Zentraveler visits Philippine Eagle Center, near Davao.

Philippine Eagle Center

The Philippine eagle is regarded as one of the largest eagles in the world and has a wing-spread more than 8 feet. In fact The Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) is one of the two largest eagles in the world. It ranks second to the Harpy eagle of Central and South America, but only in regards to weight (averaging 8.0 kgs. vs. 9.0 kgs) and smaller feet and legs. It is undoubtedly the tallest, and holds the world record for wing-span in any eagle . . . it can exceed eight feet.

Philippine Eagle

The Philippine Eagle Center is dedicated to the survival and conservation of the Philippine Eagle of which there are only 200 pairs in the wild left. The Philippine Eagle Center is a shining example of what dedicated people and their community can do to help save a species. A lot of the work comes from volunteers and is partially funded by corporations and private donations. The center can always use an extra hand by making donations or doing direct volunteer work.

Majestic

Located just an hour from Davao you can rent a car, catch a taxi, or you can catch public transport, which will also deliver you to the centre. In Davao you can catch a shared air-con van to Calinan from the market just past City Hall which go every 10 minutes for P30. At Calinan catch a tricycle up to the Eagle Camp at Malagos for about P20.

Philippine Eagle Center

There are marked walkways and paths with info posted about the eagles, trees, and some exotic snakes lurking about near the headwaters of Davao water supply.There is basic dining available on site, with modern restrooms… plus a lot of vendor stalls outside the main gate. As you walk toward the center you can witness majestic mahogany trees. Most of the eagles are in cages which are sometimes not to easy to see. They have some different species of eagles out in the open on perches, which is a truly awesome site to see. There is also a mini zoo on site with various other animals and a group of monkeys living on an island who pray each night the Philippine Eagles don’t break out of their cages and they become the main course on the dinner menu.(since they have the nickname” Monkey Eating Eagles.”

Exotic Snake

This is a must visit for the entire family and can also be a valuable learning experience. That’s what is really cool about eco-adventure. You become part of nature… watching it unfold right in front of your eyes.

The entrance fee is P50 entry(about US$1) so while you are here… drop some pesos in the donation box and help save an endangered species.

QUOTE: “I am the eagle, I live in high country In rocky cathedrals that reach to the sky, I am the hawk and there’s blood on my feathers, But time is still turning they soon will be dry, And all those who see me and all who believe in me Share in the freedom I feel when I fly.”-John Denver

THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW:The Philippine Eagle was named the national bird of the Philippines in 1995 by President Fidel V. Ramos.

In 1992, the world’s first captive-bred Philippine eagle was hatched at the Philippine Eagle Research and Nature Center – located in the mountains outside of Davao city. The staff promptly named her “Pag-Asa” – meaning “Hope.”

The species was discovered in 1896 by the English explorer and naturalist John Whitehead, who observed the bird and whose servant, Juan, collected the first specimen a few weeks later. The skin of the bird was sent to William Robert Ogilvie-Grant in London in 1897, who initially showed it off in a local restaurant and described the species a few weeks later.

THINGS YOU MAY WANT TO SAVE: Philippine Eagles….they are majestic and need our support!

ZENTRAVELER SAYS: Become pro-active! Just don’t sit there while our forests and natural habitat become eroded. Reach in your pocket grasshopper or you may re-incarnate as a monkey….and that’s not good.

From here to Infinity is a relatively short ride! The next leg takes eons and eons as you fly through the Barycentric Dynamical Time Zone! …and on and on and on.

Follow the Zentraveler Blog often for Travel, Health and Zen-like stories and such. Where else can you get a three in one blog for the price of free?

Zentraveler on letting the Universe create!

Let the Universe Create

This is heavy stuff, so we shall let the Universe explain it so we no longer neither have the need to prove ourselves and impress our friends and relatives. All of this identity making from the time we were born via our parents, siblings, school teachers, professors, military instructors, masters etc. is really just an extension of I. I just got my black belt in martial arts! I just finished writing a book. I just graduated from Harvard. Me, me, me …see what I have done!

We can’t help ourselves! We trip over ourselves to be self-important. I did this and I did that….are you sure?

This idea entered my head, from where is the question, why not write a book…. my close friends loved for me to tell stories about my travels and such… so I said why not. I couldn’t possibly know what kind of perfect storm I was about to set up with my friends, and business colleagues. They acted like I had terminal cancer. Not to be deterred, I set out to find How Ernest Hemmingway, regarded as one of our best American writers, wrote his books.

Forget talent, its pure discipline was the quote that stuck in my mind. This is true of all great artists and professionals. Hemingway wrote standing up and wrote three or four longhand pages in the morning. Throughout the day he went about his chores and pursued his passion for sport-fishing. He let universal energies free flow and just wrote…. paying attention to spelling, grammar, and sentence structure for the editing session which he performed each afternoon. So if you write x amount of pages five or six days a week soon you will have a manuscript. Of course the quality of the manuscript will have a lot to do with what you know, how well you research the topic and your personal writing skills.

