Claire Bear's Thoughts

We spent Easter Sunday at Eden Nature Park in Bayabas, Toril. I called them up a week ago and they said they have several Easter activities lined up for kids and so I thought my Pia would just love it. We took two of our friend, Redz and Fojie (BF-GF); it was their first time and my husband’s too.

I would say, the trip to Eden is quite long, but the higher you are in the mountains, the more you’ll enjoy nature and its wonders. You’d immediately forget the hassles of the city.

We purchased a lunch buffet package of Php420.00 each and a guided shuttle tour to the garden at Php50.00 each. The whole tour took an hour with our English-speaking guide explaining to us how the park came to be. And with each spot we passed by, she sure has a lot to say about it. Along the way, we got to see the different cottages in the park all available for accommodation. We also passed by their green houses, all abundant with vegetables. There were a lot of planted herbs which the guide gave us samples to smell….and I would say, they smell really good, I had no idea there were herbs like those.

We had 2 stopovers during the tour, one at the ampitheatre which has an overlooking view of Davao and which has a variety of pretty and colorful flowers. It is very ideal for weddings. The second stop was at Lola’s Garden which is filled with gumamelas and other native flowers. There was a nipa hut in there with a carabao at its side. There was also this wishing well, which they named Mayumi’s wishing well, the owner’s daughter’s name, which is filled with floating gumamela flowers of different colors. It was truly beautiful. As the tour continues, the guide showed us all the other attractions in the park which we could later on check out. The guide also brought us to the highest level of the park which is 3000 feet above sea level. What I also love about the park is that it has so many pine trees and the climate is nicely cold, you’d think you’re not in Davao.

While waiting for lunch, we let Pia play at their playground and we enjoyed ourselves as well riding in the Indiana Jones ride. And then lunch time came….There were so much food of all varieties. If I were a vegetarian, I would definitely enjoy their very colorful super fresh salads. All the vegetables they used in their menus were taken right from their gardens. I super enjoyed their baked macaroni, I had 2 servings. I would have to say, the package was kind of expensive but it was worth it.

Right after lunch, the magic show which they prepared for the kids started. The magician was James of Okiddo, a local show, and Pia, as expected, was so amazed with his tricks...all kids were.

Later, we explored more of the place by hiking and ended up in the Fishing Village. We tried our luck on fishing...they all caught some, all of them except me!!! All in all, we were able to catch 2 kilos of tilapia, 7 pieces in all and we decided to have it cooked and ate all of it. Whew!!! We had it cooked in 3 different dishes, 1. deep fried, 2. grilled and 3. pinaputok (covered in banana leaves and deep fried...unique!) All were sinfully delicious!!! I felt so bloated after eating.

After all that, we headed straight home and slept!! The hike got us all tired. No one dared eat dinner anymore.