Dapitan is known as the place where the Philippine National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, was on exile during Spanish colonization. We arrived in this city to connect on how the books precisely narrated the Philippine history and his heroic deeds which changes my personal views on revolutionary movement.
Location: Dapitan City, Zamboange del Norte
Where I Stayed: Dakak Beach Resort
Buddies: Family (4+)
There were three sites we visited which was significantly related to each other based on preservation and the era they were built.
We reflected at St. James Church which was originally constructed in 1871 in honor of St. James the Great as its saint patron. The church stands as the living monument of the local’s faithful dedication to the Catholic Church which was renovated several times. I was amazed on the ceiling interior as it drawn my attention while I sneaked from the door. In front of the church is the park which has a huge relief map of Mindanao island. Studying the geography of the island might be familiarized pretty well on the site. Jose Rizal was found attending mass in this church every Sunday during his exile according to historians.
Not far from the church is a village with several old houses. The most familiar is the Aniano Adasa Ancestral House which is now housing the local tourism office of Dapitan. On the wall was seen an old framed portrait of Rizal symbolizing that it has attachment to the national hero. It is a heritage house built in 1901 which is the symbol of combined American-Spanish-Japanese structure. We met the family whose taking care of the heritage house. They have a 22-year old son named Junrey, the world’s shortest living man recognized by the World’s Guinness of Book Records in 2011. Knowing and meeting Junrey and his family was a great honor and a bonus to our visit.
Our last stop was the main historical landmark of Dapitan, the Rizal Shrine. It is a beautiful landscape where Dr. Jose Rizal spent his years from 1893 to 1896. His small house, school, clinics and kitchen are well preserved by the locals and became a tourist site. Rizal’s life and works was summarized in simplicity and his talents in medicine, farming, teaching, arts and literature was witnessed by the community. His contributions and thoughts was well preserved and always remembered by Filipinos proving that “pen is mightier than the sword”.
Dakak – The Pride of Dapitan
It was almost sunset when we left the shrine. We headed to Dakak Beach Park and Resort for our overnight accommodation. We availed their promotion package which requiring us to pay P1,000 per head for an overnight stay. Included in the promo was a complimentary plated breakfast and a free entrance ticket to Gloria Fantasyland. The most affordable promo deal especially when traveling in a big group.
Amusement Park. At 6:30pm, we returned back to the city and took our dinner at one of the restaurants inside the complex of the fantasy land. The Gloria’s Fantasyland is an amusement and themed park with packs of rides such as Ferris wheels, galleon ship, roller coasters, and a lot more. The 5-D cinema is also among its famous attractions. There were few guests as waiting time for each ride was fast. In fact, we were only three guys riding on the bumpy roller coaster.
The most awaited part on the park’s program was its closing show which I was entertained by numbers of jaw dropping performances titled “Joie de Vivre”, fiery movements of fire dancers, funny mascots, colorful parade of lights, and stunning fireworks.
The Gloria’s Fantasyland is comparatively small and rides are limited and less intense than Enchanted Kingdom and Star City. However, its existence in a small city like Dapitan is something big to be proud of.
We left the amusement park at 11pm and the night had comfortably ended relaxing at Dakak Resort’s bungalow with native designs and decors. The room was big and the terrace was the best spot to unload the negative vibes from exhausted body. It was the good time to be with the nature as the resort has no wifi.
Beach. When the sun scattered its morning rays, the resort revealed its natural hidden beauty. The clean white sand and clear water at the beach reflected the resort’s continues drive on maintaining its facilities. I personally enjoyed the water at the beach and at the pool.
We only had limited time in the resort so we didn’t try other activities they were offering such as aqua sports, zip line, horse back riding, and others.
We left the resort at noon and started our long journey back to Central Mindanao.
Tracking Traveler 