NEW ISLA VERDE

by Jo

 

 

Time flies so fast, and now we’re starting to have Tess’ Café built. We have repainted those cottages with swing, and the new tourou, which proudly stands in front of the beach. 

Recently we started building shelters for the animals. These have been placed at back end of the lot. We placed a fence, so they cant not mingle with the people who will come to the place. 

  The new Tourou even has a light at night.

There is a new look for the bridge, we’ve put more stones…. Now you can have a picture taking at the bridge, and can sit while watching the sunset or the flow of water from the mountain to the sea.

In the coming months, we can show a picture of Tess’ Café…. So watch here for news of the 'grand opening' of her café.

Visiting an island is just like visiting a new territory-- Isla Verde, Batangas!

by Reyboy.

Back pack: check.  Wallet: check. Mobile phone: check.

The unplanned visit to the island is quite a promising trip experience for me, to a friend and a cousin.  The seas may not be a good to traverse then due to tropical depression "Maring" but we pushed through with the sojourn.  We woke up around 4AM to beat the first trip going to the island (1 trip per day) -- a 45-minute travel time if the sea is calm.

Approaching the island in full green scenery on top of the banca is a plus.  Navigating the whole island was an exponential experience too while playing classic hits from Eraserheads, Alanis Morisette and Coldplay.

Surprise trekking was part of the activity due to bad weather since the "cold crib solar panel equipped resort" will be billeting is not good idea for docking.  It's fun but I choose to ride in habal habal (single motor) instead.

Day 1 -  "Dating with nature"
We choose to lay down for a while in a cabana-inspired hut while you can only hear the sounds of the waves from the bay and the humming of the wind.  An hour after, the table is ready for late lunch, Japanese rice and cold cuts are served.

Next activity is bird watching, counting crows and herd of herons at that, while it's still at low tide. Counting ships is fun too! Since the wind's blow is suffocating, burning pack of cigarettes is inevitable.
The night time moment is truly a date with nature ... crickets sound and frogs croaking in early fashion!  But the nocturnal activity will not end up without Emperador Lights on the table and with some pica-pica, a soothing sound trip for the ears and some chikahan ("small talk")... and a little "FB" (Guess!).

Day 2 - "White sand swimming"
Swimming gear is up, SF60 sunblock is on, and everybody is ready to rumble with school of fish at Mahabang Buhangin, the reverse side of the Island.  Fishing under the heat of the sun is magical, unknowingly that you will catch a small fish is fun but enduring and need extra effort and lucky to get one! Sipping vodka gin at the bay is a necessity since the water is cold while the weather is sunny.  Air gun pellets shooting after swimming is refreshing although I missed some shots!  Boating was also a soft adventure to experience at the white sand area of Isla Verde.

Green Island-- a new dimension to unload the stress of the city hassle.  Promise, I'll be back the soonest time with a large group to try snorkeling, mounting biking, diving and the swimming spa next year!

Ciao for now!

FLOWERS/ANIMALS

by Nanay Jo

Landscaping is progressing at the resort now.  New places for the kubos, places for gardens.  It has been a busy time on Isla.

As we have been developing the resort, we planted more plants and flowers.  We have some fruit bearing trees bought, and have planted them.   We have more flowers, which bloom, even in the rainy season.  We even planted flowers, along the side of the creek with santan, as we called them and more of birds of paradise. 
   
Around our kubos, we planted some ornamental plants, and some fruit bearing trees like, mangoes, avocado and guyabano.  In a year or two we expect them to bear fruits for us.




   









Dieter bought 2 pairs of goats.  One pair is imported, and was new to us.  The workers built a shelter for them.   Luckily, we have no problem for grass cutting as they eat the weeds around. Dieter raised up some chickens too, called 45 days.

He also has a pair of imported doves, which were housed in one of our mango trees.  After the storm, a lot of butterflies could be seen around, with beautiful colors.  Since, we had the doves, a lot of sparrows can be seen on the ground.  Crows are normally flying in the resort.

Last July, the kubos were moved to higher ground, and, we decided to make steps and place more sand and coral around the area.   We built another tourou in front of the beach.  Patrick has organized for the blessing of the tourous this weekend,

LET THERE BE LIGHT… by Jo

On July 13, a solar power system was installed at the resort. Now the night is not as dark as before and even the tourous look like small light houses because they have their own light.

This small solar installation means we can watch a favourite film on a DVD player or have a videoke party to pass the time. Visitors that have internet access can get online using the solar power. They can take photos and post them online to FaceBook on the same day, showing friends how much they are enjoying their stay.

With the help of solar power we now have no problem recharging out gadgets and communicating with family and friends, or keeping up to date with the latest news and weather information.

The kubos too benefit from the solar installation because now they have their own light and on the hottest days, even an electric fan. For now though, the weather here is cool, the breezes are refreshing and electric fans are the last thing we think about.