Punta Isla Lake Resort

Whenever we visit Lake Sebu,  we never fail to eat lunch at the Punta Isla Lake Resort. The resort is about 40kms away from Koronadal city. It has a terrific view of the lake.

In our cottage, while waiting for our food, we were serenaded by a group of young T'bolis who presented a local courting song and dance number in their native costumes. A really nice treat especially since we had bakasyunistas from Manila with us. 

After a few minutes came our food. Since Punta Isla is famous for their tilapia dishes, we couldn't pass up the chance to have a Tilapia party starting off with their Pinaputok na Tilapia, a crispy fried Tilapia dish where the meat is separated from the bones and whats left is fried crisp so get to eat everything. I only had time to take a few snaps of the food since our excited bakasyunistas can't wait to devour the feast.

Of course, we also had to try their kinilaw na Tuna. A delectable delicacy in this part of Mindanao. :)

As we were rushing off to try the zipline in nearby 7 falls, these mother-daughter team caught our attention as they were also garbed in the colorful intricately design T'boli costume dancing and playing a musical instrument. 

For reservations or inquiries, you can contact Punta Isla Resort through these numbers: (083) 238-8503 or their mobile no. +63919 4852910

13th Gensan's Tuna Festival

For this year's 13th Gensan's Tuna Festival, the generals along with their guests, tourists and pollanders like moi were wowed with this year's celebration. The activities were upped a notch with this year's theme on "Exploring New Depths, Conquering New Challenges". The theme was aptly executed in this year's events. And one of my favorites is the Float Parade...

The floats this year were adorned not only with the usual hoopla but was made more glamorous with the lights that come with it. Another added plus with the floats is the presence of the street dancers, which only made the float parade more festive, giving a party atmosphere which reminds me of Rio's Carnival celebration. The float below is by East Asia Royale Hotel, winner of this year's Float Parade.

Not to be outdone, this year's Street Dancing showdown was also a spectacle to watch. Their theme "Dili na mabangbang, Dili na mapunggan" (well, from my knowledge of the local dialect, that means  - cannot be defeated, cannot be stopped :) Indeed the dancers showed much vigor and energy with each of their numbers, adding  a feeling of festive cheer for everyone who was watching.

Talk about starting them young! These kids were avid performers in the street dancing showdown...

Mr. OSG's motion blur in this photo only shows how fun the street dancing competition turned out to be. No wonder he came home with a scraped knee! (nadapa ata taking this shot-hehehe)

And to cap off the celebrations, a fireworks display was a fitting end to this year's Tuna Festival. See you all next year for another round of Gensan's Tuna Festival!  

The Prestigious Mr and Ms Gensan 2011

Being a travelogue, you might be surprised with this blog post which tackles not about a particular place in my island Mindanao. But, I couldn't let it pass without blogging (bragging actually :) about the Mr and Ms Gensan 2011. People after all are part and parcel of a place's charm and a fitting attraction that lures visitors to South Central Mindanao. 

This prestigious pageant is part of Gensan's Tuna Festival celebration. Organized by topnotch events specialists Project O consultants spearheaded by Gensan's main man - Mr. Orman Manansala. 

What really captured my attention in this pageant right from the very start is the parade of their Festival Attire. They centered on silver and white marine inspired theme. I looove the elegance and extravagance of each detail.

And I am sure, you will never see a festival attire as intricate in detail as what these pageant finalists have donned.

Truly one of a kind, you can only see these in Gensan. I literally felt being in the company of mermaid royalties when each of these beauties came out on stage.

Truly, the participants (the candidates and their designers) didn't want to go half way in their designs. Suddenly, I no longer have any idea what the term "simple" meant. :) Elegance was a picture painted by all of these lovely and handsome candidates.

Have you ever seen a sight as jaw dropping as these?

And of course, the ladies also comes with these handsome mermans donned in their own extravagant designs...enjoy the pictures by MR. OSG.

To this year's winners: Mr. Gensan 2011 Marc Jerick Chan and Miss Gensan 2011 Caroline Lim - congratulations! You have just been lined along Gensan's finest. Our hats off to all the organizers and the people who were part of this awe inspiring pageant.