Due to the itinerary changes, the ship is still docked in Greenock. Since the Edinburgh (pronounced eh·duhn·bruh) port of call was canceled, many of the ship’s guests took the two hour bus trip to the city while we were docked in Greenock. Edinburgh is Scotland’s compact, hilly capital. It has a medieval Old Town and elegant Georgian New Town with gardens and neoclassical buildings. Looming over the city is Edinburgh Castle, home to Scotland’s crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny, used in the coronation of Scottish rulers. Arthur’s Seat is an imposing peak in Holyrood Park with sweeping views, and Calton Hill is topped with monuments and memorials.
(NOTE: The following photos taken in Edinburgh courtesy of Onie Marasigan)
St Giles CathedralEdinburgh Castle
Although the weather, as usual, was not really very pleasant, our group members: Onie and Erna, Oya and Tommy, and Nelda and Mike enjoyed the history and culture of this ancient city. Due to time constraints (the ship departs at 3:00 pm), the group had to forego a visit inside Edinburgh Castle.
Tired, hungry and damp the tourists went back to the ship and we all met in our favorite restaurant. Again, aside from our menu orders we were served Pinoy dishes – rice, sayote or chayote (a pear shaped furrowed fruit that belongs to the gourd family) cooked with ground pork and shrimp. We were also served deep fried salmon fillets, Filipino style.
The ship is still at sea and we are experiencing some slight rolls, hence, the open decks are closed for safety reasons! Personally, I love the rolling though when I’m in bed, I feel like a baby being rocked in a cradle.
The sun barely coming out of the storm cloudsThe tugboat after pulling our ship out of the pier
More photos for your enjoyment:
Egidio and Maria BernardiThe PioneersNell and Alex Baes
Tomorrow the ship will be docking at Cork (Cobh), Ireland.
Glasgow was Scotland’s great industrial center during the 19th century. Today, the city remains the commercial and cultural hub of the Lowlands. The city boasts some of the finest Victorian architecture in the entire UK. We docked in Greenock which is about 45 minutes from Glasgow. Since the port calls to Orkney Islands and Invergordon (where Nessie, the legendary Loch Ness monster reside) were canceled, we stayed here overnight.
Tommy and Onie in GlasgowTommy, Oya and Erna exploring Glasgow
Our first day here, the weather was wet and cold and the wind made it feel colder! Despite this some of our friends who haven’t been here before still went with the ship’s tours. Trini and I stayed aboard and tried to catch up in our sleep (old folks need at least 8 hours and an hour of nap). We availed of the casual dining at the Ocean Terrace Seafood Bar where I first tasted a SAKETINI (martini with a combination of sake and vodka).
The sushi chefs are from one of the Caribbean islands
We had dinner with our group in our usual restaurant – Concerto Dining Room – where we were served, in addition to our menu orders, sinigang, rice and fried salmon. The salmon came with a Pinoy “sawsawan” (vinegar with chopped onions and pepper)! After the sumptuous and somewhat unique combination of Filipino and Italian cuisine, we stopped by the Piazza to listen to some music and watch a few inebriated and sober cruisers dance on the floor! I read somewhere about an advice that said: Dance like no one is watching! I agree, even if you make a fool of yourself.
The theater featured Fiera, an awesome musical production with an amazing cast set against the backdrop of a lively playground. The previous night’s entertainment was equally amazing – another magic show – Charlie Caper who won Sweden’s Got Talent contest.
The magician also made the guests laugh!This pretty little girl participated in one of the magic shows
Today, Trini and I dared venture outside. After a late breakfast, we decided to walk around Greenock a little bit. A few minutes after disembarking, it started to rain, luckily, I didn’t forget our folding umbrella. We stayed indoors – exploring their huge Costco-like store then browsing inside a small mall. Trini spotted a set of warm-up suit and the price was right, so of course she bought it!
Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom. Since the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 Belfast has experienced a renaissance. This agreement ended the decades old “conflict” betweent the Catholics and the Protestants. Belfast was famous for its linen and shipyards in the 19th century. In fact, the famous “unsinkable” TITANIC was built here.
This shirt caught my attention so I had to buy it
The weather was a carbon copy from yesterday’s but at least it wasn’t raining. Trini and I took the shuttle which charged every passenger about $15 for a roundtrip ride to downtown Belfast. The city has not changed, it is still beautiful since our last visit in 2019. The locals are very helpful and always willing to help.
That night while we were having dinner, the captain announced that due to inclement weather the port call to Orkney Islands and Invergordon both in Scotland were canceled! Trini and I were disappointed since in our last British Isles cruise Orkney Islands was also canceled. But safety comes first and we just have to accept it.
The following vintage photographs show some of the group members when they first arrived in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Nell, Erna and Oya when they first arrived in the U.S.The group photo of the South Carolina pioneer nurses
DUBLIN is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland. It is a vibrant hub for culture, history, music and literature. Dublin is well known for its iconic landmarks like Dublin College and Trinity College., bustling pub scene and my favorite- Guinness Storehouse – where you can sample the world-famous stout! It has a population of about 1.2 million people.
We dropped anchor in Dún Laoghaire (pronounced dun-leery) a small town about 8 miles from Dublin. The day started with some drizzle but abated and eventually stopped by the time we were ready to board the water shuttle. It took approximately 30 minutes to reach our destination.
As I mentioned in my previous post, Trini and I have visited the British Isles including Dublin so we decided to just take a stroll in Dún Laoghaire and get a feel of the place. We noticed right away that it was a laid back town with not much activity around. It was a nice time for us to just sit in the park benches and people-watch and inhale the salty breeze coming from the ocean.
The rest of our group separately took a train to visit Dublin. Some took the hop-on-hop-off buses to explore the city and some just strolled around admiring the different iconic landmarks.
After we all came back from the ship, the senior citizens required a nap to rest from the “stressful and hectic” tour of the city! Then we all met in our usual evening haunt – The Concerto Dining Room – where we have two permanent tables of eight (some of us rotating each night to the other table). It’s so fun to share stories with each other and we try to catch up with what’s going on to our families! Sometimes we get a little loud for the other guests nearby but who cares, we are having fun after all!
After dinner, we went to watch a lady contortionist/hula hoop dancer. Then some of us went to the Princess Theater to listen to more musical entertainment while Trini and I stayed behind to enjoy the ship’s band’s oldies repertoire.
Trini and I went to the same British Isles cruise in 2018; however, this time we are with Trini’s “pioneer” nurses celebrating their 50th Anniversary of arrival in the United States. More than fifty years ago, more than 20 young nurses were recruited from the Philippines by Spartanburg Hospital in South Carolina. Since then, many have ventured to other states and many established their roots in the Palmetto State. There were three couples from California: Oya and Tommy Holgado, Nell and Alex Baes, Onie and Erna Marasigan. And of course, one couple from Nevada, Trini and Kaloi Pebenito. There were also four couples from Spartanburg, S.C.: Nelda and Mike Hope, Maria and Igidio Bernardi, Vickie and Eddie Baumann, Ofie and Manny Lopez.
From left to right (first row): Maria and Igidio Bernardi,Tommy and Ola Holgao, Erna and Onie Marasigan; second row: Ofie Lopez, Vickie Baumann, Nelda Hope; third row: Manny Lopez, Eddie Baumann, Mike Hope; fourth row: Nini Pebenito, Alex Baes, Nell Baes; and the top row is myself
We flew from Las Vegas and the rest of the folks from California flew from Los Angeles. I’m assuming our friends from the South flew out of Greenville, S.C. Oya and Tommy waited for us in Heathrow International Airport in London and we all rode together to Southampton where we stayed for one night in a hotel (our room paid for by Oya).
