Two scenarios. First, you are one of the Sarangani Bay Festival goers. After the 2-night beach party, the 360-degree view of the beach venue, Gumasa, had teased you so intensely which triggered you to give in and discover what is more in Glan. What is one sunset to extend the trip that culminates your summer?
Second, you did not make it for this year’s biggest beach party in the Philippines. But the itch still persists – You have heard your office mates talking about Glan. Your friends have uploaded marvelous photos geo-tagged to Glan or yet, you just finished reading this travel post all about Glan.
Discover the glistens of Glan!
The southernmost municipality of the Sarangani Province, Glan owns the Earth’s deepest cove with the horizon featuring the Celebes sea, heritage structures and that grilled chicken the locals love to eat with a homemade condiment. It is forty-five minutes via van away from General Santos City (the nearest airport).
Apart from the scenic cove after cove view, there is that unique charm when you are able to feel the spatial stimuli of exactly where a historical event took place.
CONDIMENT
The Chicken-Ala-Bukid is marinated from the inside out by injecting a special sauce made from the cooked spices and herbs. These ingredients are those which are just typically found in a townsman’s backyard.
It is your choice. The chicken could be fried or grilled. Then, it is eaten with “Dabo”. It is the locals’ favorite condiment when eating the Chicken Ala Bukid. It is a sweet and spicy dried fish with tomatoes, garlic and onions. One of the locals told that it is an Indonesian recipe. It resembles the Escabeche. You will love the succulence especially of the grilled version of the Chicken-Ala-Bukid, as you partake it with freshly steamed rice slathered with the chili oil from the Dabo.
Head over to “Freddos Chicken Ala Bukid” at the town’s Poblacion to try this. This is 20 minutes from Gumasa Beach where the Sarangani Bay Fest is held.
CONQUISTADOR
Antonio Pigafetta is actually Ferdinand Magellan’s on-board travel blogger. I would recommend reading some of his historical accounts especially the part where they have reached the Sarangani and Balut (Candigar) Islands in 1521. Read it before your Glan trip. If not because of his epic diaries, Philippine history is not as vivid as it seems written in our grade school textbooks.
Besides the Sarangani Bay being a witness of several voyages, Sumbang Point, which is about 45 minutes from the SarBay Fest venue, is reportedly the forced landing site of the fourth expedition in 1543 lead by Spanish conquistador, Miguel Lopez de Villalobos. His team failed to sail on to Mazaua to look for food because of the low-winds.
Apart from the scenic cove after cove view, there is that unique charm when you are able to feel the spatial stimuli of exactly where a historical event took place. Not just then for the beach lovers, Glan, with the Sarangani Bay and the Sumbang point, is also an ideal destination for educational trips for History and Anthropology.
Stay at the villas of Belimac. It is exactly along the shores of Sumbang point.
COMMONWEALTH
You could choose either or both the heritage houses at the town’s Poblacion or the 80-year-old ancestral house of Don Juan at the Hacienda Don Juan Resort.
Carved window frames and ceiling moldings as old as the Commonwealth era are still so defined among the neighboring heritage houses. These details make Glan’s heritage houses unique from those found in Vigan. Indeed, a living architectural museum.
The ancestral house at the Hacienda Don Juan offers a distinct kind of antiquity from those found at the Poblacion. The vintage spirit of the interiors and the sea breeze through its wide windows make you feel like basking your vacation days at your own grandparent’s home. You will love to stay for a while here. Explore the whole resort with their uniquely designed cottages too. The resort is 30 minutes away from the heritage houses which are at the town center.
COVE AFTER COVE HORIZONS
Glam is one of those quaint places where picturesque views of the horizon are omnipresent throughout your trip – from the dawn of your day 1 until the dusk of your departing day.
The enchanting blues of the beaches. The flavors of the townsmen’s food. The juxtaposition of the heritage and recent structures. The dissociative charm of modern existence in an unsophisticated daily dealings. – All a tourist would wander for. I am happy for you if you can make it for SarBay Fest this year, But if unfortunately you can not, Glan would just keep on glistening.
DATES TO VISIT
OCTOBER : Lubi-Lubi sa Glan Festival I APRIL : Mahin Festival I MAY: Sarangani Bay Festival
JOHNDAPPERCLOSER 