The highlight of the day was our trip to Mt. Apo. The first stop was the geothermal power plant located 1,20 meters above sea level. The pipes are 20 kilometers long and ferry steam whose temperatures amount to 280 degrees Celsius on the average! The wells are 3 kilometers deep into the ground. The plant has 29 wells and each cost a whopping PHP75M!
From the area where the pipes are, you could already see the peak of Mt. Apo:
On the way down, we passed by Lake Agco, a steaming lake located in the middle of the mountain. What you see behind me isn’t fog, but steam rising from the lake.
Because the water from the lake itself is too hot to swim in, the government built pipes to channel in cool water. The result: a pool that’s just right enough to be spa-worthy.
It was already close to 6:30pm when we came down from the mountain, and we proceeded to make the 2-hour trip to Koronadal, South Cotabato, where we would spend the night.
Now, the highways of Central Mindanao are not conducive for people with weak bladders, as I discovered from experience. One hour into the trip, I desperately needed to pee, but there was no place to stop. Because unlike our North or South Expressways, the highways there do not have gas stations or restaurants where one can make pit stops. Just agricultural fields! Or huts! And there aren’t even any street lamps, so stopping to use the toilet of these huts (if they did have one) wasn’t even an option. Finally, we passed by Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat (it’s closer than Koronadal) and I was able to relieve myself. But I swear, that was the most harrowing 1 hour of my life.
These are what border the highways of Central Mindanao. Imagine traveling these roads with nothing but the moonlight and car headlights.
We got to Koronadal in time for dinner, where Ms. Nellie took us to Lelita’s—and it was a beerhouse! Okay, not really a beerhouse per se, but it was semi-open air, they served those grilled pang-pulutan dishes, served beer, and there were two sexily-clad girls singing in front! So it was definitely a beerhouse! And in Mindanao! Which is supposed to be Muslim! It was quite a culture shock for us, but as my photographer dryly put it, “Mga tao rin ang mga Muslim.”
There, we met up with other members of the DTI regional office. A couple of them were my age, and it was nice to chat about non-work related stuff. They invited me to go karaoke with them afterwards, but I was beat. Maybe next time, when I come back.
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