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Yes, La Luz is the life.

At least for weekend getaways and short vacations, La Luz Beach Resort will offer you a very relaxing and worry-free stay.

I can’t remember when or where I first heard of La Luz but every time I search for blogs and information about it, a certain image comes up — an image of a pair of lounge chairs fronting the sea. This could be one of the resort’s best features.

Since most of the write ups I’ve read says that the place is usually fully booked on weekends,  I emailed La Luz for a booking on Feb 27-28. No one replied at first until I sent an SMS to their mobile phone. A reservation officer named Erna replied to my inquiry. Some of my last inquiries, she did not answered that’s why I had to text their mobile phone again, and call their office to clarify some things. Cherry, another reservation officer replied, until I paid my reservation fee of 50% on Friday, then Cherry sent the confirmation email to me.

It’s another housemates’ road trip, much like when we went to Subic, stayed at the beach and went to Zoobic.

Day 1 at La Luz Beach Resort

We planned to arrive at 12 noon and we were only late by 10 minutes. In the parking area, a staff approached us to help us with our thing, then down to the information and registration desk, we were greeted by friendly staff and a welcome drink (gulaman). Then we were ushered to our room at the Annex, near the day trip area.

The room is for four people and there were only two towels and two pillows set when we arrived so we requested for extra pillows and towels for our room and everything was delivered quickly. The staff at the desk would radio in the requests to the staff that’s probably stationed in the Annex, so service was fast.

There were probably no day-trippers at that time so we were lucky that our side of the resort had very few guests staying in the cabanas and the lounge chairs, unlike in the main area where the rooms where fully booked. Most people were hanging out at that side of the beach.

There are naughty monkeys tied up in the tree near the dining hall. One of them has an amputated arm, but still very playful and snob at times. He did not like us taking his pictures while he was eating. Maybe he thought we’d take his cookie away.

We freshened up when we get to our lovely room then charged to the dining hall where the lunch buffet was served. There’s chicken, pork, vegetables and fish, and water and juice. There’s burong mangga and a sweet yam-banana for dessert. We stayed in the dining hall until around 2PM, just chitchatting and having a lazy afternoon. We then went to one of the cabanas and fell asleep. We awoke at 4PM, then it’s already time for snacks, so we had snacks. We were still full from lunch.

Then we played volleyball and was supposed to try out the Kayak and I really wanted to snorkel but Amrei said we can just wake up early the next day for that, since it might get dark anytime. Nick and Kalai took a dip at around 5:30 PM. Amrei and I went to the rock formations at one end of La Luz to see the changing skies because of sunset. Though the sunset is blocked by mountains. These could be what the mountaineers call as Gulugod-Baboy, a mountain area with three peaks.

We scheduled a massage at 830 PM, right after dinner. The massage is Php 250, which will be done in the cabanas. After the massage, we got our drinks and got a bucket of ice and played Pinoy Henyo. But a lesser competitive version. We also played “dugtungan” (one player will sing a famous song then the next player will continue with another song using the last word that the first player sang) just to pass the time because it was still early. At 12 midnight, we were all getting ready to sleep.

Day 2 at La Luz Beach Resort

We woke up early on Sunday to be able to kayak, snorkel and swim, since we were so lazy on our first day.

I got all my gears ready — waterproof camera, snorkel and mask, booties and life jacket. I was ready for adventure. I was excited to try the kayak. We were already in the dining hall at 7 AM but food was still under preparation. We ate breakfast — omelet, longganisa, and fish. There’s also cereals and loaf bread and butter. After eating, we inquired for Kayak but the wave’s kinda strong so it wasn’t advisable to kayak. Too bad. We  just headed to the rocks and snorkeled. There are some fishes and corals at shore, but they are not as pretty as I expected, since it’s a marine sanctuary. Maybe if we go a little bit farther, we’ll see more colorful marine life. But it’s wavy and the tide was rising high quite fast so we abandoned the adventure and bought fruit shakes and bummed in the beach lounges and the cabana. Then dipped in the water every now and then. We checked in past 12 noon and drove our way back to Manila.

We had lunch at Pizza Hut, Petron Mamplasan, Laguna and was at home at around 5:30 PM.

