LUCY IN ISLA VERDE WITH DIAMONDS

Lucy has been one of our regular clients in Japan for 17 years.  While, on her holiday in the Philippines, she visited Isla Verde with her family,  her husband- Bong, their  kids Zen and Liza,  Akira, daughter of Zen, Kim and Ken - children, of Lisa, and Lucy's sister Joy with her hubby Ben.  They came  all the way from Paombong, Bulacan.

Among the things Lucy and her family enjoyed was sitting in  our swing, as they loved watching sea and enjoying the sea breeze.  Some would sleep in our swing for afternoon nap while others had fun collecting shells.

Lucy's husband, Bong, had time for snorkelling, and has seen the big corals and fishes with bright colors.  They decided to take a walk to Sawang to swim too.  When they came back to the resort they waited before they had their shower, because they wanted to watch the beautiful sunset.  They have captured beautiful views of the sunset and after watching them Lucy decided to take shower and had a dip in our Ofuro.  So many of our guests say one of the highlights of the resort is a dip in the orfuro, which relaxes their muscles as well as their minds after a day of activities.

When dinner was served, Lucy's granddaughter called them to eat, and everyone walked in to the Cafe to have their dinner.  They enjoyed the bagoong, one of the local products in isla.  Bagoong is made from small fish , called balakwas, caught around the island in season and preserved.  As Lucy likes it, I gave her a small bottle of bagoong as souvenir of their stay in our resort, and she said she will take it with her when she goes back to Japan.

After their dinner they had their bonfire,  and enjoyed a few drinks while they sat around it and talked.   As the group were tired,  they decided to go to bed as they were leaving on the early boat next morning.  Its a short visit but worth for them and they have made plans to come back when the kids are off from school.

Family Fun at Isla Verde - by Nanay Jo

GAGA, as she is called by her family and relatives has been our customer in Japan for 17 years.  When she decided to take a holiday in the Philippines she took the opportunity to visit our resort  with her mom, brother, sister, cousins, nephew and her husband.

They arrived on Feb 11 and spent two nights here.  Gaga told me on their stay here  that they feel that they felt like even though they were taking a tropical holiday, it was like they were in a home away from home, as her brother,  sister and cousins were playing cards, her nephews swimming, snorkeling and collecting seashells,  while her husband and her together having few drinks near the shore, watching the sea and feeling the sea breeze.

Her mom slept very well during their stay here, so with Gaga and her husband, Kachang. Perhaps it is the relaxing sound of the sea that helps people fall asleep. Kachang loves the peacefulness of the place.  They felt very relaxed in our resort and enjoyed swimming and walking around  in the village.

On the second day, they had more fun. They went on a boat tour and went to Sawang for swimming.  Later, back at the resort they had karaoke, dancing while they were singing.  Even Gaga's mom sang some Visaysn songs and they had  bonfire at night.

It was wonderful to see how happy the group was as they enjoyed family time with each other.  Gaga was happy seeing her family together in her short visit here.

They also had some exercises with our gym stuff.  Kachang tried it out, for him to sweat out.

The couple, Gaga and Kachang also took a dip in our Ofuro.
They seemed to have so much fun while they were staying in our resort.

Hopefully we see them again on another holiday.

The More the Merrier, 2 Groups - Double the fun! (posted by Jo)

Sebastian, a German national, discovered our resort while searching on the web.  He decided to make a booking with his colleagues from work.  His group included another German, Toby along with Eliza, Anna, Basil and their officemate, Lorelyn with her husband Jaru.  Lorelyn and Jaru could not make it with the rest of their friends, so they chartered a small boat to come over in the evening and joined them.
Sebastian and his friends stayed for 3 days and 2 nights from Feb 6th to 9th.

Another group, Teng, Love, Belle and Kulas from Security Bank also booked for the same weekend.  Their friend, Bane came with them, but Bane could only stay one night as she had to return to take care of a patient.

Because we are in the tropics, sometimes it rains, but even though It rained a little  over the two days, happily they all enjoyed the time on Isla.  They found time to relax, sleep and enjoy each others' company But most of all they said they enjoyed the food we served to them.  They told us they felt pampered in our resort.