The following day was wet and cold (not surprising, you’re in the UK after all). The check-in process at the embarkation area was smooth despite the number of passengers arriving. We’ve been spoiled by our previous cruises with Viking which has much lesser cruisers! I surmised there must have been over 3,000 guests aboard (contrast that with less than a thousand in a Viking ocean liner).
Day 1 was slightly chaotic since everyone was trying to get their bearings aboard. It was past lunch time so you expected a clogged food line in the buffet. Our group was trying to communicate via Messenger (or roaming) and some of us were able to meet in the buffet. Thankfully, our cruise travel agent assigned most of us rooms on the same deck. We stopped by The Plaza and watched the ship’s entertainers with their variety musicals urging guests to line dance with them. I did.
We had dinner at Concerto Restaurant – a sit-down eatery that didn’t require reservations. Other than the Horizon buffet, all the restaurants required advance reservations. This was where we had the first formal night dinner also.
Captain Aldo Traverso, the ship’s skipper, came to our table for a brief welcome aboard chat
Like all cruise ships, there is a nightly entertainment offered for the guests. Last night was a magic show which Trini and I walked out after several minutes. Living in Las Vegas for more than eight years now, we’ve seen numerous top caliber shows (lately we saw the world-famous David Copperfield) so this particular show was not so enthralling for us. Tonight’s show though was a classic light opera mixed with pop music. So we stayed the entire time.
This morning, we will be anchoring off the coast of Dun Laonghaire (Dublin). We will be transported via water shuttles to take us ashore. I’m hoping it will be a calm water. I’ve experienced choppy waters in the Mediterranean in the past and it was scary!
On the third day of the land tour, we visited the second largest city in South Korea – Busan. It is the largest port in the country and the sixth in the world! Most of your Hyundais, Kias, LG’s and Samsung’s are probably shipped from this port. Like most of the cities they have modern sky scrapers dotting the landscape.
The group briefly stopped by Jinjuseong Fortress where we admired the view of the river from the ancient fortress. Justin gave us a history of the place and how a gisaeng (a Korean geisha) sacrificed her life to kill a Japanese general. At that time (around the 1500’s), Korea was under Japanese occupation.
Justin showing us the place where the Gisaeng embraced the Japanese general and jumped into the water killing them bothA painting of the gisaeng heroineJinjuseong Fortress
Our tour guide, Justin Choi highly recommended the fish market where they cook you fresh shell fish and other sea foods. We did and we ordered a boiling hot pot with various shell fish and octopus! We also tried their fried bream. One Korean gentleman noticed that we didn’t know which condiment to use so he approached us and pointed at the containers and how to use them!
The restaurant waitress removing the meat from the shell fish
Needing a restroom break, we stopped outside Busan and stopped on the white sand of HaendaeBeach and admired the beautiful view of the harbor.
After about five hours on the road (luckily the bus has a big screen television, we watched Korean historical movies with subtitles of course), we checked in another nice hotel in Gyeongju. But this time, the weather was getting nasty –snow flurries and temperature dipping!
Trini and Lourdes Sumabat in our hotel lobby
Most of us wanted a break from the spicy Korean food so were all elated when we passed by a Burger King sign on our way to our hotel! After dropping off our luggage in our rooms we braved the cold weather and walked to the fast food restaurant despite the snow falling. After all our trouble to break the monotony of the daily menu we were disappointed with our Burger King orders – they were still spicy and not the American taste we’re used to!
The following day (4th day), we drove to see the Seokguram Grotto which was located on top of a steep hill traversing icy winding roads to reach it. Trini and others slipped and fell but fortunately no serious injuries occurred. Trini and I decided not to continue on to the temple as we were concerned of the slippery path so we went back to the village and did some souvenir shopping.
It was still snowing on our way to the templeTreacherous path to the grotto
Then we went to see the Bulgoksa Buddhist Temple and passed under the “scary” colorful four guardians. Next, we visited Andong Hahoe Village with their thatched roof huts. We looked inside a house commemorating Queen Elizabeth II’s visit here.
