Dalampasigan Beach Resort in Sariaya, Quezon

the resort's arched entryway

tree-lined path leading to the resort's very spacious parking lot

Located in Baranggay Guis-guis in Sariaya in Quezon Province, the Dalampasigan Beach Resort is on the coast of the Tayabas Bay. The resort is quite popular with local tourists who wish to beat the heat or groups who would like to hold functions and/or events. It has a number of facilities and offer recreational activities ranging from a playground for kids (and kids at heart), billiards, darts, table tennis to kayaking and beach volleyball.

Trish and Fiona at the playground area

The resort has 66 rooms to choose from, with accommodations for twin-sharing to as many as 25 persons. Room rates range from a thousand bucks to a high of Php 12,000 for the 3-storey Jasmine unit which can accommodate a maximum of 25.

Gumamela Rooms near the resort entrance

Jasmine Unit(s) for large groups

Though the beach is far from being called spectacular as the sand is definitely not pristine white, the waters are very kid-friendly. I just sat on the sand watching my girls in the water. As it was the low tide when we got there, the girls were a few meters off and the water was still about Fiona's waist deep.

definitely not white sand

sun, sand, sea and sky

Most importantly, the resort offers a welcome respite from the stifling summer heat. And in the company of my girls, good bonding memories surely abound.

Laiya to Sariaya

The girls just didn't want to go home yet and wanted to extend. But the all the resorts were already fully-booked and we didn't have a place to stay. HB made some other arrangements to placate the girls.

So we found ourselves driving a little farther south to the town of Sariaya in Quezon. From the Laiya road junction in San Juan, we turned right and headed for Candelaria.

road from San Juan in Batangas to Candelaria in Quezon

We cruised for about 15 kilometers before reaching the town of Candelaria on the Maharlika Highway. Upon reaching the intersection, we turned right again to get to Sariaya. About 8 kilometers later, we turned right again on a narrower road leading to Barangay Guis-guis.

picturesque tree-lined countryside road marred by campaign posters

We traversed this road for about 12 kilometers more before reaching our second beach resort for the day. 

(More about the Dalampasigan Beach Resort on a separate post)    ;)

Laiya's Coral Gardens

On our second day in Laiya, we rented a boat to take us snorkeling in "Lamesang Bato". The banca rental association of Laiya saw that our family was just a small one and with two little kids at that so they arranged to get us a small banca. We agreed to pay Php 700 for the boat ride that took us about 4 kilometers off the beach and stayed with us during the 45-minute snorkeling time.

It was our younger girls' first experience and once they entered the water and donned their goggles, they were awed by the sight of the corals and fishes.

Lamesang Bato coral garden of Laiya

Note: This is NOT an underwater shot. I just focused my camera about a foot above the water and I was able to capture this :)

We brought bread so we could feed the fishes and the boatman even helped us do this. The girls exclaimed every now and then.

What a grand time they had!

Full Swing Summer!

Thus far, we've been to:

• Club Balai Isabel in Talisay, Batangas
• Andrea Beach Resort in Lobo, Batangas
• Forest View, Treetop Adventure and Go-Kart in Subic
• Skyview Resort in Calamba, Laguna
• Laiya Austria Beach Resort in San Juan, Batangas
• Dalampasigan Beach Resort in Sariaya, Quezon

This coming weekend, we've got a couple of swimming parties to attend but both will be held within the metropolis. After the elections, I've got a scheduled business trip to Naga and Legaspi in Bicol. As soon as I land at the airport on May 14, our family will head out to Lucban in Quezon for HB's office department outing (although I made separate arrangements to stay at a friend's house in Louisiana in Laguna) to take part in the famous Pahiyas Festival the following day.

Whew! Sounds tiring, but I'm more excited more than anything! This means I've got a lot of travels tales to come and I've still got my stories piling up in my drafts. ;) 

I'm not complaining though... after all, my mantra says:

Live life to the fullest, 

Laugh at all the things that don't matter,

          and Love with all that you have and more!

Subic TreeTop: An Adventure Like No Other

The Tree Top Adventure is one of Subic's latest tourist attractions offering a unique ecological experience. Activities range from jungle trekking, suspended trails and bridges, motorized cable rides and rappelling. The various activity packages are definitely not for the weak-kneed and faint-hearted. The activities are not at all dangerous as the park promotes safety in all aspects. Only the park attendants are allowed to strap on the harnesses. They also offer packages for groups who would like to hold team-building exercises in an ecological setting. Click here to find out more about the TreeTop Adventure activities, facilities and packages.