The only few glitches in the resort service would be that I think they should serve their breakfast earlier, like in most hotels, breakfast starts at 6AM for the morning people, and that dinner will last until later, like 9PM (dinner is served at 7-8 PM only), since snack is until late afternoon. The facilities are all good, there are trashcans and ashtrays everywhere. There’s hot and cold shower, linens are clean and the curtains of the cabanas are clean too. Only glitch was that our door would not close unless we lock it once.

All in all, it was a lovely trip and a lovely stay at La Luz Beach Resort. I will definitely go back and make sure to avail the marine sanctuary and kayak!

Photos by Amrei Dizon.

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Souk Kafe is a small lovely restaurant in Robinson’s Dasmariñas Cavite that offers Western and Eastern cuisine. It has a cozy and thematic ambiance, with foreign-language music piping out from the speakers. Because of the numerous shisha pipes on display, I expected Persian food, but to my surprise, their menu is really interesting with servings of Arabic, Indian, Persian, Italian and Spanish food.

Today was an official National Holiday for the Philippines because it’s National Heroes Day or Araw ng Mga Bayani in Filipino.

Since there’s no work, and to go with the theme, I proposed to a friend to have a trip to Intramuros, for a historical and cultural experience.

We came from Caloocan (my parents’ house) so instead of going to our usual route from Quezon City, where I currently live, my dad suggested that we go to C3, take North Bay and straight to Anda Circle, where one side of Intramuros is. Around 20 minutes later, we saw an entrance to the walled city.

We went straight to the famous Manila Cathedral, and parked in the parking space in front of it. Flat parking rate is Php 40.00 (less than a US$). We took photos of the cathedral and the plaza in front of it — Plaza Roma. Then approached a security officer, clad in his Katipunero outfit and asked him where we’ll find good restaurants in the area, where we should start walking, and what we’re going to see if we go straight, left or right. He gave us the information we needed and gave us a vicinity map.

We decided to trace the route of the wall along Bonifacio Drive, where we saw a bigger part of the Golf Course, some historical passage ways, eateries, and ruins.

We then cut our walk along that side short and passed by Real, seeing the the back side of the San Agustin Church and Convent, then turning right to General Luna to see San Agustin Church once again. I’ve seen San Agustin Church when I was in college, making it a part of my paper in a Renaissance Studies class. The church’s paint has changed now, but all others, it still remains the same.

Then we crossed the street to check out Barbara’s, one of the famous restaurants in the area. Unfortunately, the restaurant is closed, but the cafe (The Coffee Shop) was open. We checked out the menu but we’re not really hungry then, we wanted to have more food options. Before we left the area, we went inside The Papier Tolé Shop- crafts store specializing in paper tole and other trinkets, my friend bought a figurine. We asked the store’s staff where we could find more restaurants. He said we could check out Casa Marinero, Patio Conchita and Tamayo’s. He told us where to find these places. Luckily, we were able to see all of them, but still opted not to eat there. We were looking for a little ambiance, like what the whole Intramuros gives — hispanic and cozy. When we reached the cathedral back, we asked the security officers again about where to eat. They told us to try Illustrado, highly recommending it since the place was said to be used for a few (film) shootings. Since it was high noon, we went back to the car and drove to Illustrado for lunch.

After lunch, we drove to Fort Santiago. At first, it only looked like a park to me — a big and clean park. With a few historical details like cannons and old bombshells here and there. But if you look closely and explore more, you’ll find some interesting ruins, and items. Then walk to the end of the oval park and cross the moat to get to the more historical part of Fort Santiago — museums at the place where our very own National Hero Jose P. Rizal was jailed before he was shot in Luneta. What a way to celebrate National Heroes day!

We wanted to go to Luneta but opted to cross the Pasig River instead and go to Binondo, particularly the Chinatown. Unfortunately, a lot of establishments were closed, and the few ones that were open are the ones selling Tikoy, fruits and jewelry. We were actually looking for more interesting finds like vintage gadgets or novelty shops, maybe? But the whole of Binondo was still full of patrons buying bargains and eating at different Chinese restaurants so the traffic was a still a bit heavy. So we just made a ride around the Binondo – Sta. Cruz area, passing by the Binondo Church, Ongpin and back to the Jones Bridge.

