Thursday, April 8, 2010

Retreat Area

Nice view in the Island Garden City of Samal or IGACOS when we went there to see the potential of a parcel of land as possible family investment. We still have to make up our mind on what to do to this. But the place is a good place where you can unwind. As you can see, it is elevated and the breeze of air is so fresh - away from the city's usual polluted air brought about by smoke-belching factories and cars. Here, there is serenity that everyone is looking for to keep his sanity :-).  The place can be reached in less than an hour away from our home.  

Davao - IGACOS Barges

As they were heading for home (from the Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS) to Davao), my daughter Maico snapped at these barges last last Sunday. Barges ply the route Davao-IGACOS as major mean of transportation from the jump-off point in Sasa (Davao City side) to IGACOS. 


Giant Lizard

Yesterday, Yahoo ran a news entitled: "Giant Lizard Discovered in the Philippines." If I am not mistaken, this is the same lizard species locally (Davao Region) called "halo or ibid." Actually, I am not quite sure if these local terms refer to the same species. That is whether "halo" is different from "ibid."  I cannot tell the difference. What I am sure of is that both terms refer to a reptile species. Maybe this is the reason we have a one-liner joke that goes:"Halo? (Hello). Ibid!".

Anyways, halo or ibid is endemic here. Which is why if you stay along the riverbanks, chances are you see them searching for food or prey. But not as big as Yahoo News reported which was 6.5 feet long. Or maybe, bigger lizards here were already caught by the local folks. The giant golden-spotted species was first noted in 2004 in Luzon's Sierra Madre mountain, according to the online news. Now it is considered as a new species from the Philippines.

They are hunted for their chicken-taste meat owing perhaps to the favorite prey of the species which is chicken. Again, I am not sure if this is true but my grandfather who was a farmer would always say that "halo/ibid" eats farm chicken. 

Exotic restaurants offer a delicacy out of this species. I had tasted its meat long time ago when my younger brother and his friends caught one near our home and fried its meat. It was already late that night when I ate some slices of the fried delicacy which I knew later as halo or ibid meat. I nearly threw up after my brother told me what was it. That was my first and last - an experience which I don't want to repeat.