Shangri-la Mactan, Alegre and Bantayan Island Cebu

 Listening to:

 Best Days

This is the vacation that we’ve mostly been waiting for. Not only because I’d be turning 28 at that time and that we’d be staying at 5-star hotels, but because Pa will be with us. The day we all arrived in Cebu, we headed to Shangri-la Mactan for afternoon coffee and snacks. Tito Pedro, Tita Annie (Pa’s brother and sister-in-law), Nipsy and Renault (Peter’s cousin and cousin-in-law) were with us. We stayed there the whole evening, dining at their seafood buffet by the beach. It was so gorgeous, classy and marvelous! We had such a great time! Of course, being the practical person that I am, I couldn’t help but notice that when the bill came, it amounted to something like P15,000.00 inclusive of P1,000.00 tip from Pa! And we didn’t even check-in. WOW! NALULA AKO! Hahaha!

 Shangrila Mactan 

View from the restaurant…

Me as I was about to order; Pa, Tito Pedro, Tita Anne, Nipsy, Renault and I

 
Look at all the assorted cakes from the buffet table! Forget about dieting for now…Hehehe! 

Happy together…

The next day, we headed to Bantayan Island and stayed at St. Bernard Beach Resort. It’s one of those cozy, more affordable resorts along the beaches of Bantayn Island. It is located only 15 min. walk or 5 min. by tricikad (bicycle with sidecar) from the pier. (*Reservation can be made by E-Mail: bernard@bantayan.dk or by phone +63-9179636162.)

Bantayan Island

Enjoying the amihan season along St. Bernard Beach…

Pa rested for a bit. While he was enjoying the comforts of our nipa hut accommodation, Peter and I went island hopping to Virgin and Hilantagan Islands. Since it was amihan season then, we didn’t experience the full blast of the sun. Nevertheless, the weather was still fine — cool and warm at the same time. And the water was crystal clear like that of Boracay.

Hilantagan and Virgin Islands 

  Testing the clear blue waters… 

Oh, we also had a bit of booboo during our stay at Bantayan. One day, as Peter and I were relaxing by the beach, a local approached us and told us about a certain falls in the area. Being nature lovers, we got excited! I mean, I didn’t even come across that information while researching on the internet about  the island. So I said, ok, let’s go there before heading back to mainland Cebu. We encouraged Pa to go with us. But since he just wanted to relax at the beach, it was just Peter and I who went to the nature spot. We rode a habal-habal (motorcycle) and both of us were listening for the sound of falling waters.  Weirdly, there was none. Until we reached another more posh and classy resort called the Ogtong Resort. So we went in, paid the entrance fees and asked around for the falls. The reception area pointed us to the direction of the swimming pool. There must be some sort of a misunderstanding. So I repeated : “Ate falls po, hindi swimming pool” to which the lady replied “Yes Ma’am, swimming fols po”. Nyarks!!!! The Visayan accent fooled us! The whole time, I thought theye were talking about a certain FALLS, only to realize that they were referring to the POOL. Hay naku!!!! Anyway, it was a blessing in disguise because inside their resort was a natural cave called the OGTONG CAVE. That’s what we explored instead.

Taking a dip in the waters of the Ogtong Cave…

The next day, til the 20th, we stayed at Alegre Beach Resort at Sogod, northern part of Cebu. We got ourselves an oceanview room with balcony. It was truly a first class experience, waking up to the view of the sun and the beach.. All meals were either buffet or room service a la carte. We felt like royalty! We also went sunset cruising while spotting for dolphins. In the evenings, cultural dance shows were performed. I can get used to this kind of life everyday (if not for the almost P50,000.00 fees we paid for after our stay)  I told Pa. Who knows? It might just come true…
(more…)

HoDgEpOdGe

I’ve been dreading the last phase of the MDP assessment. This is the reason why I braved the waves of La Union last weekend, just so I could have distracting thoughts and memories while waiting for my turn. Last week, the third phase began with the in-basket assessment and leaderless discussion. This week, the panel interview began. There was no escaping it. This morning, I had my panel interview with the senior executives of the System and I was so nervous. Peter, my boss and colleagues kept telling me that I would breeze it and wow them all. They had such faith in me! So that’s what I did. The moment my name was called, I inhaled deeply and lifted everything up to God… Let His will be done.  Surprisingly, I was able to answer articulately, fluently, with conviction and grace. My thoughts just kept on flowing to my mouth and  I enjoyed myself in the process. I was even able to make our executives laugh and have their fun too. The moment I was done, I checked my watch and believe it or not, the whole thing happened in just a span of 7-8 minutes! I was shocked! To think that the others took around 20-30 minutes. I don’t know what this means, whether it’s a good sign or not. My boss was there observing me the whole time and she seemed happy about my interview. She even texted me afterwards that I did great. So I guess that’s good enough for me. Now only time can tell. By first week of Feb, the Top 40 final candidates will be announced. I don’t know what to think anymore. For now, I’m just glad the assessment is over.

~~~oOo~~~

It was Dodgie’s birthday last Jan. 5 and it’s only now that he was able to celebrate it with us. He treated us to Guilly’s at Mall of Asia and we pigged out like there was no tomorrow from 5:30 - 10pm. Not to fret about our weight coz we were able to dance it all off during the latter part of the evening. 

Around 7 pm, the fireworks started. Vangie and I went outside the restaurant to catch a closer view of the fantastic display…

 ~~~oOo~~~ 

At around 10:30 pm, Peter and I headed to the airport to pick up Papa who is coming home from the States.  We’re all home now. Gotta sleep for a few hours before I meet up with my Mom in the morning to have her eyes checked by a specialist. As for Peter and Papa, they’ll be house hunting later today. Papa wants to buy one ASAP so we can transfer to a much bigger place. I’m actually quite excited! I hope things go well. 

ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND FOLKS!