Highlights of something ReƔl. (03.23.18-03.24.18)
Karla and I had been planning an out of town weekend with Apple just because we missed her so much! The original plan was just to food crawl in Marikina and hangout at home or go to El Patio for their Kawa Bath. Good thing we decided to opt for a beach instead because Iāve been dying to go to this fairly new, instagrammable resort in Quezon.
Trip there was grueling⦠Oh wait! Sidenote! Just because I want to remember this foreva!
**So I woke up really early for our 5am meetup time. As I rushed in taking a bath, I felt a sting of pain inside my nose while quickly washing my face. I didnāt realize it right away but I figured that the pain was from my left pinky sliding right inside my left nostril!!! Yes! Natusok ko ng pinky ko yung butas ng ilong ko! I was baffled. I didnāt even know it was possible! But hey, unusual accidents happen everyday. I just laughed it out. But then, when I was drying myself, I saw blood!!! And there it was, my nose bleeding profusely. Good thing it just took a dozen of cotton buds to stop the bleeding and I thank my healthy platelets for healing my wound right away. The end! Natawa lang ako na posible palang matusok mo yung butas ng ilong mo habang naliligo. This is definitely one for the books.**
Back to regular programming. Trip there was a grueling 5-hour bus ride from Sampaloc. There are other accessible and more comfortable ways to get there but this was the most convenient for us at that time. Make sure to get on the bus early to secure seats as it gets really packed, with people standing until the end of the trip.
We took the Rizal-Laguna-Quezon route which was something new to me. Iāve been to Quezon a lot of times but never in ReĆ”l but Iāve always thought that the only way to get there was through Laguna, south, and not east, Rizal.
After the bus ride, we still needed to ride a tricycle, for about 30 mins, to take us directly to the place.
The place is situated in a fairly remote area. There are no ATMs nearby so donāt make the same mistake of not bringing enough cash like I did.
My first impression of the resort was that it was really small. Iāve looked at tons of pictures before getting there and Iāve always thought it was veeery spaceous. It was not crowded though and as the place grew on me, I realized that the space was actually more than enough.
It was so cute though!!! Colors, signages, quotes were everywhere! It was truly instagrammable. So instagrammable that we were able to spend the whole day literally just taking pictures. And eating, of course.
The ambiance was sooo chill. Nice music on the background, sound of waves splashing, cool breeze mingling with the sun. It was almost dream-like.
Each cabana has their own picnic table and folding chair for hanging out. I can imagine friends singing along to guitar acoustics there while drinking beer.
THERE IS ONE DOWNSIDE THOUGH. It was really windy!!! I donāt know if itās just our timing or if itās really like that because itās near the shore or if the architecture was really designed to gather a lot of air. It actually got to the point that it was not chill windy anymore. It was already fucking annoying. Like a giant industrial fan following you anywhere that you just wanna turn off but canāt.
Also, do take note that there is no Globe signal and Smartās intermittent.
Food wasnāt that special but one may buy outside of the resort for cheaper meals and more food options.
Pro tip: Buy at Joshuaās Eatery. They offer boodle meals good for sharing. Affordable and delish!
Pro tip 2: Do not get shakes from the shack. Theyāre too sweet and the fruits are just artificial flavors and not fresh at all.
Surfing. We didnāt get to try it though. And I wasnāt able to see anyone doing so, too. The waves were huge and plenty but Iām not sure if the sea is suitable for surfing because the sand is too shallow. But they recommend surfing and I am not a surfer so donāt mind my opinion.
Swimming. Of course, youāre in the beach! The sand is fine so I think swimming there is fun. We didnāt get to try it, too. Again, we just did photoshoots there and the wind was too strong and cold we didnāt even bother to take a dip and drop our temperature lower.
Skimboarding. I think this is perfect ācause of the frequency of waves crashing on the shore.
Strolling around the area. This, we got to do. It was fun strolling the area beacause the people are so nice, the roads are clean, and the view on the other side is that of a breathtaking lush mountain. Probinsya feels talaga.
My favorite activity was the movie night!!! They set up a projector in the lounge area and played some movies while we lay on the numerous bean bags, eating, drinking, enjoying (itās less windy in the lounge area) the cool night breeze. People gathered at this time, too, making the movie more enjoyable because of the peopleās combined reactions. That night, we watched Moana, followed by Dirty Grandpa. I know, from PG to R-18. You can actually bring a USB or something and request for a certain movie to be played.
All in all, I really enjoyed the place and would recommend it to anyone. I got to enjoy bonding with Karla and Apple, too. I love these girls!!! In retrospect though, it seems like we didnāt really get to talk, like deeply. Which was odd because we are a bunch of talkative ladies. We were so loud, noisy, and sablay though, the guard kept on laughing at our mishaps. We were just so in the moment and I dunno, so tired I guess that we didnāt get to have those late nights serious talks along the shore.
Oh wait, I remember. It was the fucking wind!!!! After the movie night we just curled up in our cabin and slept because it was so fucking cold and windy it felt like thereās a fuckin tornado outside.