It is not often when my kids and I are available to spend a weekend all together so when Jody told me that she has no work during the Papal visit and final touches will be done in my newly renovated shop, I decided to spend the weekend away from Manila.
The main criterion for my destination was accessibility via land transportation. Dennis Lustico recommended Punta del Este, a private resort in Puerto Galera. Googled the place and it looked promising. Originally, we were going to be 10, then the list went down to 8. Eventually, 1 bailed at the last minute so it was just 7 of us.
The first part of the trip did not look too promising. We needed to take a ferry from the Batangas Port, which is one serious mess. We had to pay P30 as terminal fee, and it made me wonder: where does this money go? The toilets are filthy, and smelled like Satan's abattoir (Joel's description, not mine). The smoking lounge, sponsored by Marlboro, had defective doors and no aircon, so the smokers kept the doors open all the time, and we had to inhale their smoke.
By the entrance, they are burning plastic bottles! The guards seem bothered but they did nothing about it.
The freaking toilet.
We bought tickets to the 930 trip. We were told to take Gate No. 3. Turns out all passengers, regardless of the boat that they are taking, go through Gate No. 3. No one guided us, and we went straight to the closest pier, only to be told that we were at the wrong pier, and that we had missed our boat. But, our boat was still docked, but overcrowded. But I don't want to dwell on drama.
Kids on a boat beg for passengers to throw coins into the water and this teenager leaves the two babies on board so he can get the coin. Imagine? A two-three year old on the boat with no supervision?
When we got to Muelle, the town where our resort is located, we had our own air-conditioned mini-bus that came with our boat ticket. I suggest you pay the extra P20 for this service.
When we got to Punta del Este, the first thing that wowed me, a true flower person, was its garden. It didn't look too landscaped, and I liked that we were surrounded by fruit trees, flowers, bamboos, shrubs, coconuts, and so much more.
Then I saw the view from our terrace. Breathtaking. Calming. Seductive. The water was so clear and clean. The cold wind made me want to sleep outdoors.
My bedroom had the best view! The pool on the left side and the ocean in front.
We had Mel to cook our meals for us. We just needed to tell her what we wanted to eat, give her money and she would go to the market everyday. And boy, did she cook well!
After our first lunch in the villa, it was time for a photo shoot.
If it wasn't cold and windy, this pool would totally be where we would spend the whole day and night.
On the second day, I decided to go to the market with Mel to buy food for the kids. I could not believe how inexpensive food is if you buy it yourself in the market. Meat and vegetables for lunch and dinner cost around P600.00 (to feed 8 people). What I found expensive was the tricycle ride! P70.00 one way!
Kids baked brownies!
Our breakfast would always be outdoors. So happy here.
We went around the property and loved every part of it.
We hired a boat to go around the island. We stopped at a beach house owned by a friend of Lulu. It has really awesome pier/bar/sunbathing area.
We stopped over The Sandbar and saw sheep!!!
On our last morning, we were very lucky to witness the most beautiful sunrise ever.
Book your stay now by clicking below.
No comments:
Post a Comment