Last month, my former teammates and I went on an overnight trip to Zambales. It was supposed to be a Christmas party but because everyone was busy last holiday, it was moved to a later date.
. . . 1st trip for year 2018
The timing of our getaway couldn't get any better. It's off peak season meaning less people at the beach and cheaper accommodation.
We stayed at Canoe Beach Resort in Zambales. Simple, no frills accommodation that fitted our budget.
Our group of 18 occupied 2 dorm type rooms good for 20 pax. In fairness, the rooms are clean. Each bed has its own pillows and blankets.
My only complaint, the air conditioning cannot handle the midday heat. It's like it was not working at all.
I'm sorry but I didn't have a lot of photos to share.
I have turned into a rusty blogger. Slacking off in taking pictures and documenting important details.
Sometimes I think that it's a good thing. You know, living in the moment.
Then there are times I think I am missing out.
Sigh.
Still trying to figure out how to balance it.
Zambales is still as beautiful as I remember it. I stepped into this paradise twelve years ago. I love how the mountains meet the sea. Whether you wanted a mountain view or an ocean view, you get the serene feeling of being one in nature.
I'm sure I will be back to this place. And when that day comes I'll make sure to bring Tapioca and the Munchkin with me.
Finally we have arrived at the last post of the Coco Beach series. One last day to enjoy. I woke up early because we still haven't toured the entire resort. Tapioca on the other hand was not in the mood since it will surely require a lot of walking. He would rather enjoy his slumber than to hike up and down the hill. While I was getting ready, I realized I have forgotten to charged up the camera's battery. Darn. No choice, I plugged the camera's battery and waited for a few minutes until it gets enough power.
Actually it wasn't so bad I got stuck in the room for a few minutes
since I got to enjoying this view which I only have a few hours to see. Could have
been nice to have a cup of tea however the Carabao restaurant
was still close and room service won't be available until six am.
. . . the early morning view from the balcony
When the battery had enough charge, I went on my own ala Dora The Explorer. I got to explore the plants and vegetation of the resort which was quite nice. It's amazing they were able to maintain everything. From the huge palm trees and fruit-bearing trees to the flowering plants, all of them were in perfect condition.
the cottage . . .
That's our cottage. Pardon the towels. We have to hung them out like that to dry.
. . . the pathway
. . . my feet and the seashell details
the gym . . .
This was suppose to be the gym area however you won't see any of the equipments as they were under maintenance.
. . . the crossroads
Pathway leading to different directions.
Touch of Asia Restaurant . . .
I passed by the Touch of Asia restaurant which we weren't able to try. Maybe next time. This restaurant operates during lunch and dinner time only. The food they served were mostly Asian from Chinese, Thai, Malay, Indian etc. I got to explore it in the morning where no one was around.
I went back to the silent pool so I can take pictures of the place without interfering other guests.
the silent pool and its lush greens . . .
. . . shower room and cable car
The Coco Beach had a cable car which they also called cable jeepney. With that it makes going up and down the cottages more convenient specially for guests staying in the hilltop rooms (like we do). Unfortunately, during the time of our visit, the cable jeepney was out of order.
. . . wooden chairs for lounging
the jacuzzi . . .
. . . beautiful orchids
pool cleaning time . . .
. . . last shot taken before my camera died again
It felt good to roam around in the morning as there were less chance of bumping into one of the guests and I can take as much picture as I like. My only issue was my camera's battery. It was not charge fully therefore I didn't really get far away from our cottage.
I went back to the cottage and charged up the battery some more. When Tapioca woke up we headed down to the restaurant for breakfast. The plan was to eat as much as we can since we will be leaving the place at exactly twelve noon. We still needed to pack our stuff and we won't have enough time to eat lunch.
And eat a lot we did. Check out my brekkie plate . . .
deep-fried surprise (you won't know what you'll get until you bite on it), roasted tomato, picadillo . . .
I had two rounds of this.
. . . cheese omelet, more cheese slices and ham
cereal with fresh fruits . . .
After all those food, chillax naman sa beach. I wanted to take a nap but I couldn't resist the sea. It was calling me. This was our last day and I have to take advantages of the last few hours to enjoy the sand and the water on a nice weather like this . . .
. . . blowfish spotted
I changed into my bikini and enjoy a nice swim. Now, now since we pigged out at the breakfast buffet my tummy was so full I looked like I swallowed a whole melon. Seriously. Kapal pa ng mukha ko magpictorial.
Eeek. Itago ang mga tiyan!!!
