First Guests right after Typhoon Nina

The last week of December was rainy and windy after Typhoon Nina.  But we cleaned up the resort as quickly as we could as we had guests coming to spend their long weeks together with their friends and loved ones. I loved to see Ernest and Micah always wearing couple shirts.  They're both nurses working in one hospital in San Jose del Monte.

Along with them were couples James and Anne, and Daniel and Marchie with their friend Gauis.  They stayed 3 days and 2 nights with us, and spent a lot of time exploring the island.  They also went snorkeling around the island, enjoyed swimming and climbed up the rock formation, Maliit na nalayag.

As Gauis said they came here hungry and went back full as they enjoyed eating and the food I served to them.

Alyssa and iya work in a Japanese call center in Makati. They came along with Allysa's bf, James and James' friends from PCU, University students, Alex and mj. They came mostly to relax away from the busy work and noise in the city and spent their day in the swing drinking and eating the food they brought with them.  They also spent some time taking pictures around the local area.

I met Karla and Mark in Tabangao after I went to market and they also spent an overnight with us.  In short period of time, they enjoyed the peacefulness of our place.  They said also that they enjoyed the bonfire at night.

Still another group came, Aiza with her friends.  They are also university students who decided to chill and relax in our place.  They went for a boat trip with snorkelling.

Carina came the following day.  She is half Filipino and half Aussie.  She came with her boyfriend, Issah who is varsity player in the National University in Manila and she brought her pals Dianne and Rodnie.  They spent new years' eve together with us.  Together we watched the fire works display in Puerto Gallera.

On New Years Day we introduced them to our local families who invited us for a Christening party.  They enjoyed the food and the warm welcome and hospitality of the local folks, and gave thanks to us, as they felt we treated them like family.

The following day I went to Batangas with Carina and her friends and before we parted ways they hugged and kissed me to thank me for the great escapade they has on our island.  It is always a nice feeling when guests show and say that they have appreciated the hospitality in our resort.

Typhoon Nina - by Tita Jo

On December 26 2016, the day after Christmas day, typhoon Nina changed course and hit the whole island of Isla Verde, leaving many of the local population homeless.  We felt 3 hurricanes pass over us, one after the other.

The first two we survived without too much damage, but the last one was much worse. Lots of big trees were uprooted and some trees were brought down onto houses.   Trees fell down and closed the roads.  Even at the resort, where we have been careful, the storm was so strong that a tree from someone else's land outside our boundary was blown down and damaged the roof of one of our buildings.

After typhoon Nina left us, folks started to clean up the surroundings.  The custom of "bayanihan" or working together, especially at a time like this, is a proud tradition and is still with Filipinos.  We help each other, especeially during calamities like floods or typhoons.

Men volunteered to help by  cutting the trees, and putting back the roofs on buildings and homes to provide shelter for families was maybe the most important thing after so many homes were damaged.
Roads that were blocked by trees were cleaned up. Some electrical lines supplied by generator for lights at night in the barangay were restored.

After the typhoon, and after the worst was over, you could hear stories from local people about their fear while the storm was happening, but at the end there was relief that we all survived laughter shared, prayers of thanks given and smiles on their faces.