The Tamarind Tree (part2)

Part One => here

Stairways To Heaven
This way up to the club house or the function hall where events like weddings or what so parties happen.

To The Pool
Half way of the stairs to the clubhouse, take a left turn to reach the swimming pool with the an elevated location like the function hall.

What A Beauty!
Look how sweet is the swimming pool. To your right is a view of the ocean and pics of islands, and to your left..

Real Pretty!
.. is like a landscape painting.

Bamboo Showers

Ofcourse as in any pool rules, take a shower first before dipping in the pool. These outdoor bamboo showers really spell pretty rustic.We love them! And the stone floor_very relaxing to the feet.




Shades
As spf roof, you can stay and relax in this cottage beside the pool.

Kayaks
Ready to use with minimal rental fee.There's single and there's for the couple.

Going-up To Eat
Meals are serve at the cafeteria,if you're staying (like we do) at the frontbeach cottages,you have to climb up to the hills on this road or the stone stairs at the other side. They don't allow food in the cottages.Everyone must really go up this way to eat.Those staying at the uphill cottages have the advantage as they are nearby the cafeteria.

Lunch At The Cafeteria
This is the only place where you can eat. The place wears the consistent rustic appeal of the whole resort. Even the plates are made from native materials and on top of each plate is a banana leaf used as paper plate.The place is decorated with native hats (which are also for sale) from Lucban Quezon (a neighboring town ).

Food
With our family package comes three meals (breakfast,lunch,dinner)of the day of fish,meat dish,vegetable, rice all you can, and fresh fruits for desserts. Snacks are cook to order, so you have to do the ordering in advance with additional fees. Drinking water is serve free.

Outside The Fence
An extension of the beauty of the resort continues .

The Beach
As for the highlight of the resort_it has a fine nearly white beach infront.

A Calm Sea
Water is clear and quiet. So inviting for a swim.Very safe for kids too. And one can never ignore the beautiful view of the islets sitting pretty in the ocean.

We Want more!
So we hired a boat for island hopping.The rest of the trip was wonderful! (see previous blog>Borawan & Dampalitan Islands).

The Tamarind Tree (part1)

While goggling for a place to stay in Padre Burgos, 2 resorts showed. One with fresh & green website with accessible booking office near my house. The other one with nothing but an email add, not even on line, no phone nos, too. I chose the one with easy booking access ofcourse.
Before that, I called my friend who was based in our (Quezon) home town,a 3 hours drive from Padre Burgos. I asked  if she could suggest a place to stay or had she ever visited Borawan Island? Her answers were negative and even warned me not to go there at all because of the risk of security hazards (there was a buzz regarding the town as NPA hiding place). Needless to say, I didn't believe her, but ofcourse when I made the reservation, I nailed the people from the resort to reaffirm our security, countless times.
I went to the bank and made a deposit of 50% of the room rate. The resort is not yet ready for credit card and only accepts over the counter payment.



T
The Resort
The resort is called The Tamarind Tree. The name appealed to me as very organic and fresh. The resort's website said it all and I was sold.




Rugged Road
It seems like this is not in the town proper but in a remote area. But don't be deceived by the short rugged road, it is very much in the "poblacion", actually this is the private road of the resort which is obviously not yet developed. On the other hand, the road compliments the rustic appeal of the resort.




The Entrance
Look how pretty!..and nice..and fresh!This is the entrance of the resort_on top of the hill, the rest of it unfurl down to the beach front. From here you could already enjoy a glimpse of the ocean with islets sitting on it.

Uphill Cottages
A number of these nipa hut cottages are located near the entrance of the resort which is uphill. The sizes vary_from small hut (for 2-4 persons) to a big one (10-12 guests).

Going Down
To get down to the beach front, there are two ways, one is to use these stone stairs, passing by bushes of greens and colorful flowers.

Drive Thru
Or run down on this drive thru which is actually for the cars. But if you're in a hurry, this one is a short cut!

Almost There
Close reach to the beach you would pass by some bamboo bridges and benches inviting to take a breath of freshness.

Sweet Lil' Bridge
This bridge will bring you to the largest of the only three cottages at the beachfront.

Beach Front Cottage
This is a fresh air cottage and so the rest of the cottages are. There's no cottage w/ ac and walls are scarce here.

Inside
The interior is like an exterior. It's open and has curtains hanging ready as cover- up when the need arises. Even the upper floor has big open windows.

A Bali Hut
This is another one of the three cottages in the beachfront, a medium size hut..

No Walls Too
..and carries the same fresh air open windows just like the rest.

At This Point
Maybe you are wondering how about mosquitoes at night? With this open windows architecture, I asked the same question..

Giant Kulambo
..and found the answer when the night came. They have a specially made mosqueto net (made to order from Laguna) as big as the hut where everyone still has a room for each own activity. Now, that's clever and how innovative!

Green Ground
This big open space is a multi function ground which is also a suggestive camping site. The resort has tents for rents or you can bring one.

Part Two here

Padre Burgos, Quezon

I hailed from Quezon and it's funny that I had only discovered Bondoc Peninsula just very recently. Although I would glance at the welcome arch (photo) when we passed by on the way up to zigzag road , I had never passed thru it not until this summer when we went to Borawan , in Padre Burgos , a town in Bondoc Peninsula.










After Lucena, there's Pagbilao then Padre Burgos if you're not coming up the zigzag road in Atimonan. It is approximately 160 kms. from Manila, an easy four-hour drive in non-rush hour traffic.




If you are coming from Manila,this is the best landmark that you can get.From here,it's only 15 minutes zero traffic drive to reach the town of Padre Burgos.



Padre Burgos is the first town of Bondoc PeninsulaThe town proper is small and has a charm of a barrio. Quiet and quaint yet offers some of the best beaches and islands in the country. Nature beauties that are fresh , green and not yet commercialized.














We entered the town and followed our map to take a turn to a fork road. A short rugged road brought us to the gate of the resort we chose to stay_  The Tamarind Tree, see here.








front beach of the resort

we had a marvelous island hopping

the couple islets

more unnamed islets sitting pretty in the middle of the ocean

Dampalitan Island with lots of sea turtle resting on its beach side. See Dampalitan Island here.




the iconic Borawan which brought the town of Padre Burgos in my map. See more of Borawan = = > click here

Nothing disappointed us in Padre Burgos. From the resort, beach, islands, islets , ocean . . we were happy with our short stay. Never to forget the local folks were very courteous and added charm to the place.