I wondered if this really worked? Heard about writer’s block and all the negatives that I received from my well-intentioned friends and relatives. I decided to jump in and just began writing. As I walked the beach each morning the book started writing itself… giving me plenty of material to get to the writing part when I returned to my study! I knew at that moment who the real creator was and it was not me. It is the Universe! In fact James Michener said: “to be a writer was a curse… you had so much stuff in your head your real job was to put it on paper and edit most of it out.”

We speak of years of study, possibly living in a monastery to achieve enlightenment, which really is just allowing your mind to slow down and let the universe do it naturally or You can have instant enlightenment simply by following universal law and tapping into the greatest computer in the Universe. If You want to witness life’s miracles simply watch nature unfold with its beautiful butterflies, colorful fishes, outrageous flowers, and then you realize you are a part of this natural explosion and so is everyone and everything else ever created on this Universe.

So get over yourself, drop your ego, and let the Universe become a conduit through you… instead of just I, and Me. And if so maybe you will join the ranks of Einstein and help make another amazing discovery.

Life's Creation

QUOTE: The natural being acts as an outcome of the movement of the universe, in the same way that an artist’s brush is moved by its “universe”.

THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW: The Universe is the totality of all space, time, matter and energy. Our earth is a tiny island of matter and energy, in the vast ocean of space time, which the universe is! Just as they say, truth is stranger than fiction and so it is with the universe. The things that our scientists have found in the vast realms beyond our planet are unbelievable and beyond imagination.

THINGS YOU MAY WANT TO SAVE: Our Universe!

ZENTRAVELER SAYS: Let the universe create….It has an impressive track record.

From here to Infinity is a relatively short ride! The next leg takes eons and eons as you fly through the Barycentric Dynamical Time Zone! …and on and on and on.

Follow the Zentraveler Blog often for Travel, Health and Zen-like stories and such. Where else can you get a three in one blog for the price of free?

Zentraveler discovers crude medical plant Bugayana!

Crude Medicinal Plant

Bugayana is used as a tonic drink in the Philippines by locals and is sold in local markets to help people with their common colds, sore throats, and infections during flu season. A native medicine made up of powderized tree roots and is known to cure fatigue and depression.

It comes prepackaged in a small brown bag and is one serving. You simply pour the ingredients into a cup and pour steaming hot water into the cup and begin to drink. The locals swear by it and it does seem to work. It definitely makes you feel better and has no known side effects.

Disclaimer: This website is simply the writers views and is not an attempt to practice medicine or provide specific medical or health advice and should not be used to make a diagnosis or to replace or overrule a qualified health care provider’s judgment. None of the statements on zentraveler are to be understood as a recommendation on how to treat any disease or health related condition. If you require medical or other assistance Zentraveler strongly encourages users to consult with a qualified health care professional.

QUOTE:Plants have always been considered important because of their healing properties. Therapeutic properties of medical plants are very useful in healing innumerable diseases and the subsidy of these medicinal plants is being 100% natural. Medicinal plants and herbs contain substances known to modern and very ancient civilizations for their healing properties. Until the development of chemistry, and particularly, of the synthesis of organic compounds in the 19th century, medicinal plants and herbs were the sole source of curing man’s ills. The genetic material of ancient and new herbs and plants are coveted for their potential in learning, combining, manipulating and synthesizing new medicine.

THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW: “WILDCRAFTING Learning to wildcraft, or collect wild plants, in your own neck of the woods will greatly enhance your pleasure in practicing herbal medicine, as well as your sense of connection to the earth. The most important rule of wildcrafting is to make sure you collect the proper species. Some plants have poisonous lookalikes. Be especially careful with mushrooms, as a mistake can easily be fatal. Also be sure to collect the correct plant part—for example, blue elderberries are wonderful, but the leaves are toxic.”

THINGS YOU MAY WANT TO SAVE: Our earths plants! which hold the secrets to every disease in the world! What are you thinking when you slash and burn without regard to natures’ hidden secrets. Can you say corporate greed!

ZENTRAVELER SAYS: Have a morning cup of Bugayana during cold and flu season.

From here to Infinity is a relatively short ride! The next leg takes eons and eons as you fly through the Barycentric Dynamical Time Zone! …and on and on and on.

Follow the Zentraveler Blog often for Travel, Health and Zen-like stories and such. Where else can you get a three in one blog for the price of free?