A 600-year old tree in the background. The white streamers are “wishes” the tourists tie around the tree’s perimeterThis house commemorates Queen Elizabeth II’s visit in Andong
After the day’s tour, we headed to our hotel in Pyeongchang (where the 2018 Winter Olympics was held). We had a fantastic view of the snowy slopes just outside the hotel.
Gorgeous view outside our hotel in Pyeongchang
We’re now back in Seoul and everyone heaved a sigh of relief! Finally, Trini and I are going back to Las Vegas, Nevada! No matter how nice the places you visit around the world – there’s no place like home!
Until the next adventure of these senior travelers….
From the capital city of Seoul, we joined another tour company to take us around South Korea heading south for a total of five days. There were sixteen people in the tour bus including us. Some were from New Zealand, Australia and a single lady from Mexico. The tour bus was meticulously clean and very comfortable. Justin Choi was our tour guide and he spoke perfectEnglish unlike our guide in the city whose heavy accent made it extremely difficult to follow whatever she was telling us.
The first day was cold and raining and fortunately we were prepared for this kind of weather. We drove to Gongju for two and a half hours. There we visited the tomb of King Muryeong and walked around the ancient fortress of Gonsangseon. Justin, our guide was very knowledgeable with Korea’s history that you felt transported to the era he was lecturing about.
Entering the very low entrance into the tombInside the chilly tomb
The main entrance to the tomb of King Muryeong
A mythical animal guardian – Jinmyosu
When we arrived at the ancient fortress of Gonsanseong, several in our group stayed at the lower level when they saw how steep the pathway was going to the center. Gassy, George, Ligaya and me went ahead and followed the group who walked faster as they were much younger than these senior citizens.
Along the way to our final destination for the day, we stopped by to watch two Korean young ladies perform. One gave us a rendition of a traditional Korean vocal and the other played a Korean violin.
Our group with the performers
Then we had a sumptuous Korean lunch called bibimbap (literary mixed rice). It came with different main ingredients and I opted for the “live” octopus. As always, there were spicy side dishes which can cause heartburn if you’re not used to it!
After the hot and spicy lunch, we went to Jeonju Hanok Village, a quaint and vibrant small town with small stores selling colorful traditional dresses. The clean streets were made of cobblestones and we really enjoyed just people watching and browsing the sidewalk wares.
All the hotels we stayed at had automatic bidets
The following day we drove almost two hours to the historical and very important city of Gwangju. This city is also called the Home of Democracy. On May 18, 1980 a democratic movement started here by a group of college students which led to the massacre of dozens of them. We visited the solemn National Cemetery honoring these students who sacrificed their lives for democracy.
This trip initially was planned for Trini and myself; however, after her relatives learned that we booked this trip through a mutual travel agent (Cesar Gatchalian), our group grew from two to eight persons – Gassy and Beth Ayson, Tony and Lourdes Sumabat, and George and Ligaya Nolasco. We welcomed the addition since as they say “the more the merrier“!
Although South Korea was in the world’s spotlight a couple of months ago due to the declaration of martial law, which lasted only for six hours, it was very peaceful when we arrived. In Seoul, the capital of South Korea, we witnessed protesters and demonstrators all over the city in support of Ukraine, Israel, Palestine and other countries but we did not feel any danger at all. Police were positioned around the areas but there were no indication of any violence.
Our tour guide picked us up at our hotel and took us around Seoul. The city is home to almost ten million people. We were immediately impressed on how clean the city was. Although the volume of vehicles on the roads were heavy, traffic moved smoothly (contrast it to Manila traffic where it is almost always chaotic due to undisciplined drivers). We visited Susong Dong Temple where the grounds were decorated with colorful streamers and paper flowers. We had to remove our shoes to enter the temple and photography was not allowed.
