Samal or ride the Ferry over and once there get jeepneys to Chris’s house. Chris’s engineer would meet us at the terminal on the Samal side.

Sunday morning, Elena, our 3 nieces and I got in my little Kia Rio and drove to the mall. Since I try to be at appointments on time or a little early, we arrived at 6:30.

At the mall, the parking lot was chained. Elena asked what time they open and then mentioned we were to meet people. The guard let us in. In the parking lot there were people jogging, a group of “Jazzercise” type exercising and others in different forms of exercise.

By 7:15 nobody showed up, so after texting and receiving a reply from Ian that he did not know who was coming, we decided to go ourselves.

We drove to Sasa where the Ferry, or better know as the barge or RoRo (roll on Roll off).
We had to wait only about 15 minutes for the Ferry to arrive and then had a short cruise to the island.

One there we meet up with the Engineer, Engineer Nido. He had driven a motorcycle to the terminal, but would ride with us to Chris’s house. He mentioned the road was bad in spots since there had been some rain storms lately. He said the house is about 30 KM, or approximately 19 miles.

At first the roads were fine. Most of the roads so far were concrete but even when dirt it was graded and smooth. Then as we went further there were potholes and ruts. We finally hit a stretch of road which was a mess, rocks and loose sandy surface. We took it slow. The grade was easy and at times I had to downshift because the grade gradually increased without being obvious.

We finally came upon a hill that was steep and a mess. Half way up I had trouble advancing. The car would stall and it was getting difficult to get going since I have a standard transmission. Both sides of the road had drop-offs so there was no place to angle the car across the hill. Finally I rolled back down the hill until I could turn around. We then drove to a gas station and we called Chris to come get us.

When we finally arrived at the house about 10AM, what a nice change. Chris has a large lot with a new house and 3 nipa hut type gazebos. These are made from bamboo and there was even a 2 story hut. Plus there were shade trees, banana trees and wonderful view of the Bay. Chris also has 2 pump boats which are like a long canoe with outriggers and a motor. He has another boat too. He offered to take us by boat a short distance where there is a sandy beach instead of the the coral covered beach at his house.

Down near the water there was a big tree with a bench and table built around the tree. We sat and relaxed for a while. The girls were at the tree, Elena and Chris’s wife RC were at one hut, their son was in the house with friends and Chris and I sat in another.

This was nice since I have never had a chance to get to know Chris. He had a very interesting life. He was born in Hawaii and is ½ Hawaiian. He spent 24 years in the Army and then worked for a government contractor which gave him the opportunity to visit many countries all over the world.

While we were talking the Engineer and a caretaker started a grill to cook some of the foods. Once lunch was ready we moved to a hut with benches and a table. My, there was so much food. There was the chicken we brought, kinilaw, which is raw fish and vegetables in a vinegar sauce to cure the fish. There was also grilled beef and the Pièce de résistance was bar-b-que pulled pork. It was so good I had to have 2 sandwiches. There was so much food that they never grilled hamburgers they had also.

After lunch most went down to the water and either swam or waded in the cooling water.

Chris also gave me a tour of the house which is in the finishing stage. There is also an interesting setup. Because the well water is not so good, they have a storage tank where the rainwater fills it from the house gutters.

It was getting towards mid afternoon and with the drive and ferry back we decided to leave. We all packed up and rode with Chris back to my car and then followed them to the Ferry terminal.

Since Chris and family showed is such wonderful hospitality we invited them to come to our house for dinner. As usual Elena out did her self with he delicious pasta in a butter and garlic sauce with chicken. Everyone had 2 helpings.

Finally we were all tired and Chris and family decided to head home, but invited us to there house in Torril next Sunday.

Chris if you read this, Thank you again for a wonderful day. We all really enjoyed it.

Samal Island is actually called The Island Garden City of Samal. It is just a short boat ride from Davao.

On Samal there are many resorts; one of the most famous is the Pearl Farms resort. We were just going to Paradise Island.

Even though Paradise Island has cottages for rent, we were just making a day trip.
We arrived early at the Paradise Island Pier. Once Louis and family arrived we walked to the beach where the boats come in.

The boats are nice and seat only 20 people. They have outriggers for safety and reminded me of the Polynesian boats seen in all the old movies. The boats pull in to the beach and they drop a gang plank from the front.

The boat ride is only 12 pesos (29 cents US). The ride is only about 15 minutes. Once we reached the resort, we paid our fee, 80 pesos per person (1.93 US) and then found a table.

There is a long covered area along the beachfront with tables and chairs. There are places to buy food but both families brought food to share. We purchased beverages there since they charge a corkage fee. That is they charge you for beverages brought.
For cooking they have grills available too.

Once seated and organized we preceded to eat an early lunch. After lunch the younger members of our group went swimming. The tide was low so they had to walk out to reach deep enough water to wade and swim.

I joined Louis, his father-in-law and nephew to show my lack of billiards skills, but it was fun.
We brought my backgammon set and playing cards so we spent the afternoon playing. Louis taught me a Filipino game similar to 500 rummy.

Later on Louis, Venice, Elena and I took a walk to their small bird sanctuary and zoo. Then the girls used the seesaw and swings. By the time we got back it was time to pack up and take the boat back to Davao. The last boat leaves at 5pm.

I thank Louis for inviting us to a nice day of relaxation, fun and companionship.