IBM’s Mangrove Reforestation project @ Olango Island

Last Saturday, June 11, 2011, IBM Cebu and PBSP (Philippine Business for Social Progress) had its outdoor outreach activity, Mangrove planting, which was held at Brgy. San Vicente, Olango Island, Lapu-lapu City.  I was fortunate enough to be part of this grand activity, together with my fellow IBMers,  a few people from the media, bloggers and some volunteers.

Just a brief background, the Olango group of Islands is composed of seven islands and is located 5 km. east of Mactan Island.  It is commonly known for its marine and aviary sanctuary.

So continuing from my story, the activity started here in our office with a small program to officially open the event and to orient the participants on some rules and guidelines before we make the trip.

At around 9:00 am, we departed IT Park, and proceeded to a small port beside Portofino Beach in Mactan.  From there, we took a 30 minutes boat ride to reach Olango Island.  Then we took a 10 minute tricycle ride to get to Brgy. San Vicente and another 10 minutes hike to reach the place we were going to work on.

Okay, first off… planting mangroves was not easy!  It was quite a challenge and posed a lot of problems, especially for people with an aching back (namely… ME!).  The weather wasn’t really of much help either, so it was quite taxing.  But the overall experience was enjoyable.  True, I may have complained while we were planting the seedlings (planting them while carrying a heavy backpack was not easy), but honestly, it was really a lot of fun.

After planting the seedlings, we had to walk (or wade) around knee deep (muddy) waters to reach the DENR station near the sanctuary.  There we had our lunch, and some games to make the event more enjoyable.  Afterwards, we then departed the station and headed for the Olango wharf since it was already time to leave.

After the event, I can pretty much say that I was dead tired.  I just came off from work (night shift), and had no sleep when I participated the event, but still, it was worth it.  The idea that I helped in giving back to nature was fulfilling.

Below, are some pics that we had from the event (credit goes to Jerome Ocares for the photos.)

Camotes revisited…

Camotes… a group of islands in central Philippines is located 36 nautical miles off mainland Cebu
comprising three main islands of Pacijan, Poro and Ponson. It is comprised of 3 islands and having
4 municipalities namely Poro, Tudela, San Francisco and Pilar. These islands can be reached by
sea with regular trips daily from Danao City and Cebu City. Camotes is considered as one of the great
places to have a vacation here in Cebu.

In my 13 yrs here in Cebu, I have been to Camotes 4 times. Twice for company outings, once with my family and… okay, three times for company outings (although the last one is unofficial). And after all this time, the islands still amazes me. Every time I come here, I always encounter new things, I visit new places and I get new experiences. This place is great.

The first time I visited Camotes, it was our summer company outing, we stayed in the My Little Island Hotel. We were there for 3 days, I think (can’t remember anymore)… Anyway, since there were around 50 of us, I think we occupied most of the rooms in the hotel. So basically, we pretty much owned the whole place. Our daily iteneraries includes breakfast at the hotel, tour some where, lunch at the beach, swimming, tour again, then back to the hotel for dinner and some
night swimming on the pool. We also had some videoke sessions and some parties. It was a great experience and we got to tour most of the famous spots in Camotes.

My second trip here, for 3 days also, was with my family and my wife (we were not yet married then). We stayed in Santiago Bay Garden & Resort. My mom was with us, so was my two nephews, my sister-in-law, her sister and her mom. We rented out a van to take us around Camotes for 3 days. We went to Greenlake Park (my first time there), then to Bukilat Cave then also to Mangodlong Rock Resort. It was both tiring (family vacations… go figure) and enjoyable as well.

Next, would be another 3 day trip with my colleagues from work. It was our summer company outing, and I was one of the organizers. There were about 20 of us and we stayed in Mangodlong Rock Resort. We didn’t spend much time touring around the islands since most of it swimming and relaxing. It was a great reprieve after being cooped up in the office for so long. We simply had fun all during that time. Although, we did encounter some glitches as we were going home, all in all, the whole experience was great.

My latest trip to Camotes was just last April 30 till May 1. Me and my officemates, decided to have our own summer outing. What started from casual talk during our lunch, ended up being realized. Although, I only spent one night this time, some of my officemates spent two nights in Camotes. We had a blast and it was great to make new friends.

Camotes Islands will always have a place in my heart. Its a very wonderful and a little bit magical. One look at its shores and it wipes away all your stress. Someday soon, I’m going to go back. This time, with my wife and our son. I think he will love it here too