From left to right: Bess Ayson, Ligaya Nolasco, Tony and Lourdes Sumabat, Gassy Ayson, Trini and me
The temperature was pleasant requiring only light jacket and/or sweaters and we all had our fingers crossed that this would last throughout our trip. But it was not meant to be since the weather turned from nice to ugly.
Our tour guide, Junee, took us to watch the changing of the guard ceremony at Gyeongbokgung Palace. The place was crowded and we saw a lot of tourists and locals alike garbed in the traditional clothes (called hanbok). The place looked vibrant with all these costumes.
The much awaited changing of the guard ceremony commenced with a blaring Korean music occasionally interrupted by a loud drum beat. There were several colors for each “platoon” of guards who marched to the music.
The stuffed animal on a stick was our tour guide’s to let us know her location
Next, we visited the National Folk Museum. At this time, the temperature was gradually going south as the breeze made it colder than what my app showed so we had to don our jackets and scarves to keep us warm.
Left to right: George and Ligaya Nolasco, Lourdes Sumabat, Beth Ayson, Tony Sumabat and Trini PeBenito
Our tour guide recommended we try the bulgogi (a Korean dish of marinated grilled beef) for lunch which we did. As usual, the side dishes were delicious if you don’t mind spicy food!
The restaurant was on the 4th floorThe ladies enjoyed the bulgogi and kimchiTrini and our tour guide in Seoul, Junee
For every tour, there is always a stop in a store so they can sell you something to take back home. In this case, our group visited a Ginseng Store. A store employee who spoke good English gave us a very interesting lecture on how the popular and “medicinal” ginseng plant are grown and harvested. Of course, their product which they claim can prevent diabetes, arthritis, dementia and all diseases under the sun are very expensive. I ended up buying ginseng cigars, yes, they do make them! Trini also bought a bag of hard candies made of….you guessed it – ginseng.
A warrior made of ginseng plantA “female” ginsengAlthough they claim ginseng to treat or prevent many diseases the US Food and Drug Administration still has not approved it
Our tour van dropped us off about a block away from our hotel. The shopping radar of the ladies immediately went up as soon as we got off the van! Of course, us guys just had to follow them and patiently waited until they were finished.
Below are more photos during our first day.
Lots of walking and steps
After our Seoul tour, we went to a five-day road tour outside of the city and I will talk about this in my next post.
After checking out of the “colonial” resort in Bataan we were transported back to the present – physically and mentally! ! Our “borrowed” driver and his wife picked us up at the resort on time and drove us to Project 4 where we sorted our dirty clothes for washing. We also opened our stored luggage to select “fresh” clothes (though the smell is not as fresh) to take with us for the weekend. (FYI – laundry is charged by kilogram and you can receive it back washed and folded in two hours).
My sister, Dr. Linda Valdepeñas, generously offered to “pamper” us before going to Tagaytay to attend our friends’ 25th wedding anniversary. She and my nephew Albert picked us up and drove us to Dasmariñas, Cavite. As it was already noon by the time we reached SM Dasmariñas we stopped by for lunch in a Chinese-Filipino fusion cuisine restaurant. I was craving for patatim (braised pork slow-cooked in savory sauce to the point where the meat falls off the bones) so we ordered one along with other delicious dishes. It was heavenlicious! After the sumptuous lunch, we headed to Cre8 Salon a franchise owned by my niece, Dr. Ting Patriarca (Linda’s daughter).
Trivia about SM Mall – SM Supermall or just simply SM was pioneered by Henry Sy, a Chinese-Filipino businessman now one of the richest in the Philippines. SM started as a shoe store in Quiapo (a district in Manila) under the Shoemart name. In 1972, Shoemart turned into a full-line department store. Today, there are 95 SM malls (87 in the Philippines and 8 in China).
My sister, Dr. Linda Valdepeñas and meI
I had a foot spa with mani-pedi (manicure and pedicure). The foot treatment was so relaxing I think I dozed off a little bit. Trini had the “whole nine-yards” – hair color and a slight trim off the back and gel mani-pedi. All these Linda paid for (or maybe not since her daughter owns the place)!
