MUSEUM FOUNDATION OF THE PHILIPPINES, INC.
Cagayan de Oro and Bukidnon Cultural Study Tour
6 to 9 May 2015
Tour Fee: Php 27,800 for MFPI Members; Php 31,500 for Non-Members
Includes:
• Return airfare on Philippine Airlines with 10 kg baggage allowance.
• Airport transfers and land transportation between tours
• Entrance Fees
• Local Tour Guide
• Tour Leader
• Accommodations for three nights at the exclusive Bukidnon Country Lodge on sharing basis
• Breakfast at the Bukidnon Country Lodge
• Packed lunch for the picnic at the Tuminugan Nature Sanctuary
• Snacks and water between destinations
Does not include:
• Airport Terminal Fee
• Cost of rides at the Dahilayan Adventure Park.
• All dinners. A Menu from the Bukidnon Country Lodge will be provided in advance.
• Lunch at Prawn House Restaurant and the Rancher’s Steak House. Menus will be provided in advance
• Generally, all tips and porterage.
• Excess baggage allowance for the return trip to Manila. It is advised that each passenger request for extra baggage allowance for the return trip especially if shopping for pottery/ ceramics.
PROPOSED ITINERARY
Day 1, Wednesday, 6 May: Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental
Divine Mercy Shrine
Prawn House Seafood Restaurant
The Stoneware Pottery
Capitol University Museum of Three Cultures
Bukidnon Country Lodge
Take a morning flight to Cagayan de Oro City on PR 2521 departing at 9:35 am. Arrive in Laguindingan International Airport at 11:10 am. Laguindingan International Airport in Misamis Oriental serves both Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan City. Collect luggage at the arrival area.
A representative designated by the Bukidnon Country Lodge will meet the group and take them to a waiting van. Before proceeding to Bukidnon, the group will make some stops to experience some of the highlights of Misamis Oriental.
Divine Mercy Shrine, El Salvador City, Misamis Oriental
The first stop will be at the Divine Mercy Shrine in El Salvador, Misamis Oriental centred on a 50-foot statue of the Divine Mercy atop a hill overlooking the Macajalar Bay. The statue is said to be the tallest of its kind in the world and has become an important pilgrimage site. Conversions and healings have been attributed to the Dancing Sun Miracle, which was witnessed by 10,000 pilgrims on the feast of the Divine Mercy on 7 April 2013. There is also a fountain of holy water, which is said to bring about healing.
To enter this religious site, there is a strict dress code and all must be dressed modestly. No sleeveless shirts, shorts, tightfitting clothing. Women in trousers will be requested to wear a sarong or malong around them. These are also available for rent at the entrance. (Website: www.divinemercyhills.ne)
Prawn House Seafood Restaurant
From Divine Mercy Hills, the group will be taken to the Prawn House Seafood Restaurant for lunch. The restaurant is by the sea and boasts of a wide array of fresh seafood. Expect a cool breeze as you enjoy fresh crabs, prawns, shrimps and other seafood delights cooked in different ways. Participants with food allergies or dietary restrictions should give advance notice.
Stoneware Pottery
After lunch, visit The Stoneware Pottery, where fine wares are made with clay from Germany, lead-free glazes and Filipino craftsmanship and expertise. Some of the potters may be working that afternoon and will demonstrate their skills. The store will be open for those who would like to buy a few of their products.
For those who know of the Stoneware Pottery’s excellent work, you may wish to browse through their website www.stonewarepottery.com to select items you may wish to purchase. It will also give you more information on the products at The Stoneware Pottery. Stoneware Pottery supplies hotels and restaurants in the country and elsewhere including the Amanpulo Resort.
Capitol University Museum of Three Cultures
The last stop in Cagayan de Oro but not the least- will be The Capitol University Museum of Three Cultures. It features Mindanao's three cultures of the Maranao of Marawi, the Iligan of Cagayan de Oro and the Indigenous Peoples of Northern Mindanao. (www.cultureight.com/capitol-university-museum-of-threecultures/)
The Museum displays the soil paintings of the Talaandig, one of the seven tribes of Bukidnon. Some of these may be for sale.
Drive to Bukidnon
After the sightseeing in Cagayan de Oro, expect a scenic drive - at least before sunset - towards the Bukidnon Country Lodge in Manolo Fortich, which will be home for the next three nights. (www.bukidnoncountrylodge.com)
The Bukidnon Country Lodge maintains the same warmth and services of a private home and exudes the graciousness of its former residents. It has a large living and dining area, an expansive garden with exotic flora, pathways for strolling or jogging, a swimming pool, two outdoor gazebos and a highly experienced and dedicated staff that will make this a veritable home away from home. The Lodge offers home-made international cuisine, prepared exclusively for the guests. Guests will be asked to make their meal choices in advance to allow the kitchen to source choice ingredients.
Guests will be welcomed at the Lodge by Ms. Paula Perrine. A welcome drink from locally grown pineapples will refresh the travellers. Paula will also give a brief background of the place and the Del Monte story.
The Lodge also has a huge table filled with mats woven by indigenous communities, abaca bags and accessories, hats, Hinebelan coffee, organic peanut butter and other products from the area. Guests are drawn to this table from the first moment they arrive. You can put some products aside until the last day when you would settle your account. Dinner will be served followed by dessert and tea or coffee.