Lorelyn and her husband Jaru love swimming and snorkelling.   Teng with her group, also enjoyed snorkelling ïn Maliit na Nalayag. They didn't mind swimmiing in the rain.  Some of their group took the time to relax, reading, or sleeping on the chair near the sea while others found different things to do as this was a rare opportunity to unwind from the stress of work.

On Sunday, afternoon, they decided to have karaoke.   We were suprised when one of our German guests, Toby sang a duet with Eliza, singing the Tagalog song, "Torete",  with correct pronunciation.

They had a lot of fun singing. Sebastian and Toby, sang one of Britney Spears songs, and when Jaru asked them how do they wish to be called?, Sebastian replied that they are the "Spice Guys".


Teng's group joined and sang along with them too as Love sings the higher notes with her voice.  They ended around midnite after having fun singing with a few drinks.



The following morning the sun shone for them, and after breakfast, they had time to take a village tour.  They went to Sawang, and stayed there till noontime, swimming and snorkeling.  Even our dog  Fenjo joined them in the water.  The guests spoil Fenjo, as he keeps them entertained with his enthusiasm.  Anna decided to go back to the resort to chang her clothes, and Fenjo led the way for her and then led her back to Sawang again for swimming,  He did the same witb Sebastian, accompanying him on the way back to the resort. Fenjo is becoming our four legged tour guide!

They returned to the resort about noon, tired and hungry from all their activity.   After they took a bath they had lunch, then when they finished their lunch, everybody took their own rest.  Some went to sleep in their units,  some just stayed in the swing by the shore having coffee, while watching the sea and chatting with each other, and some chose to just relax and read a book.



Around sunset, they had their dinner and as it was their last day and it didn't rain, they set a bonfire.  The two groups of guests enjoyed their night together close to each other and when it was finished all went off to bed, as they needed to get up early to catch the dawn boat back to Tabangao for the return trip and back to their work.

Maddelline's Surprise Visit - by Ms Jo

Last Sunday night I had a surprise call from an old friend, Madde.  She was driving down from Bulacan with some of her family and planning an overnight stay to visit me at Isla Verde.  After I told her that there is only one boat trip each day coming to Isla, she arranged to stay at Pasay overnight before continuing her journey down to Batangas and Tabangao the next morning.   At Tabangao next morning they caught the 'St Paul'  across to Isla Verde.

She arrived at the resort about noon next day with her aunt, Tita Maddy, uncle Tito Danny, cousin Mike with his daughter Mica and Febbie their guide. Mike decided to stay here for a while to help me around the resort.  It was a nice day with a pleasant sea breeze, so I prepared their lunch and set the long table near he sea.  They enjoyed eating in the open with the view across the Verde Island pasaage and the cool breeze.

After lunch, some of the guests roamed around the resort or took a rest, then decided to take an afternoon nap.  Madde and I took the opportunity to have a chat and some quality time together.  We teased and laughed, bringing back old memories, and she shared stories about her life in America.  Mike's daughter Mica changed into a swimsuit so she could take a swim in the sea with our dog FENJO, who loves the water.  Mica said she had a great time swimming and playing in the sea.

Around 4pm Tita Maddy got up and I offered them coffee.  Madde decided to prepare for dinner.  I got ready to cook for them, but Tita Maddy and Madde told me this time they would cook for me, and I would be their guest.  So all of them were busy in our kitchen.
It was fun and we all laughed as Madde cooked the adobo squid, while Mike cooked tahong (seashell with soup) and he grilled liempo, eggplant and tilapia.

When they finished their cooking, Madde asked to set up the karaoke, and we have fun singing while having a few drinks.  As we were having fun, I asked Tito Danny, if he would like to take a dip in our Ofuro (the Japanese hot tub).  He tried it and enjoyed soaking in the warm water as Tita Maddy scrubbed his back with pumice stone.  What a nice relaxing scene to watch.

As the sun was setting, about 6pm, Tita Maddy called for dinner.  Madde requested some banana leaves and set our bamboo table, then laid out all the food.  I let them taste our local bagoong, fish paste, the balakwas and they loved it.  I planned to pack some for them to take home, but somehow I forgot.  Maybe next time..

After dinner, we enjoyed some more karaoke with some drinks.  They were chatting together and wanting to stay longer, but one of them had to work on the next day.  They all said they want to come back before they return to America, as being at Isla gave them a chance to relax and they felt at home in our resort.