Zentraveler treks to Eden Nature Park, Mt. Apo, Philippines

Eden Nature Park

Eden Nature Park and Resort is situated at the foot of Mt. Talomo, roughly around 3000-ft above sea level. This mountain resort is famous for its cool climate, fresh food and green vegetation. The resort offers the best view of the beautiful Davao Gulf. Behind the mountain resort lies the majestic Mt. Apo. Eden’s cool weather is consistent all year round.
If you like eco-travel this is a must stop when you are in the Davao area! The wild flowers and trees are so abundant and majestic you feel like you are in Jack and the Bean Stocks personal garden.

Eden Nature Park and Resort is located approximately 40 km. south of Davao City … less than two hours drive from the Davao International Airport. Driving towards Toril proper is Mercury Drugstore Crossing and you turn right. Some 20 km. further up is a fork road where you turn left towards Brgy. Eden. You won’t miss the Eden logo at the entrance of the resort. You can either rent a car, hire a driver for the day of if your really adventurous use a bus and jeepeny to get there.

Eden Nature Park and Resort is the perfect antidote to a stressful life and offers something for the entire family.

They have experimental gardens and green houses where they grow organic foods. You can have lunch and dinner at their restaurant …eating these fabulous fresh organic foods prepared to your taste. Their home grown organic food is one of the reasons you will come back. Make sure you plan to eat at least one meal while in the park. As you move around the park you can elect to hike, ride a zip line or take a shuttle tram and see for yourself the magnificent gardens and outdoor area reserved for weddings and special events. And for those travel shoppers they have an excellent gift shop with some unique native handicrafts.

Hydroponic Garden

If fishing is your thing you can catch your own fish in the fishing pond and have it grilled to your perfection and served in an outdoor gazebo overlooking the fishing pond.

Fishing Village

Eden Nature Park and Resort is a great family resort where you can literally chill out and get back to nature. You could spend days here without seeing everything and possibly re-charge your batteries and come to the realization of what is really important in life. A beautiful bird, a colorful butterfly, fields of wild flowers, art sculptures and a bit of peace and tranquility that a rah-rah resort does not offer. They have many choices of lodging for entire families or the person who just wants to be emerged into nature.

So there you have it… even if you weren’t planning to go to Davao Eden Nature Park and Resort would make an excellent vacation that the entire family could enjoy. Taking directly from their website:www.edennaturepark.com. A respite, an adventure, a spiritual retreat, a cultural excursion, a sensuous feast. Experience it Now: Return to nature. Nature makes us feel good. While many people around the world live in urban areas with a little access to nature, Eden has it all! So why wait… why not book an eco-vacation at Eden Nature Park and Resort and watch the world go by.

Wild Flowers

QUOTE: “Who can estimate the elevating and refining influences and moral value of flowers with all their graceful forms, bewitching shades and combinations of colors and exquisitely varied perfumes? These silent influences are unconsciously felt even by those who do not appreciate them consciously and thus with better and still better fruits, nuts, grains, vegetables and flowers, will the earth be transformed, man’s thought refined, and turned from the base destructive forces into nobler production. One which will lift him to high plains of action toward the happy day when the Creator of all this beautiful work is more acknowledged and loved, and where man shall offer his brother man, not bullets and bayonets, but richer grains, better fruit and fairer flowers from the bounty of this earth.”
– Father George Schoener (1864 -1941)

THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW: There are over 400,000 different species of flowers covering the planet. Flowers are found almost everywhere and people grow accustomed to seeing them without realising the speciality of each little bloom. These plants have lots of interesting and unusual facts surrounding their existence which are not common knowledge. Whether it is their history or various uses, flowers have many interesting tales to tell.

The soldiers in the army of an Egyptian Pharaoh over 3,500 years ago were the first known plant collectors in history. Since then, plants and horticulture have been a prominent part of human life. Lilies are presumed to have originated from the Far East and are one of the oldest plants known. The flowers have been used in art for centuries. Gerbera daisies are available in extremely bright colours and are very popular in bouquets all over the world yet the flowers are originally from Africa. Tulips have an intricate history starting in 500 BC. The flower symbolised immortality, life and love. In the Seventeenth Century the bulbs of tulips were worth more than precious metals like gold.

THINGS YOU MAY WANT TO SAVE: Wild Flowers! They light up the landscape with their rainbow of colors!

ZENTRAVELER SAYS: Eco-travel is the way to go! You can experience nature and chose the adventure that suits your style and pocketbook. The new eco-longhouse might have a birdwatchers, whale watcher, zip liner, a lover of spiders, and a person interested in exotic plants and orchids and include a spelunkers, white water rafter, surfer, and a mountain hiker, snorkelers, diver, a bicyclist, and just a person who wants to take in the travel with no agenda. Please pass the Grey Poupon as you sit down for dinner and share travel experiences from people of all walks of life.

From here to Infinity is a relatively short ride! The next leg takes eons and eons as you fly through the Barycentric Dynamical Time Zone! …and on and on and on.

Follow the Zentraveler Blog often for Travel, Health and Zen-like stories and such. Where else can you get a three in one blog for the price of free?