I tried to do a jump shot but it failed. I looked like a butete jumping kaya wag na lang. Hirap pa tumalon ng busog. Si Tapioca na lang tingnan nyo!
one, two, three . . . jump!!!
yay! nice one!
We still haven't tried the jacuzzi and this was going to be our last chance. We hurriedly went up the hill to enjoy the few minutes we got.
Finally jacuzzi! And once again, we're the only guest in the silent pool area. Nice. My third fruit shake - banana shake. And it was just as good as the watermelon and the mango. Di maciado matamis as always. Tapioca had a San Mig light.
At exactly twelve noon our boat that will transfer us back to Batangas arrived. It was a perfect time to sail off as the water was calm. Just like the time when the dolphins welcomed us, the showed up again to bit us farewell. What an incredible experience it was. This time we're able to catch them on video.
Some huge ships we saw on our away. The ocean maybe big but these ships were sailing not to far from our small outrigger boat. The though of bumping into one of them was nerve-wrecking.
When we arrived at the private port, a Toyota Fortuner was waiting for us. Social talaga. Since there were just four of us (me, Tapioca and another couple) they've used the Fortuner instead of a van. We had a few minutes stop over at a gas station for wee-wee break.
With kuya driver. He was actually younger than us and I kept on calling him kuya. What a shame. Lol.
Coco Beach is not a 5 star resort but the type of service we received,
the hospitality, the friendly staff, the VIP treatment made it feel like
we are in a 5 star resort. If you wanted a different kind of Puerto
Gallera experience with more exclusivity and isolation, I highly
recommend this place.
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Breakfast buffet in the garden with the view of the sea.
. . . the view
pinoy fare brekky . . .
On the table - pork afritada, pancit miki, sardines and plain rice. That's my plate. I also had omelet, some breads (not on the photo) and a glass of four-season juice. We love their omelet station. You can instruct the chef to cook the omelet the way you like it.
After breakfast, Tapioca and I hung out at the beach while waiting for Chito for the next water activity. It was high tide that morning and the beach was much nicer.
. . . Chito and his boat
When Chito arrived, he brought us to a snorkeling place in Puerto Galera where we saw giant clams and fed some fishes. Unforch, I didn't have photos of us snorkeling. Then he toured us to different islands around Puerto Galera. We also stopped by another town which name I have forgotten and bought some pasalubong.
Tapioca at one of the souvenir shops . . .
That's the place where Chito and his family lives.
We thought we'd last an entire day snorkeling and island hopping but turned out we got tired easily due to lack of sleep. When lunchtime came, we have requested to return back to the resort so can sleep some more. Here we are back at the resort chilling out at the pool area . . .
. . . Tapioca
Jellybean . . .
. . . pool area
We went back to our cottage to retire. Look at the grumpy Tapioca. You can tell he's all worn out especially hiking up to our room . . .
how many more steps?
Our bed was all made up again by the service family. Hay, sana ganito rin sa bahay pag-uwi namin. Sarap maging señorita't señorito even just for a few days :-)
buri bag . . .
This buri bag was very useful during our stay. It was big enough to fit all our stuff like the beach towels, sunscreen, sunnies, camera, water bottles, snacks and more abubot so there's no need to keep coming back to the cottage. We had everything in one bag.
. . . inside the bag
room service again from Carabao Restaurant . . .
For lunch, I had sinigang na hipon and mango shake while Tapioca had chicken cordon blue with french fries and veggies on the side. Servings were huge. Good for big eaters like us. However, we were so tired to eat (which rarely happens) and we weren't able to finish the food.
. . . coco news
Before we went to bed I saw this lying on the dresser. It contained info about the weather forecast, foreign exchange, featured activities, the menu and specials for the day on the four restaurants, friendly reminders from the Coco Beach family and more. I found this as a really nice touch on the resort.
trying to wake up from the afternoon nap . . .
We slept for hours and when we woke up we realized happy hour was over. We still haven't tried the Silent Pool and the jacuzzi which was just a few steps from our cottage.
. . . this way to the silent pool
the silent pool's bar . . .
Since happy hour was over, so did the bar at the silent pool. It was already close when we arrived. The jacuzzi was also until 6pm only. Too bad we missed it. Good thing the pool is still open to guests.
This was called the silent pool because you're not allowed to be noisy. Tapioca and I had the place to ourselves so there's no worry about getting too loud. It felt like we own the place. It was lovely.
We just spent a few minutes in the pool and headed back to our cottage so we can get ready for dinner.
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