From the Mountains to the Sea

Ujin  and his company are mountaineers and would usually take a holiday climbing.  But this time they decided to take a different holiday and spend some time at the beach.  So they came to Isla Verde for an overnight stay to explore our island.

They arrived before noontime and it was Polo who cooked their lunch.  After having their lunch they wanted to see some of the island, and our workers  Wangyu and Pipoy took them for a boat tour.   They went to different places, Sawang, Cueva and Mahabang Buhangin.

They had their underwater camera so they could take pictures while they were snorkelling.  They stayed for long hours snorkellng and swimming as the water was clear and calm.

Later in the  afternoon, they came back to the resort and took their baths and they rested.  Some got up later before the sun went down to admire the view. They went to the shore with their phones and camera to capture the  sunset.

After the sunset, some took a rest again and Polo started to make dinner for the group.  Some of the girls helped Polo preparing their dinner.

When they finishing making dinner, Desiree, one of my helpers, set the table and all of them sat down to eat.  When they finished their meal, we set the bonfire for them and they got busy taking pictures of each other and enjoying the evening together.

After the bonfire was finished they went to their unit to sleep.

The next morning, one by one they came up for coffee and breakfast, then after having
breakfast they walked to Sawang, for snorkeling and swimming.

At noon they were back and preparing to leave as their boat would soon be there to pick them up and return them to Tabangao.

All of them left us with smile and and ready to get back to their work after a relaxing break, staying in our resort.

Summer Time at Isla Verde Resort

On April 2 Jeith came to spend weekend with us.  He came with a couple,  Mark and Gel, and 2 sisters Juna and Nikka.  After talking with them, I found out Nikka,  is my niece from my mother's side of the family (Rejuso) and she comes from Masbate although they are now living in Naga.  Her half sister, Juna is working in Dubai, and is back here on vacation.

They arrived before lunch and after eating they took a rest in our kubo.  When they had their afternoon delight they decided to go swimming and snorkelling and, like other guests before them, they enjoyed watching the fishes and beautiful coral we have not far off the sea wall.  My grandson, Bugoy, joined them as their entertainer.

While they were having fun in the water, another group arrived at 3pm.  This time it was Mark, Lambert, Carina, Pamela, Paul and Louie, a bunch of good looking men.  They stayed for a while in our swing and prepared their food.  They brought some meat and grilled it.  After they had cooked their food, they asked for banana leaves and used the leaves instead of plates for the food.

While they were eating, I talked with them we have some laughter and Lambert told them tge one who designed our website is his relative, JO TIRONA,  and I told him " that's me".  To his surprise,  he said its me who send message to about tent im Lambert Tirona Sabater.  And I told him u never replied.  And he explained he couldn't  reach my phone and told Mark to contact me.  He even showed me the shirt he was wearing from our Tirona Clan Reunion, and I told him I have white ones in color as he has black ones.   Then I left them and prepared the food for Jeith's group for dinner.

At 7pm when all had rested and had cleaned up themselves, I called them and they gathered together for a bonfire.  Jeith had brandy with his pals, while Mark's group were just relaxing as they were getting up early tomorrow for boat trip around the island.

They didn't finish the bonfire, but decided  to sleep, while Jeith's group was left enjoying the night with brandy and beer.

Next morning after breakfast was done, Mark's group went for a boat trip, Jeith with his friends left, to go Summer time in Maliit na nalayag.

But before swimming, Jeith took his camera with him and went to our wilderness to take some pictures for an hour and when he came back they're all left for fishing and snorkeling in a small boat and Pipoy and Oming, our workers paddled for them.  They returned before noontime.

Jeith didn't catch any fish, but the rest enjoyed swimming and snorkelling.  When they had finished their bath, I set the table with some fresh fish, Labahita, that they bought from local people.  I grilled it with sauce I made.  Because they came from swimming, they asked for more rice and enjoyed the fresh grilled fish, which they said was delicious.

When Mark's group came back, I gave them their grilled tuna fish.  Again, they preferred to eat in banana leaf, and Lambert asked for some mangoes from me to match their bagoong (shrimp paste).   When they were full with their lunch, they took a rest for a while and then took a bath.

At 3pm, they left to return home, and everybody said they had a wonderful and memorable time with us, and they love our place, as it so peaceful and quiet here.

Groups Enjoy Holy Week visit at Isla VerdeResort

 

Nowadays Filipinos are modern and some of our old traditions are also more modern.  So now when Holy Week comes,  we often go to different provinces for retreat, relax and bonding moments with our families.

This year for Holy Week we had some groups who decided to come to our resort to celebrate Holy Week.  

Raniel and Randy together with their wives, arrived first.   They stayed in one of our tents for two nights.  They enjoyed our place as they had a chance to relax and they love swimming  and snorkelling.  

Jessica, Raniel's wife, told me that this was the first time they had a chance to take a holiday together after 6 years of marriage, as her husband is working in Manila,  while she works in Batangas.  At last they got a chance to be together and have some quality time with each other.  They said they appreciated the things we did to make their stay enjoyable and Raniel and Randy were considering planning their office excursion to visit our resort.

Dieter came too with his friends Gale and Gale's sisters , Morris and Toto.  They loved taking pictures around the resort and enjoying the views of the surroundings.  Bugoy was happy as he had a playmate; Gale's daughter.  They went to Sawang, to swim, and enjoyed the white sand.  Gale's sister had fun with rock we called Maliit na nalayag.  They tried to climb to the top and they took some pictures.

Our next group was Mara and her friends.  As they were very tired, she  asked me to cook the food they brought with them for lunch, as they were so hungry.  And after I cooked food I gave their lunch and  they took a rest in our kubo.  When they woke up they went swimming in front of the resort, enjoying the clear water with their kid, Jay.

Vivian and her pals came before noontime.  They stayed in our first kubo, took their lunch and had a rest.  When they woke up, they also went swimming, with Jp, and had fun in the water.

At lunch time, Marg and her family came, tired from the journey.  They had lunch with value meals they brought and after lunch took a rest.  When her daughter America woke up, she went for swimming with her uncle and cousin, and later her other cousin joined them.

Last to arrive was Emma with her brother's family.  They came late at 3pm.  We welcomed them with food as they were hungry after their long journey.  They took a rest, and when they get up kids went swimming and played in the water.

When evening came, after they had their dinner, everybody sat around the bonfire.  Mara had few drinks with friends while Vivian had some wine with her friends.  Gale took some photos with her daughter and sisters.  Emma played guitar with her family.  Marg enjoyed watching bonfire with her daughter and relatives, as did Jessica, with her hubby Raniel and Randy and his wife.  They all spent quality time together. After the bonfire everybody went to their own place to sleep.

The next morning after they finished their breakfast, the groups headed off on various activities.  Some took a boat tour, others went for a walk.  Marg went off to Lalanguin, Dieter's group off to Mahabang Buhangin, Emma went on the island tour, Mara had village tour and swam in Pondohan while Vivian decided on a walking tour and went to Sawang to swim and Jessica's group went swimming in front of the resort and snorkelling.

The groups returned late in the afternoon, had showers then rested and had an early dinner as they needed to catch the early boat to Tabangao trip at 2am.

Marg will leave for Guam  Emma will go to Palawan, and the rest need to go back to work.  We hope they are all relaxed and refreshed after their visit to our resort.