Joei & Me

continued from part 2...

Our next stop was Davao Crocodile Park.

How To Get There

Like I said, my mom and I rented a van from the hotel to take us to where we want to go but in case you're doing the tour on your own, here are directions to the Davao Crocodile Park:

From Davao City, take a jeepney taking the Buhangin Route then ask to be dropped off at the corner of Diversion Road. From there, hire a tricycle to the park. Tricycle fare would be approximately from P20-40/$.5-1.

The Park






Since my mom and I spent most of our time in Eden (read my blog posts on Eden Nature Park), the Davao Crocodile Park was almost about to close when we arrived. Fortunately, it wasn't as big as Eden so it didn't take us long to go around and see the crocodiles and other exotic animal species such as snakes, raptors, bearcats, and monkeys.

There are also humongous lizards.  Imagine seeing this in your house? Scary.

Truth be told, all I actually wanted to see was 81-year old and 18-feet long Pangil ("Fangs"), the oldest and largest living crocodile in captivity the Philippines.

Show Schedules

For guidance, here's Davao Crocodile Park's show schedules.  But to be sure, please call beforehand.  The park's contact number can be found at the bottom of this post.



Sweet Spot Ice Cream Shop

Nearing the exit of the park, a colorful sign caught my eye.  Sweet Spot, it read.

Apparently, it's an ice cream shop that offers exotic flavors. I'm not really into those things but like the saying goes, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do". And so I bravely ordered a scoop of Crocodile Durian ice cream.




I took a bite and while I could feel some bits inside my mouth, a nagging thought crossed my mind. "What part of the crocodile's body was I eating?" I wanted to spit everything out, had I not known the chef who concocted the ice cream.  So, I sent Chef Dino Dizon a text message and asked if their crocodile ice cream is really made from crocodile body parts.

After what felt like hours but were actually just a few seconds, he answered.  

"Of course not. It's called crocodile ice cream because for the custard, I used crocodile eggs instead of chicken eggs."

PHEW.  I felt so relieved that I wasn't eating any of Pangil's full-grown family members. I finally swallowed that spoonful of ice cream that has been lingering in my mouth and continued to dig in for more.