We then went to Rizal Avenue (the road where LRT Line 1 is) to go to Harbour Square to have an early dinner. We tried the new Night Kebab restaurant at the second floor. We got a view of the sunset, the skyline, and well, the spectacular Manila Bay by night.

In less than eight hours, we relived a historical and cultural experience in Intramuros and hopped to a shopping frenzy at Binondo, then off to a more modern dining experience at Harbour Square beside Manila Bay where the sunset was awesome. Truly, simply no place like Manila.

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After a few rounds of beer in Coco Amigos, we went to Why Not? Another popular place to go to. It’s a disco house. Entrance fee is only Php 85.00 with a free bottle of local drink. There was a stage with a pole but no one’s dancing so some of my friends took the stage. I bet they had fun.

People would not mind you even if you are making a fool of yourself up on stage. Good thing one of our friends is a trained dancer. Here she is on her first attempt at the pole.

A lot of people but no one’s dancing.

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This year at Puerto Galera, instead of the usual Coral Garden – Bukete – Bayanan island hopping, we only went to Coral Garden and Bayanan. We were supposed to go back to White Beach, where we were checked in, but the boatman was nice enough to wait for us while we have lunch at the nearby Aninuan Island. So instead of going to Bukete, we went to Tamaraw Beach Resort to have lunch.

We went to the small dining area and ordered for food.  think it took about an hour before our food was served. While waiting, I took photos around and surveyed the place. They offer different water rides: banana boat, glass bottom boat and wakeboarding, even. But a little pricey for half an hour’s worth.

There are lounge chairs in the shore, and ping pong table beside the coffee shop. The place is full of plants and flowers too.

I asked for their rates becuase Tamaraw Beach Resort seemed a nice place for families and honeymooners. The rooms look nice and clean too. They even have weekly and monthly rates for the units that have kitchennette.

It’s peaceful and quiet, with its quaint own shoreline. I wish to get away to Tamaraw Beach Resort soon!

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Though the sun setting and fading out from the horizon is not visible from Anawangin Cove, you will surely appreciate the sky at dawn. As I have mentioned in previous articles about the cove, the sky that one sees from Brgy. Pundaquit to Anawangin Cove has a naturally beautiful blue gradation, fading to white as it touches the horizon.

As there is no electricity in the cove, no one will miss the vibrant colors of the sky as it changes from blue to warm colors, while the water catches and reflects the hues.

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Getting to Anawangin Cove, Zambales
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 1) – The Beach
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 2) – The River
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 3) – The Open Field
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 4) – The View Deck

Continued from Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 3) – The Open Field

I wondered why the photos of Anawangin Cove that I see online are shots from the top. I did not know that there’s actually a view deck. No one mentioned it in blogs that I’ve read. It always seemed like an areal shot from hiking Mt. Pundaquit. Truth is, the view deck is only about 5-10 minutes of trekking. Easy, breezy and really pretty. :)

These are what you see on the way to the top:

The view deck has two levels, the one steeper than the other. We settled for the lower deck. Enough to see the whole cove.

We would have waited for the sunset but we did not bring flashlights with us, and the group’s mainly composed of inexperienced hikers, so going down the hill would be difficult in the dark. Sunrise and sunsets cannot be seen on the cove because mountains and rock formations would obstruct the view. But the blue sky turning red was a wonderful scene.

Thanks to Reden, Redentor and Dave, our tour guides from Adventure Road Trip for the fun weekend!

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Getting to Anawangin Cove, Zambales
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 1) – The Beach
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 2) – The River
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 3) – The Open Field
Anawangin Cove, Zambales – The Dawn

From Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 2) – The River / Swamp

Dave took us to the Anawangin Cove’s open field at the back of the island. It’s a nice place to play frisbee! He said wild tamaraws roam freely there. Too bad they were not around when we came. But there were a lot of dungs and mud baths. Since there’s no electricity in Anawangin, and the open field reminded me of the UP Sunken Garden, but much wider, and Jma said it’s like a “party place”, I named the area as “The Anawangin Concert Grounds”. We would have a blast mosh pitting in the mud baths! Haha.

The open field is like a challenge in Tomb Raider, you can see a vast open field, and the trees that surrounded it. You can run towards the trees, but some are dead ends, some are opening up to unknown forests.