Only my HB and eldest daughter mustered enough courage to take on the tree top challenges. The two younger girls wanted to try it out but we were informed that they were still too small (and I guess with their 'skinniness', no harness would fit them, heeheehee).

I, on the other hand, was only too happy to stay on the sidelines and cheer.

HB was the first to take the challenge.

HB makes his way to the tree drop platform

He tried out the Australian-style tree drop, a face-first rappelling style. It cost Php 150 per tree drop.

Trish tried the Interactive Freefall, a suspension ride taking adventurers to a high of about 60 meters. We paid Php 250 for this yoyo-like ride.

about 60 meters up high

Unfortunately, the park's most famous "Superman" ride was not available that time that we were there.

In the meantime, my younger girls were contented with just making wacky poses for me.

A Quick Dip in Subic Forest View's Pool

Last Sunday, we headed to Subic to follow our barkada who stayed overnight in Subic Bay Forest View where they rented a couple of villas with 3 bedrooms and 2 toilet and baths. The villas were air-conditioned which was a welcome respite from the summer heat.

When we arrived, they were just about to have breakfast so we just lounged around.

But after a while, our younger girls got restless so HB accompanied them to take a quick dip in the pool.

No doubt, Fiona had a good time!

The Malabrigo Lighthouse (Faro de Punta de Malabrigo)

From the Andrea Beach Resort, we took a 15-minute drive to get to the southernmost tip of Lobo to take a glimpse of the Malabrigo Point Lighthouse.

The drive was mostly on narrow winding roads along the coast of Lobo. The view of the deep blue sea was simply breathtaking.

As with most lighthouses, the Malabrigo Lighthouse sits on top of a hill. This particular parola (the Filipino word for lighthouse) is situated on top of a cliff overlooking the Verde Island Passage in between Batangas and the island of Mindoro.

A short climb on a steep winding unpaved road leads to a glorious sight. True to the words of Rosanna Harper Alonso, editor of Faro de Malabrigo: Story of a Philippine Lighthouse,

"... the lighthouse looked like a grand lady dressed in her white finery. Under a blue and cloudless sky, she was a striking structure surrounded by an ocean aura of romance."

Built in 1896 during the Spanish colonial period, the lighthouse has been declared as a national historical landmark. It is one of the only 24 remaining lighthouses which date back to the Spanish era.

Below the cliff, the sight of clear blue water was awesome.

Sea below the cliff of Malabrigo Point in Lobo, Batangas

Of course we didn't leave without getting our souvenir shot.

Mi tres ninas en Faro de Punta de Malabrigo

Sunset at Lobo, Batangas

One highlight of our Lobo trip was when we sat down on the shore to capture the sunset. A couple of my friends had their DSLRs to take that perfect sunset shot.

photo courtesy of DH

I, on the other hand, had my reliable and ultra-handy point-and shoot Canon Ixus 100 IS. I tinkered with the settings and came up with these shots. (I swear, no enhancements were made. Photos were just framed and watermarked using Photoscape.)

These first two pictures were taken on auto mode.

The Canon Ixus 100 IS comes with preset modes of shooting situations. I just clicked on the sunset mode and proceeded to shoot.

This is my personal favorite.

Related Posts:


Andrea Beach Resort in Lobo, Batangas
The Malabrigo Lighthouse

Andrea Beach Resort in Lobo, Batangas

Lobo, Batangas is a not so popular beach destination but that's where our barkada ended up last Thursday. Getting to Lobo was an adventure in itself. Google provided very little and vague information about Lobo. The website of Andrea Beach Resort (where we stayed) said that the resort is 45 minutes away from Batangas City. In reality, it was about an an hour and a half drive of mostly winding (read: zigzag) and unpaved (read: rough) road traversing Mount Liguayen.

The resort had very basic amenities. But the best thing was that the rates were very reasonable. They had air-conditioned rooms ranging from Php 1,500 to 3,500. Best of all, they allow guests to bring in and cook their own food for a minimal corkage fee. The resort owner's daughter who manages the resort and the local staff were all very pleasant.

The resort also offers dive packages. Boat rides to dive and snorkeling sites could easily be arranged with the local boatmen.

The beach was rocky but the water was crystal clear. Aqua shoes are a must. We laughed our heads off as we recounted that while we arranged for the reservations, we were told over the phone that the sand was neither white nor black. Indeed, there was very little sand!

But the sun and sea were picturesque.

That, coupled with good company make for a nice getaway.

this photo is courtesy of DH