Sun, sea, sand, plus...

Holy Week just passed, and for us here in the Philippines, it’s the height of summer, and quite literally too, because the heat these recent days is just intolerable. But we go through this every year, and it is part of being Filipino in the Philippines!

Though we do subscribe to observing the Christian meaning of the Lenten Season, particularly the Holy Week, we succumbed to the lure (and need!) of some R & R and took advantage of the long holidays away from the doldrums of work and city living. I needed some respite from everything that is in the city – work, traffic, pollution, stress, you name it.

And so we packed our bags and headed off to Anilao, Batangas as we have done so many times in past summers. Before though, it took us more than three hours to reach Anilao, with dusty roads that challenged our vehicle’s suspension system. With the new extension of the SLEX, however, we found ourselves at the doorstep of STAR Tollways in less than five minutes. The whole trip has been cut down to about two hours because we skipped the notorious traffic of Sto. Tomas and other choke points on the way to Batangas. Not only was the ride so much shorter, it was also much more pleasant and smooth.

My kids are grown, mature young adults wanting to have peers around them during such outings, and the beach is no fun with just your old folks to frolic around with, so we had about eight other guests with us as a concession to them. Better that than have two morose, brooding people who can’t be placated anymore with bags of junk food.

Our destination, where else but our favorite resort in Mabini, Anilao, Batangas — Vistamar Resort. Actually, the owner Charlie Leobrera whom we’ve known since the early 90’s when we first started our summer forays there, just never bothered to change the name in its marquee. It should now read Vistamar Beach Resort and Hotel, because it really has evolved from being just a mere resort. From a one-building dive/picnic place, Charlie has added three or four more buildings, the last one having spacious, more luxurious rooms facing the ocean. Just step out of your cozy room out into the long terrace lining the row of rooms and watch the clear azure waters lapping the shore and you know what peace and serenity can be outside of the city. Or, drink in hand, watch the sunset from your own private space outside your room until the smoldering sun hisses deep into the blue waters. This is the most peaceful time yet, when day gives way to evening, the air is suddenly cooler, and the bathers gather their belongings to return to their rooms for a quick shower and nap before dinner time, leaving the vast ocean to you and your musings.

Not so for the kids, of course — they can frolic in the beach, run down to the pool to wash off the salt water, then run back to the beach, working up a huge appetite for dinner. Vistamar is a big resort hotel, yes, but the waiters, cooks, housekeepers, etc., have not surrendered to the cold and impersonal service of big establishments. Charlie and his wife Fely have kept a family as Vistamar staff, not just a bunch of fast-moving servers and attendants. Many of them have been with Charlie for 19, 20 years, and they know they will always have a home. I see loyalty in big letters, and this translates to better service in the long run.

The rooms are always clean, made up daily by a compact but dedicated housekeeping staff, the sheets smelling nice, the room pleasantly cold and welcoming after a day out in the sweltering sun. For meals, they of course have a wide range of options, but we advise our favorite waiter, Mar, well in advance if we want really tender bulalo, the ligaments and tendons hanging out and waiting to fall off the shank, or really tender bistek with lots of softened onions swimming in calamansi/toyo sauce. Or if we want sinigang na baboy, the real one like we have at home where the soup is no longer clear but a little opaque because the pork juices have been rendered by a half day of slow boiling. Quick boiling may get the pork pieces tender enough to the bite, but we at home know when the maids fast tracked our sinigang – the soup is too clear. I should know. After all these years, really good sinigang na baboy is still my comfort food, served hot and sour, but lots of kangkong, okra, long sili, and tons of softened gabi, reminiscent of my childhood years when cholesterol counts were not a favorite topic in the dining table. I would carefully mash the tender sticky gabi into my rice already swimming in the sour soup, and have that tiny platter of patis within easy reach.

And yes, we had all those tender meats served to us because we gave advance notice on non-abstinence days. Good Friday, of course was completely meatless, though the Chef’s Bicol Express, tanguigue steak and pinakbet were treats enough. And as always, we brought some of Baby’s homemade bacalao, a dish I always look forward to during Holy Week, fragrant with extra virgin olive oil.

Vistamar’s chapel, small but airy with windows all around saw the family and the whole group gathered around for the rosary and a little personal time with the Lord. The whole resort was packed, I could see, but everyone seemed respectful of Good Friday, as we should be.

We stayed on from Thursday to well after lunch on Easter Sunday, a really lazy, languorous, almost lethargic but certainly restful and peaceful long weekend. I did not forget to pack my multi-media player, so Babes and I enjoyed several movies in the cool comfort of our spacious room. We missed Charlie and our late afternoon chats in the dining room punctuated by a lot of laughter and reminiscences because he is under the weather right now but will soon be back to his second home, Vistamar. In the meantime, his daughter Lorraine has taken over the reins and true to her father’s ways, she tended to us with loving care as well. 

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

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