We arrived in Davao International Airport weary and acidic from the stale airline mamons served on board our delayed flight from Manila. (Can you guess which airline?) Isuzu Davao had already prepared 6 brand spanking new Sportivos for us, which were lined up in the car park, idling with that familiar diesel clatter that sounds like a couple of skeletons dancing in a filing cabinet.

We juiced up at a nearby Caltex station and then headed off to Bianca's bar for breakfast before loading up the vehicles on the RORO boat at Sasa Wharf. Destination: Pearl Farm.

The jaunt across from the mainland lasts about 15 minutes and is very pleasant. The deep blue ocean that surrounds the island is rich with marine life and carries a bite in the morning breeze that gently stings your nose with the strong smell of salt. Pearl Farm was made famous way back when the Aguinaldo family had it. There was a portion that was dedicated to the cultivation of pearls. All of that has since dried up and all that is left is a lonely, weather beaten jetty that served as a great vantage point to shoot the jet skis that whizzed past. The Floriendo family now own the island and have installed the management team of Punta Fuego to run the facility.

The Island Garden City of Samal is famous for many things, the very long mouthful of a name is just one of them. The crime rate is among the lowest in the entire country – last year only one hundred odd people were listed in the police blotter. The Island has no telephone lines, no tall buildings, no pollution and is headed up by a well loved 3-term mayor that spent a previous 15 years of his life as a priest. He jokingly says, “My first career as a priest was heaven. I moved into banking which was purgatory. As soon as I entered politics...” I think you can fill in the blanks from here.

Most people will arrive by boat on the 'white side' of the island. But we're motoring journalists, so it was the road less travelled for us. The trail to Pearl Farm looks like it was lifted right out of a travel book. It is rural Philippines at its most, well..., rural. Untouched by commerce, progress and asphalt, it lends perspective to those jaded by city life. The Sportivos swallowed up the trails and made light work of the uneven terrain while giving us motoring hacks the perfect test bed to sample Isuzu's patented Flex Ride system. According to Joseph Bautista, Isuzu's Techie, product development dude, Flex Ride is Isuzu's contribution to our bad roads. Not a lot is explained after that, but generally, it means that its now running on one leaf spring less than before, which translates to a muted ride over uneven surfaces. Lets leave it at that, shall we.

One thing about these Isuzu vehicles is that they will get you anywhere. Considering that these are two wheel drive vehicles running on a very simple platform, we found ourselves negotiating some fairly tricky terrain in some of the most remote sites in the country with little or no trouble whatsoever. On our second day, we headed out to the Hagimit falls for lunch – which is normally only accessible by foot or Carabao – and managed to get the vehicles right up to the edge of the trails.

After trailblazing through the island and driving around the entire circumference for 6 hours, and getting high on the fumes of guano from an awesome bat cave in Tambo, it was time for some well-earned R&R. We hit the beaches of Pearl Farm and indulged in some recreational water activities like Banana boating, Jetskis and diving. How they can squeeze banana boating into a segment called 'recreational' was one of those questions that ran through my mind when I hit the water at around 60 km/h after getting tossed off. It can really take the wind out of you. Maybe they can make one with Flex Ride on it. Insert ad here.