My European Guests - by Jo

Joan called me one afternoon asking for a reservation for the  following day last Oct 6, and i met them in Tabangao.  She came with her husband and her 2 sons, Vitold and Ilan. 
Joan is a Polish lady married to Frenchman, Orrell.  Travelling with them were their Spanish friend Lola and her 2 kids, Sophia and Pedrito. 

We arrived at the resort before noontime and cooked food for their lunch.  They enjoyed glasses of white wine with their  lunch, and after they finished, the kids played around while their parents prepared themselves for snorkelling and swimming.

The families loved the sea and swimming. Ornell and his son, Ilan swam a lot  on their stay here.  For a change from the rock and pretty corals, they walked to Mahabang Buhangin for the sand bar and swam there too.  

As Pedrito is small and couldn't walk much, Pipoy often carried him and they became good friends.  Pedrito listened to Pipoy more than his mother.

The parents stayed in one of our stone units, but they wanted the kids to experience the fun of sleeping in a tent.  So on their first night I slept with kids, and when Vitold got up in the middle of the night for pee, I was there to show him how to find the toilet in the dark.  

The kids had a good sleep in the tent, but when I woke at 6 am to make their breakfast they noticed I was not with them,  so they all got up and played.  When I had prepared their breakfast, I asked Ilan to wake up their parents for breakfast.

The families enjoyed our food that was served to them.  The parents are fish lovers, but I also cooked chicken and meat for the kids.

The families stayed for 3 days and 2 nights.  On their last day, after their breakfast I sent them in my boat to Sabang, Puerto Gallera, for a side trip before their flight to China.  

Joan and Lola were thankful for accommodating them and told me its their best 'staycation' as they were relaxed because they knew we took good care of their kids.

Pipoy went with them to Sabang and helped to carry their luggage to their cottage.  Before he left, Pedrito called him and gave him a big hug.

We all missed the kids especially Pedrito.

Aira- Another Solo Traveller - by Jo

Aira is a young, tough student from UPLB who came alone last Sept 26 for an overnight stay in our resort.  She arrived on the morning boat before noontime and I served lunch to her in the kubo where she stayed.















After having her lunch she asked me if she can have a boat ride to Cueva, so my workers, Wangyu and Bokyo, took her by boat to Cueva and she took some pictures of the place, then Wangyu climbed with her to the lighthouse.  From high up, she could see the northeast coast of Isla Verde and across the water to part of Batangas.

 On their way back to the resort the sea was a bit rough, but not enough to scare her as she is a diver.  They arrived back at our resort safely and Aira took a rest.

In the late afternoon she took some photos of the surroundings and captured the sunset.  Even though she's alone she enjoyed our place and found herself well relaxed.

Aira said she liked the food I prepared for her as she said it has "a lutong bahay" element which she looked to some places where she eats.  For our friends reading this who are not Filipino, I guess lutong bahay would be 'home style cooking'.

After her dinner I let her rest as she was leaving early to meet the boat for her trip back to Tabangao.

Aira says she loves our place and she will come back again, not alone, but with her friends next time for snorkeling and for free diving.

Groups of Travellers at Isla Verde Tropical Friendly Resort

           (Because we have so many pictures from groups in this post I put them in mixed collages)

There are lot of travellers who came as groups and visited our place.  Some found us in Google search, others in our FB page and some were referred by other visitors who have been guests in our resort.

What they mostly love here in our resort is the peacefulness of our place, where they can unwind, relax and chill out together away from their stressful work in the city.  Because We don't have hotels and night clubs, they always find our place so quiet that they can sleep in for long hours.

Travellers who love snorkelling and free diving have seen how beautiful the marine sanctuary is.  They have seen different huge hard corals that seem to move with the bright colored fish that swim around  them.  Marcus, a member of the Blue Man group saw one sea turtle and followed him.  I watched my Irish couple, swimming like the fish while doing free diving.

We have some groups that chose to go trekking to Mt. Dagit Dagit and have chanced to see from the top of the mountain, the whole island of Isla Verde and neighboring provinces Batangas and Mindoro.  Along the way they have talked with local people who live on the mountain and have tasted the fruits offered by our local people.

A guest, Jeith, took pictures of the wilderness, as one side of the resort is forest.  While he was enjoying taking pictures he lost his way, but he found a local woman, Antonia, who led the way to get him back to our resort.

Maliit na nalayag is one of the hot spots near the resort.  Our guests go there to climb and take selfies above the resort.  They also do free diving and snorkeling around the rock that looks like a camel.

We have some guests who look for a sandy beach and my helpers take them on the short and pretty walks to Sawang, Sampalukan or Mahabang Buhangin, where they enjoy swimming.

There are other guests who prefer to rent a boat to explore the whole island. They go to Sawang, San Agapito Cueva to see the light house, Mahabang Buhangin, Tubahin and Lalanguyin for picnics, swimming and snorkeling.

At nightime in our resort,  its the bonfire that lightens their nights.  The groups will have a party as their bonding moments with a few drinks and fine music.

All of them promised to come back, and yes, many already came back as some say our resort feels like their second home.

We welcome our guests, old and new, and thank you all for making out place part of your lives.