Day 2, Thursday, 7 May: Tuminugan Nature Sanctuary & Plantation Tour
Tuminugan Nature Sanctuary/Hineleban Foundation
Dahilayan Adventure Park
Camp Phillips/Kampo Juan
Bukidnon Country Lodge
Breakfast at the Lodge
Tuminugan Nature Sanctuary
Today will be a day of immersion in nature. Leave the Lodge by 8:30 am for Tuminugan Nature Sanctuary (www.hineleban.org) “Tuminugan” is a Binukid term taken from an epic which tells of a paradise that has sprung from nothing. This paradise image describes a once barren area transformed into a nature sanctuary where a diversity of species of flora and fauna has returned and a rich biodiversity thrives once again.
The Tuminugan Nature Sanctuary is part of the Hineleban Foundation’s initiatives in reforestation and biodiversity conservation in cooperation and partnership with Mindanao’s diverse ethnic and cultural communities. Tuminugan’s tree nursery is dedicated to Hineleban’s rainforestation efforts and has become a model of “Transformational Business Practices” involving indigenous peoples and communities.
Guests will see - among other things - the flower terraces, livestock, demonstration of the Honey-Bee production, the natural Horse Training, the organic vegetables project and go on a comprehensive tour of the 100% Arabica Coffee Production of the Hineleban Foundation. This includes coffee tasting. Learn about the work of the Foundation and its cooperation with the indigenous people of Bukidnon. Artisanal crafts made by indigenous communities that reside in the mountains will be shown and sold here as well as products from the farm.
At the end of the tour, enjoy a picnic by the lake. It is a beautiful place for taking photos and to relax and enjoy.
Dahilayan Adventure Park / Camp Phillips / Kampo Juan
After lunch, finish the Plantation Tour by passing by the Dahilayan Adventure Park. (https://
www.dahilayanadventurepark.com) The Adventure Park is not far from the farm. It is famous for its zipline and other daredevil rides, a major reason for the increasing number of tourists in Bukidnon!
You would descend from the mountain passing through Camp Phillips, the Del Monte Pineapple Plantation in the Philippines. Slers, famous for their ham products, will be on the way. So will the other Adventure Park, Kampo Juan, before returning to the Lodge. Dinner at the Lodge.
Day 3, Friday, 8 May: Monastery of the Transfiguration & Banig Weaving...
Monastery of the Transfiguration Souvenir Shop
Church
Museum
Rancher’s Steak House
Breakfast at the Lodge. At 9:00 am, leave for The Monastery of the Transfiguration in Malaybalay. Arrive in Malaybalay City at 10:15 and stop at the Pines Hotel to use the comfort room. During the drive, more information on the sights of Bukidnon will be given as well as on the vestment collection at the Monastery of the Transfiguration.
Monastery of the Transfiguration, Malaybalay
Arrive at the Benedictine monastery after a further 20-minute ride. On the way in to the Monastery, stop at the Souvenir Shop before it closes for lunch. The shop carries some religious items including small replicas of the statue of Our Lady of Monserrat which is enthroned at the Monastery chapel. Apart from these religious items there are also biscuits, coffee and other products made in the Monastery.
From the shop, the group will visit to the church where one can experience the peace and tranquillity of a sacred space. The pyramid shaped church was the last project of Architect Leandro Locsin.
Visit the Museum of Liturgical Vestments and see the vestment collection designed by Dom Martin de Jesus H. Gomez, OSB (formerly known as Manila fashion designer Gang Gomez). The vestments are made with Philippine textile materials enhanced with indigenous patterns and designs.
It is the result of the work put together for an exhibition at the Ayala Museum in 1999 called “Worship and Weave Towards Filipino Liturgical Vestments.” Dom Martin describes how he “travelled to more than 20 ethnic communities to research on textiles and to guide the production of the design motifs that they (the communities) were willing to accommodate.” The book “Worship and Weave Towards Filipino Liturgical Vestments” gives detailed descriptions of the vestments in the collection. It is available at the Ayala Museum Shop in Makati.
After the visit at the Monastery, the group will be taken to the Rancher’s Steak House for lunch. It is a ranch styled restaurant overlooking hills with horses grazing, a pleasant and charming Bukidnon scene. The menu includes a good choice of meat, chicken, pork and fish dishes. After lunch drive back to Manolo Fortich and the Bukidnon Country Lodge. There will be time for those who wish to refine or add more items to the products they had selected initially from the Lodge’s “shop.”
Day 4, Saturday, 9 May: Departure Day
Leave Bukidnon Country Lodge
Drive to Cagayan de Oro City
Lunch in Cagayan de Oro City
Depart for Manila
Wake up at your leisure. After breakfast, drive to Cagayan de Oro City. Departure time will depend on what you would like to do in Cagayan de Oro City before taking the mid-afternoon flight back to Manila. If you opt for some market shopping for malongs, food pasalubongs and the like in Cagayan De Oro City, departure from the Lodge will have to be timed accordingly. Lunch will be in Cagayan de Oro City.
Depart on PR 2526 at 16:35, arrive in Manila at 18:05.
For inquiries and reservation, please email inquiry@museumfoundationph.org and/or museumfoundationphils@gmail.com. You may also call 404 2685 or 697 9509. Text/call Elvie 0949 3338211 or Mae 0927 8484680. Thank you.
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