Since Trini was not finished with her beauty treatment yet, I asked my brother-in-law, Robert Valdepeñas, where I can buy Filipino tobacco. He took me to Kultura (a tourist “trap” store) where they sell expensive Philippine products. I bought a box of 12 small hand rolled robusto cigars. The price is almost the price I pay for my Nicaraguan cigars! I hope they’re worth it.
Our massage appointment was at 3:00 pm and Trini was not completely done with her nails yet, so we went ahead to Nuat Thai Foot and Body Massage which was just several shops away from Cre8 Salon. Linda is part owner of Nuat Thai along with her daughter, Ting. I noticed that this entire mall level was comprised of salons catering to women – nails, hair, eyebrows, waxing, massage, teeth, etc. Who says vanity is not profitable?
I had a horrible experience many years ago in Bangkok, Thailand with Thai massage which I felt was more a technique used in interrogating prisoners by the VietCong. Hence, I opted for the less manipulative Swedish style. I would give my masseur above-average, he was skillful but I felt that he was hurried, maybe because there were customers already waiting.
Relaxed and tension gone, we all jumped into the brand new comfortable and spacious Toyota Hiace Grandia (one of Linda’s vehicles). We headed to their newly-renovated two-level home in a Dasmariñas subdivision. It was the first time to visit their house and as a welcome tradition, Robert offered a libation to the “housing gods”. He opened one of his single malt whiskey (one of many pricey liquors among his collections). Single malt is my preferred whiskey.
By the time I chugged down two shots of the Scotch it was ready for us to go.
Trini, Linda and Robert in front of their house
Again, my sister paid for our two night hotel stay at the Summit Ridge. The hotel is located centrally and shops and restaurants within walking distance. Our room was very spacious and overlooking the lake (partially blocked by a structure).
That night, we had a restful sleep, thanks to Linda!
The following day, we attended the 25thwedding anniversary of our friend from Los Angeles, CA who we met while we were working at the U.S. Embassy in Manila – Manny and Fines Nieva. The venue was at Lazuli Hotel Resort in Tagaytay. It was a beautiful garden wedding overlooking the famous Taal Lake and volcano. We were honored to be one of the sponsors.
Manny NievaFines with their two sonsFines saying her vowsElsie and Louie MirandaTrini with Ana Ting-Nieva from Monterey Park, CAThe couple with their female sponsors (Ninang)
Last Sunday, February 23, 2025 when my fraternity brothers and their guests departed for Metro-Manila and to other destinations, Club Morocco immediately turned into a “graveyard”. It was eerily silent with nary a soul walking the corridors. We found out later that other than us only one room was still occupied. We went to dinner that night and we had the entire restaurant for ourselves.
On the day of our departure for Bataan
At 10:00 am the following day, Monday February 24th, our “borrowed vehicle” arrived to pick us up to take to our “new home” – Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar. Immediately, upon entering the resort’s compound we felt like being transported to the Spanish Colonial Era in the Philippines. Hotel staff garbed in the costumes used during that period. After our check-in, a Jeepney (a colorful public utility vehicle that serves as the most popular means of transportation, especially, in Metro-Manila) took us to our designated building. It wasn’t the most comfortable ride however short. I surmised the vehicle did not have shock absorbers or they must need replacement and the noxious exhaust dangerously inhaled along the way. But we got to our destination with our lungs and rear ends intact!
Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar (Spanish for “Acuzar’s Philippine Houses”) is a beach resort, hotel, convention center and heritage destination in Bagac, Bataan, Philippines. Las Casas Filipinas covers an area of around 400 hectares (990 acres). For its lodging facilities, Las Casas Filipinas has 128 guest rooms and 63 “elite casas” as of January 2021. The main attraction of the Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar is its heritage houses, which were transplanted from outside Bagac, Bataan. The houses are disassembled from their original location and reconstructed inside the premises of the Las Casas Filipinas. (Wikipedia)
The tram similar to that in San Francisco except much smallerThe jeepney
You can walk all over the resort even if you’re not physically fit, however, they have free transportation that goes around the area – tram and the jeepney! Just make sure you wear comfortable shoes if you want to walk! We saw young ladies wearing high heels trying to navigate the uneven cobblestones, finally, some of them had to remove their shoes and carry them!
You can also ride a horse-drawn carriage for a fee or ride in style in a Rolls-Royce replica!
A Rolls-Royce replica, ride it for a fee
About our room, Murphy’s law proved it is everywhere! The first night the toilet tank woke us up all night since the flow failed to stop when it reached the full mark. I had to turn off the valve to stop it. That morning, I tried to shower but the water would not shift to the shower head! We had to use the bath tub which fortunately had a retractable shower head but these seniors had to squat to wash our hair! That afternoon, the television stopped working (it was fine the previous day) and I suspected the batteries were dead. By the way, the rooms do not have phones and our room is located quite a distance from the reception/front desk I had to use my local cell phone to call them. But everything’s working now.
We joined the free walking tour where we learned a lot about history of the Philippines and the background of the “transplanted” houses. I learned the “truth” about Lola Basyang Grandmother Basyang) a short story writer. Lola Basyang was a pen name of a malewriter who pretended to be a female which according to myth that children listened better to stories coming from a grandmother! The famous characters of Lola Basyang (and I remember them vividly) were the manananggal (a mythical vampire-like creature that is able to separate its upper torso from its lower part); tikbalang ((half-human and half-horse); kapre (a muscular giant who usually sits in trees) and many others.
It so happened that during our 3-day stay in the resort students from the University of Pangasinan were also there on an Experiential Tourism Program. I noticed that they were predominantly female students who were all energetic and excited to be in the beautiful resort.
Time to go home
I need to mention that our booking included free breakfast or lunch. The spacious dining room has two options for breakfast buffet- Filipino, consisting of fried or plain rice, longganisa(sausage), fried dried fish, adobo, puto (no, this is not a bad word!), pan de sal, etc, the usual foods Pinoys eat for almusal; and Western, French toast, fried eggs, bacon, etc. But the thing I liked best was the barako (local coffee beans) coffee – strong, full-bodied and aromatic! As always, there are people who doesn’t seem to understand that just because you can eat as much as you can in a buffet it doesn’t mean you can bring your plastic bag and containers to fill with food to take with you! Shame, shame, shame! And I noticed several of them were foreigners.
Trini and I did the night boat tour and the small price difference with the day boat tour was well worth it! Not only was the weather more pleasant but the ambiance of the place was totally different at night – shimmering water reflecting the well-placed lightings, buildings and other structures stood out and their beauty enhanced. They called this place “Little Venice” because of the waterways going under the bridges and alongside decorated river walls sans gondola and the singing gondolier.
Today was our last full day. After eating both the Filipino and Western breakfast, I had to make sure I lost some of those calories. So, we walked to the farthest end of the resort which coincidentally is also undergoing construction. The long pier was decorated on both sides with antique-looking lamp posts adorned with intricate sculptures. I rapped my knuckles against these sculptures and noticed they were made of plasters which can easily break!
The far end to the pier with another chapel undergoing constructionThis sculpture is already torn since it’s made of cheap materialThe beautiful beach is practically deserted. Mount Samat in the background
While the food wasn’t that great and accommodations lacked the comfort and amenities that we’ve experienced in other resorts, the place has a remarkable history andimpressive colonial structures. The hospitality that the staff demonstrated is commendable; they were always courteous and cheerful! Overall, we enjoyed our stay and would recommend it to our friends and families!
The guardia civil
Tomorrow we leave for Project 4 and the day after that we will head to Tagaytay to attend a wedding.
