Summer getaway at Marites Homestay Blue Lagoon in Pagudpud

Just before summer comes to its close, I had an opportunity to visit Pagudpud for a weekend getaway with my daughter and her friend. This is the second time I visited Pagudpud, the first time was in 2013, when we had our Three day tour of Ilocos, and Pagudpud was just part of a day tour in our three day itinerary so we didn’t enjoy much the beach.  And so this time, I planned on beach bumming in Pagudpud.

Staying in Marites Homestay and Restaurant Blue Lagoon

As a busy mom, an overnight stay with me beside the beach would just be enough for me to relax and unwind from my busy daily schedule. I wasn’t looking for any fancy things in a place to stay just a homey ambiance, peaceful and quiet. 

It wasn’t difficult for us to locate Marites Homestay Blue Lagoon in Balaois, Pagudpud, fortunately the drivers who took us there knew their establishment.  From the van driver of Laoag to Pagudpud bound and the tricycle driver who directly brought us to Marites Homestay.

At around 2 p.m. we arrived at our destination.  While unloading from our tricycle Mrs. Marites Ubasa, the owner of the Homestay, greeted us warmly and I was surprised that she was already there anticipating our arrival.  Her crew was very quick to assist us in carrying our backpacks to lead us to our room.

Interior of the room

The room was already cold with the air conditioning unit was already turned on.  There are two large beds in the room, just perfect for the three of us.  I occupied the smaller one beside the window and the bigger one for my daughter and her friend. The room has the basic things we need for an overnight stay, a comfortable bed with pillows and blankets, comfort room with a water supply and toilet, table with chairs, roll of tissue and a soap.  The room is quite big, it could still accommodate closet cabinet or vanity cabinet for those who wanted to stay for a longer period of days.  Wi-Fi and television are available at the restaurant which is steps away from the rooms.  Absence of those two in our room is not an issue for me, it was actually good as I was able to take a nap in the afternoon and an early night’s sleep, I was able to read a few pages of the book I took with me.  And not to mention, of course, the beach is located in front, with the nice view of blue green water, vast white sand shoreline, that swimming and enjoying the cool water definitely took most of my time soaking in the water.     

Nipa Hut Design Rooms

Each room has Nipa hut style exterior design, using dried Cogon grass roofing, wooden structures and bamboo pole wall cladding.  Their restaurant and dining areas have also the same Filipino design structure which would appeal to foreigners and locals who wants a taste of provincial style abode.

Restaurant & Dining Area

Aside from offering rooms for rent, they also have a restaurant that is 24 hours open to cater to diners. They serve snacks and meals, they also offer “paluto” style food order, Ilocano dishes and other Filipino food. The owners are genuine Ilocanos so you will be assured that you can taste in their restaurant an authentic Ilocano dish like Dinengdeng, Pakbet, Poqui Poqui, Dinakdakan, to name a few.   

Other Services offered by Marites Homestay & Restaurant

They have a mini store at the entrance of the restaurant, souvenir shop at the parking area and they are the first to offer in Pagudpud the 4 x 4 ride, a mountain trail seaside adventure. Cottage rental near the beach.

  

For Reservation and Pricing inquiry:

You can check them out at their Facebook fan page - 

https://www.facebook.com/Marites-Homestay-and-Restaurant-Blue-Lagoon-Pagudpud-663990893738100/


Contact Person – Walter Ubasa – Marketing Manager 0909 950 4417

   

Summer Outing at a resort in Morong, Bataan

Last Saturday I was able to bring with me my family on our company outing in a beach resort in Morong, Bataan.  Although it was not our first time to go to Morong, Bataan, we’re still excited because we will be exploring a different resort.  Any place we haven’t explored yet always excites us.

I was the one who was tasked in our company to facilitate the outing wherein the time frame was short to be able to scout different resorts.  Booking a resort for a company outing during March is already difficult as most are already fully booked for the whole summer.  With the limited time that I had, I did not think of other location, but Morong Bataan because of its distance, not so crowded beaches, affordability, and availability of the resort to accommodate a big group.

I searched on the internet, first on Google, then on travel sites like Agoda, and Hotel Travel, and then on Facebook. I called up several beach resorts, which have nice reviews, but some were either too expensive or fully booked on our target date, which was either 18th or 25^th of April (Saturday).  The only one I searched on Facebook was the one which seems to fit what we are looking for, and so I booked one room for us and a big pavilion for a one day tour for the whole company at the Juness Beach Resort. 

Unleash your fantasy with Underwater Phantaseas

San Juan, Batangas

     I love the beach! And there is nowhere I find solitude rather than this place.  But what’s ironic about it is that I am not a good swimmer and until now I still have butterflies in my stomach every time I swim in the beach and maybe because I lack the proper training.  If I got the proper training in swimming and scuba diving I might have that confidence to swim even in the deepest part of the sea until where I can hold my breath.

Camping experience at a resort in Olongapo

  

    For a change we tried camping out with the kids last summer at Ocean View Resort in Olongapo.  This was not the first time for me and my hubby to try this kind of outing experience and in fact this has been our 4^th time but this time together with our three kids.  Although Ocean View Resort has different accommodations like enclosed cottages and hotel rooms for their guests they are allowing campers to settle on the beach, they only collect payment for the entrance fee which is PHP 120.00 for adult and PHP 90.00 for kids beyond 12 years old, and also campers has an option to rent an open cottage which I recommend for your source of electricity.  They have different cottage sizes for small and large group starting from PHP 1,200.00.

Beach resort in Sariaya, Quezon

     Sometimes there are travels which are unplanned which will push through when time and resources connives with what the majority want.  Just like this one long weekend when we went to a beach resort in Sariaya, Quezon, it was an unplanned trip to the beach with the family, it just emanated when one of my daughter simply would like to go for a swim in our clubhouse but her sister want to go out of town on a weekend and suddenly I want to go to the beach.   Finally we ended our conversation in going to a beach resort within a short proximity from Metro Manila.  Our choices were Batangas, Olongapo and Quezon, but the latter won the vote because we haven’t been to any beaches in Quezon.   

Sidetrip to Boracay on a business trip

The famous white sand of Boracay

            Whenever there’s a possibility for me to combine work and travel I would definitely pinch in my desire to travel, especially if my assignment would be out of town.  There was this instance, that I was able to have a glimpse of Boracay and indulge in its pristine clear waters when I had a project in Culasi, Antique which is nearby Caticlan, where the Boracay Island is located.

Pagudpud Casa Victoria Beach Resort

Welcome to Pagudpud!

     When we reached the Arc of Pagudpud our excitement heightened even more because we are already near the beach and this was the most expected part of our trip, especially the kids, they kept on talking about swimming and playing on the beach since the time we left Manila, that every time we go to our destination which was often located near a beach they kept on asking if we were already in Pagudpud.

Digyo Island, a hidden paradise

One of the four islands of Cuatro Islas in Inopacan, Leyte which is the smallest and farthest among the four islands.

    

      After a day's tour in Baybay town and nearby beaches, we are still clamoring to see more of Leyte's beauty. We were told that Cuatro Islas at Inopacan, a nearby town after Baybay has this beautiful island called Digyo which is not so well known to tourists.