The Little "Angel" Resort (continuation of last post)

It turns out the resort's name was Little Bridge.  Or should I say current name because we learned from the staff that they were in the process of renaming the resort to Aplaya de Butong since it was under new management.

Anyway, we found ourselves staying at a quaint resort out of the usual transport path (jeeps don't pass this road).  There was a hotel with its own pool and a balcony for each room.  The room assigned to us just happened to be beside the chapel.

After settling in, we went down to do some exploring.  We noticed that on the walls between rooms, peices of cloth were hung, probably local designs.  Going down the stairs, the first thing you notice is the painting on the opposite wall in the lobby.  It was a huge portrait of Mother Theresa meeting with Pope John Paul II, made more vibrant with a red background and their smiling faces.  

There were several sets of furniture in the lobby, all made of hardwood.  One set had wheels for armrests.  Another seemed to be carved from large logs.

We made arrangements for dinner.  It turns out that the food was all a la carte so it was a good thing we ordered early.  We asked for a dish of mixed vegetables and a possible choice of simple meat dishes (breakfast fare actually which were easy to prepare) to be decided when we got to dinner.

It was drizzling softly so we thought we might be able to explore the resort.  We walked down a path leading to the beach from the hotel.  We found ourselves under a covered pavilion.  We guessed it was an activity area.  Beside it was a set of doors that led to a large hall, probably the function room.

The waves were fierce.  It was after all a rainy afternoon.

(another continuation)

A Weekend Tour

I just got back from Batangas.  What should have been a visit to a specific church turned out to be a pilgrimage tour.

The idea for the trip began last Saturday.  I found myself at the LOJ Counseling Center with a couple of friends from the service.  We were discussing what we could do during this long weekend when Violy remembered a church she was told to visit.  She was not sure if the name was Casaysay or Casasay.

So we got on the net and did a little research.  We found out the proper name was Our Lady of Caysasay which was located in Taal, Batangas.  We then tried to locate a small and affordable hotel for an overnight trip.  We found some old houses whose rooms were being rented out to visitors.  We went through the reviews and decided that we will look them over when we got to Taal before making a decision.

Ok so the plan was made.  We asked some other people to join us but for their own reasons, they could not make it.  Only four of us were on; Brenda, Cathy, Violy and myself.

Yesterday, we attended the Feast Ortigas which also served as our meeting place.  It turns out we could ride a bus to Lipa right in front of the Edsa Shrine. We left after having lunch and buying some provisions.

At the Tambo exit in Lipa, we boarded a jeep bound for Lemery which would pass by Taal.  I thought it would be a quick hop but the fare price told me it was going to be a long trip.  It was still sunny when we left Lipa but it was drizzling when we got to Taal.

Instead of dropping us off in the middle of town, the jeepney driver let us off on the corner of the road leading to the Caysasay church.  We began to ask the locals where those rooming houses were located.  It turned out we should have gotten off closer to town.  They suggested we try a nearby resort.  They said its name was Little Angel.  We got a tryke to take us there.

(to be continued)