Laguindingan: Gateway to the Land of Promise

Laguindingan, MISAMIS ORIENTAL

Date: MAR 15, 2015

The day I’ve been waiting for is finally here – the day that I will visit the island of Mindanao! I booked this flight a few months ago, and because of my excitement, I wasn’t able to sleep last night. The highlight of this trip will be Trail Insanity’s climb to the summit of Mount Apo. I can’t wait to get there, and now I wonder, what could happen through out this southern journey?

DAY 1

Welcome to Cagayan de Oro!

I never had the chance to sleep all night because of excitement, and it resulted to a terrible head ache. I asked my parents to accompany me at the airport, and I managed to get to NAIA Terminal 3 early in the morning (the sun hasn’t risen up when we arrived). At the airport, I kissed my parents goodbye, and they told me to take care. Inside the airport, I used Cebu Pacific’s check-in kiosk so that I could head straight to the boarding gate without any hassle.

This would be my second time flying, and even though I’ve already experienced it before, the nervousness was still there. I had a dream recently about a plane crash, and it felt real, but I kept on telling myself that I would just put my trust in God whatever happens. Boarding time came, and I was assigned to sit at the aisle. The flight was an hour and a half long, and at 9:28 in the morning, the plane landed at Laguindingan airport located in the province of Misamis Oriental – my 37^th province.

That moment was surreal – I can’t believe that I managed to get to Mindanao and my feet managed to step on its soil. And even though the news always portray Mindanao to be a land of war and terror, curiosity took over my instinct and I didn’t mind all the trouble that was going on in this part of the Philippines. All I wanted to do was to explore and discover new things.

Laguindingan Airport has a nice interior, and it looked neat. There were signs and clear directions everywhere and people won’t get lost inside. I immediately looked for the airconditioned van that I saw on the internet that plies the airport-Cagayan de Oro route. These white vans were parked just outside the airport, easy for people to see. I approached one of them and asked the driver to drop me off at the airport junction along the highway because what my plan that time was to visit the city of Iligan in the province of Lanao del Norte.

Laguindingan Airport facade

This post is part of my Mindanao and Mount Apo Adventure (with Trail Insanity) that took place between March 15–21, 2015. This is the first entry. Proceed to the next destination here.