The golden Mt. Pundaquit more visible in the open field.

After taking photos, Dave led us back to the beach. Crossing the shallow river once more, I did not pass the chance to experience it more than dipping my feet on it. I laid down the shallow flowing water. It was soothing. I did not want to leave, but we need to go to the view deck to see the whole island.

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Getting to Anawangin Cove, Zambales
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 1) – The Beach
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 2) – The River
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 4) – The View Deck
Anawangin Cove, Zambales – The Dawn

From Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 1) – The Beach

There were barb wires fencing off the river or swamp of Anawangin Cove from visitors. Red2 said there used to be no fence there. The fence is probably because of the Frank incident where the river rose and produced massive flash floods.

Red2 checked the river, it was only ankle deep, sometimes knee deep in some parts. One member of our group went in, I did too. A little later, everyone was in the river, taking photos of each other. The setting was like the in the movies where you see a fairy in the wild, nearby a beautiful river.

The river was calm, clear and glistening. From afar, green plants and shrubs, sun rays penetrating the leaves of the taller trees. We walked a little farther, in the mini forest, then met another river. We followed the river’s current. And it led us to a wider opening, to a white sand area at the end. A river with white sand, yes. It turned out that this area is connecting to the beach, and to the first river that we crossed. Anawangin’s layout is really amazing.

If I had more time, and if I had my life vest with me, I would have explored that area with the wider river more. I was taking precautions because I don’t really know how deep the water ahead could be.

Of course the river is shaded by the Agoho trees that dwell well in Anawangin Cove.

We came back to camp for lunch. We had a feast, of course. We took our time eating and digesting our food. It seemed that Anawangin has this calming breeze that made us slow down. I wasn’t even in a hurry to go the water, I even took a nap at around 3-4 PM. Ktin woke me up and it’s time to explore the island, again. Next destinations: the open field, and the view deck.

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Getting to Anawangin Cove, Zambales
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 1) – The Beach
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 3) – The Open Field
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 4) – The View Deck
Anawangin Cove, Zambales – The Dawn

It is really beautiful. I’ve been to a lot of beaches before, and this, by far, is one of my favorites. Imagine the layers of Anawangin Cove: alighting the boat, the water touches your feet – it is really calm and clean. Then walk towards the sand that is white at high sunlight. After the clear shoreline, rows and columns of tall Agoho trees (which look like pine trees), behind them, a river, only ankle deep, with brown flat stones. Surrounding the sand, Agoho trees and river, as if embracing them, are green and yellow gold mountains.

We arrived at the beautiful cove at around 7:30 AM, there were only about three groups that were already there. We chose a table nearest Aling Ligaya’s kubo (nipa hut). Aling Ligaya is the caretaker of the island. We then set up our tents, in the sands. I helped set up two tents :)

There are no resorts or lodges in the cove and the only way to stay overnight is by tent camping. There’s also no electricity. It’s a good thing the cove is not infested by mosquito and other insects or bugs. You have to bring your own drinking water, or arrange for delivery from the barangay/mainland. If it’s peak season or weekend, the locals may have a few gallons to sell.  I only saw one make shift store there and they sell beer at double the price, so better bring everything you need. If you’ll hike and would camp overnight, you can send your stuff (tent, gears, food, water) via pump boat, make sure someone comes along with your stuff to prepare/unpack because the pumpboat ride is only 30 minutes and the hike is about 6 hours, you do not want to spoil your food.

After setting up the tent, some of us started to prepare the our stocked foods in the table, some surveyed the place, some looked for a spot to set up our grill and cookwares. I walked away from the sands to be under the canopy of the Agoho trees, picked a table in the middle of a wide human trail, and lied down on it to relax. This was my view above:

Tall Agoho trees that are probably in the family as the pine trees:

A few minutes later, I went back to our camp to check on the group. Some were already grilling pokchop and chicken wings. Our tour guide Dave was preparing his SuperKalan (a small stove). Our two other tour guides namely Red1 and Red2, were also busy preparing other stuff. Before lunch, Red2 invited the group to walk deeper into the woods to see the river.

Getting to Anawangin Cove, Zambales
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 2) – The River
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 3) – The Open Field
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 4) – The View Deck
Anawangin Cove, Zambales – The Dawn