story of a girl

For my last beach trip for this summer, my family and I traveled way South to see Cebu and one of its hidden treasures, the Santa Fe beach in Bantayan.

Bantayan is an island located in the Northern tip of Cebu, it is 80 miles from Cebu City, which is about 4 hours of land and water travel. From the city, we took the Ceres bus going to Hagnaya. There are no air-conditioned buses available in this route so we had no choice but to endure the heat for three hours, the sights on the way would occasionally refresh your eyes and get you excited. Thankfully, the roads we took were cemented so the trip wasn’t bumpy. In Hagnaya port, we took the ferry and traveled for another hour to reach Santa Fe.

We made reservations in Kota Beach, a nicely landscaped resort with only its cozy Nipa bungalow cottages to boast of. The resort has no swimming pool or even a videoke machine. There was no TV in sight; just you and the beach.  It is heaven for those who want to be away from all the city noise.

We had a view of the beach from our room, a less than a minute walk from it would take you to the beautiful shore. Kota also has a unique sand bar dividing a small sea water pool from the main beach, although we didn’t swim there because the water was stagnant.

The white sand in Bantayan may not be as fine and powdery like Boracay’s but it is a better alternative for those who don’t appreciate the overdevelopment of the latter. It was a natural high for me sans the noise and the booze.

Food prices were reasonable, considering that we were 80 miles away from the city. My favorite eating portion was when we feasted on a Php245/head buffet at Marisqueira O’ Portugese    or sometimes called Melo’s place. The set included a variety of seafood and meat with fruits and rice cakes for dessert plus bottomless iced tea. We were eating like prisoners who would be judged the next day.

It was a major family bonding experience, as all seven of us were present in a paradise like Santa Fe. There were just so many jumping, wacky and action-packed shots taken and we couldn’t help but plan the next family outing we would be doing. Ena though had to stay in the room for most of our stay because she has a board exam to face soon; nevertheless she had fun being there with us. Papa was so happy he even launched a legal drinking and poker session .

I can’t help but be amazed every single time I see natural wonders like this, we, Filipinos, are so lucky to be surrounded by all these bodies of water that make up our beautiful beaches.

We went back to the city to see the rest of Cebu. It was a less chaotic Manila I would say. When we went to Ayala Center, I was surprised to see people looking more  bongga and nice-smelling than most of the people we see in our malls here, and I don’t intend for that comment to be offensive. They just looked fresher and not haggard and not going to the mall just so they can be “air-conditioned” (I’m guilty of that too! Waaah!). And more importantly, taxi drivers there are not hungry for tips, unlike here, when you give them a hundred peso bill for an eighty-peso fare, they don’t smile and let you figure out that the extra twenty is their understood tip, they give you back the 20.

My real Pinaka moment was when we took on the challenge of the Crown Regency’s Edge Coaster! It was a literally breath-taking experience. Being on the edge of the 38^th floor of the building, while the wind and the rain was jamming together, led me to thank my parents for all their love, apologize to my siblings for my mood swings and whisper to Papa God how unready I am to meet him, ganun ka-drama! At the end of the ride, I kind of regretted not tilting the coaster even more, after all it was a once in a lifetime occurrence.

This trip made me appreciate Cebu even more. My first time was just a drop-by moment because Bohol was our actual destination but it was unforgettable because of my airport incident (haha!) but all that’s gone now. Sabi nga ni Jericho Rosales ‘past is past!’ He is out of the topic, but he really makes me roll laughing!

All in all, it was a fruitful summer for me. And now that I have to bid goodbye to the lovely sun and welcome the unforgiving rains of the season, I can’t help but wish for a summer extension because it makes me happy and one happy Monica is one less problem to the world.

Though summer ends here, I’m still not done. Next stop: CWC, Bicol!