The last time I was in Cagayan de Oro was almost a year ago (July 2006), when I went there with two friends for a short vacation. This time, I took the trip with another good friend, Rodney Jao, who had a speaking engagement at the Northern Mindanao ICT Summit. I just tagged along actually, although it was a perfect excuse for me to go and meet up with Kagay-anon bloggers.

I like going to Cagayan de Oro a lot. For me, it’s a relaxing place. Whenever I feel like getting away from the tedium of work and routine living, I find myself hying off to the City of Smiles for a breather. See, I find Cagayan de Oro comfortable because the ambience is almost like Davao’s — it’s just that it’s a bit smaller. But it’s not Davao, so I do get the much needed change of environment when I’m there. And it has its own character, which makes for an interesting stay. Furthermore, it’s not Metro Manila or Cebu, so the trip doesn’t involve digging too deeply in your pocket.

I’ve been going to Cagayan de Oro ever since 1995. Back then, the roads between Davao and there were torturous, even dangerous, and it took 10 or more hours to travel. These days, if you go by private car, 5 hours is the norm (although my buddy Rodney once made it there in about 4 hours… but it was in the wee hours of the morning).

Now I feel recharged, thanks to that weekend vacation at Cagayan de Oro!

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