Cruising

By Mae Lorraine S. Rafols

Cottages under the trees at Duka Bay Resort. (Photo by Jovel Lorenzo)

Nature is an amenity that guests enjoy in Duka Bay Resort in Medina, Misamis Oriental. Aside from providing first-class resort accommodations to guests, the management and staff of Duka also advocate the preservation of local marine life within their vicinity.

Duka Bay Resort started as a private vacation house of the Pelaez clan of Former Vice President Emmanuel Pelaez. His wife and children planted magtalisay and baok-baok trees, which now provide cool shade to the whole resort.

The area has fine white sand and clear blue waters rich in corals teeming with marine life.

When the children grew up and went to live in different parts of the world, the family vacation spot was left without care, with only a caretaker to guard and keep the property from being trespassed by outsiders.

However, the Pelaez family believed their family resort actually has the potential to become a first-class establishment, with the beautiful beach as its major attraction.

In 1998, Duka Bay Resort opened its doors to the public. During construction, the family made sure that the land’s natural terrain will be maintained, and that the whole construction will go around the magtalisay and baok-baok trees.

The result is a beautifully landscaped resort with charming cottages under tall trees for those on a day trip, and private luxurious villas on a manicured slope surrounded by various pocket gardens.

More than offering prime accommodations however, the management of Duka Bay Beach Resort (particularly from the Pelaez clan) is also known as advocates of the environment.

“We grew up believing that we should take care of our property, and that means taking care of the natural ecosystem that makes up our resort. That’s why we try very hard to maintain the cleanliness of our beach and inform the people on how to preserve our natural domain,” said Bong Pelaez, president of Duka Bay Resort Inc.

The area of the resort, the Gingoog Bay, is a protected area where commercial fishing is not allowed. It is a site famous for snorkeling and scuba diving as there are colorful and vast coral reefs teeming with marine life. The underwater scene also consists of deep diving cliffs made by fresh water spring geysers erupting from the ocean floor. The area holds various schools of small residential and pelagic fishes, which take advantage of the minerals from the fresh water

Duka Bay Resort has three dive spots. First is the Paradise Garden, with a diving depth of 110 ft. Craters of corals with canyons and overhangs create a magical underwater paradise. Then there’s the Aquarium Garden, where rare black corals create an atmosphere as though diving into an unknown abyss. Last is the Japanese Garden where wide corals shaped like bonsai trees make for a fun diving experience.

Aside from protection, part of their environmental campaign is a coral reef restoration project, which won an award from the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce.

Large, snowflake-shaped steel contraptions are used for ‘planting’ new corals in the bay area. Rare corals such as the pink coral can be found in this area of the bay. The corals have become the home for exotic fishes such as scorpion fish, angelfish, lion fish, and jack fish. During summer, lucky guests even get the chance to see migrating pawikans.

The project area is used as ‘classroom’ where the resort divemaster educates army trainees about diving. In return, the
This is also the reason why water sport activities such as jetski, banana boat rides, motorboat rides are discouraged as these could destroy young corals. For those who wish to enjoy diving, a calm ride on a glass-bottom boat is suggested, or guests can simply kayak around the bay area.

Duka has a large, open-air pavilion-restaurant where local fare such as tinowa and kinilaw made from the day’s fresh catch is served. True to the resort owners’ advocacy, ‘in harmony with mature,’ the pavilion was constructed using sustainable materials.

The resort’s water supply also comes from a natural spring, which flows freely to the ocean.

Aside from the Villas, Duka Bay Resort also offers affordable, dorm-type accommodation for big groups. Available function rooms can be used for business seminars and other corporate gatherings.