Mindanao still has a bad reputation among sailors and most yachts avoid it as the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group used to operate there. Until about 10 years ago tourists as well as locals were kidnapped for ransom, shootings and violence was common.
We initially planned to sail from Cebu straight over to Kudat (Borneo, Malaysia) to avoid this area and the Sulu sea, but then we had just light westerly winds (instead of the promised S wind that was supposed to take us to Malaysia), so we changed our plans, did some research and decided to give Mindanao a try.
First we stopped at the NW corner in a beautiful and very protected bay. Taguilon Bay is very quiet, the water in the bay is a bit murky, but there’s still some coral and fish, so we spent some water time almost every day. There’s a harbour in the village of Taguilon, where we could conveniently leave our dinghy and go for long walks around the bay and do some shopping at the veg and fruit stands in the village. The vibes are very friendly there, nobody’s pushy, but everyone hospitable. We also took a tricycle (just 15 minutes, 50 pesos per person) over to the neighbouring town of Dapitan to do some sightseeing and shopping (they have big supermarkets with a good range of products).
The peninsula on the W-side of the bay all belongs to the Dakak golf resort. At first we were hesitant to go ashore, but then we tied up to their dinghy dock to walk across the huge property and have lunch in one of the restaurants (also part of the resort) on the other side. Once we had sat down a security officer came to demand a rather hefty entry fee, but when we protested, the resort manager came to see us, sat down for a chat, waived all fees and even introduced us to the owners. They told us that they still get hardly any international visitors as it’s hard to change the mindset of people once a region has a bad reputation. So let me repeat here: The area is perfectly safe, no incidents in a long time, the people couldn’t be any friendlier and the landscape is beautiful. Mindanao is definitely worth a visit 
The nearby town of Dapitan
Saying good-bye to the land of fried chicken (kind of a relief for a vegetarian 
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