2018.08.23. Vacation

(Right now: Just finished unpacking the bags.) 

As early as June, I have been asking Steph to book a family vacation for us. I have just gone through a tiring year, and I needed a break. When we checked the list of declared holidays for 2018, we noticed that August 19 (Sunday) is Quezon City day and August 21 (Tuesday) is Ninoy Aquino Day. We also thought (wrongly) that Eid’l Adha will be on August 22 (Wednesday). And every 20th is our monthly “anniversary” (“monthsary”). So we chose that week for our vacation. The original plan was to have a very long weekend getaway (from Saturday to Wednesday), but we shortened it to the 20th to the 22nd. 

But where to go? Steph wanted to go to the Visayas or Mindanao at first, but I insisted that we should have something that would require just a drive. Ironically, the driving, which is super tiring, is actually relaxing for me; I needed to have that as part of the break. Several “nearby” provinces came to mind, particularly Zambales or some other provinces in the north. But, since we already had an experience driving up north (when we attended her cousin’s wedding in Pangasinan), we ultimately decided to go to the south; and, when it comes to beaches, Batangas is everybody’s go-to place. In the end, we chose to book at Pico de Loro in Hamilo Coast, Nasugbu, Batangas. With the convenience of having everything in an exclusive beach and country club, and the nice views in a forest setting, this is really the place to go to have that much-needed break. 

The weeks before these dates proved to be very rainy, we thought we would not be able to push through; but, thankfully, the monsoon rains subsided, and we were able embark on a safe drive. We later on heard on the news that the monsoon rains continued (with a yellow warning) in Manila and the northern provinces, so it was actually nice that we chose to go south. Also, we heard about the mess in the NAIA due to the Xiamen Air plane; good thing we chose to go by driving.

We drove into the mountains (at some point, literally: we drove into a 400-m tunnel!) that offered the nice views of the forests on one side and the sea on the other. We stopped by a beautiful viewing deck to take pictures.

Selfie on a stopover.

A view of the cove (the white sand is very visible even under gloomy conditions) from the mountains. 

Our stopover showing the road cutting through the thick forests. There’s cold Coke being sold here. 

We arrived in the Pico de Loro at exactly 2:00 PM (not bad, considering that we left the house 11:30 AM). The helpful staff, Sheryll, accompanied us to our rooms and instructed us on where to go within the club and what times the establishments close. After a quick shower and change of clothes, off we go!

Our first destination: the beach. It was a cloudy and windy afternoon, but at least it was not raining, so we decided to go to the beach first (lest it rains on the following days). The beach was really wavy, we couldn’t go to the deeper parts for fear of drifting away from the shore. The water was understandably murky from all the floodwaters from the nearby mountain streams. But we noticed that the beach is actually sloping very gently; the water level is still at around 3 ft a good 20 m away from the shore. We just sat on the beach and waited for the waves to drench us. Our baby also enjoyed playing with sand (she must have realized that she would not be allowed to be this dirty at home). She even talked angrily at the waters whenever it levels the mound we were building.

When in wavy waters: wait for the waves to drench you. And hold on tight to the baby!

We walked our way back to the room to see the edge of the man-made lake of the property. It was a beautiful afternoon, around 5:00 PM, and the sun shone through the clouds. The serenity of the lake stood in sharp contrast with the very wavy beach. We saw an elderly couple taking pictures of each other; I would have wanted to offer to take their picture, but it seemed as if they want us to go away and not ruin the view instead. Stacie enjoyed the edge of the lake near our place, as it was the resting place of the ducks. She was tired of running after them, so she just sang songs about ducks.

The serenity of the place is very relaxing.

We went back to the room really tired but still excited to try on the other amenities the place has to offer. In the end, after taking a bath, we decided to try on the Pico Restaurant at the main lobby of the hotel. The food was nice, but not really incredible; we were just happy to be served a good meal in the middle of the forest after a tiring beach adventure. Interestingly, we realized that the whole place (the restaurant and all the other amenities) does not accept cash; all payments have to be made using debit or credit cards.




The next day we enjoyed the buffet breakfast also at the restaurant. We went to the beach in the morning, washed and changed clothes, and then went to the infinity pool and spent the whole afternoon there. Stacie really enjoyed playing in the water.

Off to the beach!

The infinity pool at the beach club.

Stacie busy with her sprinkler. 

The following day, we woke up early to enjoy the last half-day of our stay. After having breakfast in the restaurant, I brought them back to the pool so Stacie and Steph can swim for a few more hours. I stayed in the room to arrange our things and take a longer nap (as I will be driving all the way home).




Now that we are back home, I look back on our short stay and I think I can say that it was all worth it, drives and expensive meals and all. The fact that you can just relax and enjoy in a remote and picturesque environment, while still having the convenience of modern urban living, is exactly what I was hoping for when I requested for a break. Because of this holiday break, I think I can now focus on the more serious things that I need to work on.

Definitely worth going back to. 

My family enjoyed as well!

Lez go!

I am raring to go back to work. ■