PICO DE LORO BEACH RESORT AND COUNTRY CLUB

In the Philippines, April and May are the best months to go and explore beaches and resorts. I can't wait to share to you where I had brought my daughter to, during her first visit of my home country.

Hamilo Coast holding the Pico Sands Hotel,
 and the Pico De Loro Resort and Country Club

The salty warm sea breeze welcomed me upon reaching Pico De Loro Beach and Country Club. My eyes squinted with how the sun reflected thru the white sand and attacked my iris with a splendour of the Hamilo Coast's vast horizon. I was engulfing the scenery when I got distracted with a volleyball toss made on my left periphery and it instantly pulled me back into reality hearing my aunt's echoing voice regarding checking in.

Pico De Loro Resort and Country Club is strictly for its members only based on the regulations set for shareholders. However, the resort opens up a part for those who want to experience a great getaway as guests for a fair chance with one of Batangas' assets. In order to set this identification properly, they give you a water proof wristband that should not be in any way removed while you use the resort's facilities. It is actually to distinguish a guest from a member, where members get a full access to the country club's exclusive pool in mind. My auntie had to check that everyone got the wrist bands on just so nobody would be outcasted. Personally, it felt too much but they are concerned with everybody's safety so I complied. This wristband changes colour everyday. Once it gets tampered, damaged or broken, it may compromise your identification, and that's when we are adviced to collect a new one as soon as possible from the front desk, sans the whole process of checking the registered name. Yes, before arriving to the Philippines, around 4 days before, as soon as I confirmed to my cousin that we'll be joining them to this fun getaway, our complete names and birthdays were asked. This is to ensure the person's registration.

So much for that stressful checking of accommodation, allow me to give you a little bit of a trivia why it is called Pico De Loro Cove.

I hope the image had given it justice. So many hikers had documented their achievement of the hilltop but nobody shows the parrot beak like this. In addition to its name, the Hamilo coast where the resort was built and constructed is estimated to be holding 3 coves that have been declared Marine

Diving and snorkelling with my cousins.

Protected Areas (MPA's). Their coves are preserved and well kept. We had rented out a boat to take us into different coves and it was something that I didn't do for a long time. We had visited a private beach along one of the cove's beautiful white sand coasts and it was like a miniature of Boracay's Station 1.

As we started going for a dive, I noticed that the water wasn't that salty. As we stopped meters away from the beach to swim, my uncle noticed that there was not much to see when snorkelling. It was too clean. There were no corals whatsoever. Fishes are around but I think it's because of the bread that they are expecting from the people that stop here. Although it had been said, that 17 species of sea animals can be found in Hamilo coast, I think this can be observed way far off the beaches.

They said many Filipino celebrities rent a property situated around the area for a good month just to rest. It is pricier in this coast than everywhere else because you need to ride a motor boat to get there and it is a private property. It is good to share that Pico De Loro Cove is part of the VERDE ISLAND PASSAGE, a crucial centre of marine bio-diversity within the coral triangle. With its 5900 hectares of land area, only 1/3 is developable. This serves the right of the land to be preserved and remain untouched. That's why it's recommendable to those who are seeking rejuvenation. Nature feeds the souls of those who would be coming here and I assume, all of us from time to time need this.

It is attractive to the preoccupied population in the metropolis because it is estimated to be just a 90-minute drive from SM Mall of Asia. It is the perfect choice for those who wants to take a breath out of office work. The place is family friendly, safe and serene. The sand doesn't match up with Boracay's (It's as white but after facing extreme heat from the sun, it's too hot to step on it barefooted. In Boracay, no matter how hot, it's not painful to the soles, it still remains cool.) but the view is exceptional.

There are over 40 activities you could do here in Pico De Loro naming some: snorkelling, boating, hiking, waterskiing, aqua zumba, pony tour ride and beach volleyball. Besides a haven for people who are dying of having time to unwind, it is open for wedding events since they have the venue for every choice you are considering. A beach wedding, garden wedding or church wedding. It got nice spots to do your pre-nuptial photos too. And there are areas where office and/or corporate meetings can be held. 

That being said, they have a lot to offer guests in terms of dining places. Being balikbayans, my cousin from the States came up with the best idea.... to have a boodle fight by the beach. So, we had asked the staff to prepare one for us as it is available in the menu. To my other cousin's estimate, for a Php700+ arrangement, I am sad to say, he found the meal dissatisfying. But here's why:

The menu assured that the food can be shared amongst 10 people but considering our anacondas, and the activities which we did earlier that day, it wasn't going to be enough for 10 people. Most of the activities are physically demanding. It's expected that guests would have a big appetite you see. But some items like tomatoes, boiled salted eggs, eggplants and some other bbq items are not present. It was my first time to actually be in a boodle fight so I don't have that much for comparison. But I am aware of what should be there. For reference if you want to include this in your itinerary as you visit the resort, let me post this picture.

Boodle Fight is a military style of eating where long tables are prepared and food are put on banana leaves.
Viands and rice are ready to eat using bare hands, jugs of water are prepared on the sides
to wash hands before the "eating combat".
With the signal to start the boodle fight, everybody aims for his/her position.
- URBAN DICTIONARY

If you highlight the whole food presentation, it looks satisfying
but it looks miniature in front of us. What do you think?

We also tried dining in the resort's Sun Coral Cafe which offered delicious Filipino dishes and a variety of international cuisines. One of the dishes that ignited my taste buds was tinolang manok but using squash to thicken the soup. Dining in Sun Coral Cafe maybe enjoyed al fresco or by the Reef Bar or pool bar. The Reef Bar is facing the beach where we had the boodle fight.

We chose to dine in Sun Coral Cafe after more than a 2 hour drive from Manila.
Sun Coral Cafe didn't fail us.    

-the view of the Reef Bar coming from the beach shore-
It is pretty setup romantically.

As I returned to home-Kong, I craved for it instantly and I had to ask our yaya to cook it because of that lingering sensation in my head. My buccal cavity welled up with saliva as I thought about the thick chicken soup boiled slowly with squash. I never had that before in my life. I thought it was such a great combination. My daughter loved it too. 

Since my family and I were staying for one night only, we couldn't let a chance pass of night swimming. There was not much people at the time we visited the resort so we pretty much dominated the kiddie pool. We were pretty disappointed when our big floats were prohibited to be used in their pool. And they were very strict as per swimsuits to be used when actually taking a dip. No long shorts, and no t-shirts. I think it was just right to impose this.

To go around the area, there were shuttle rides that stop every 10mins at each building. We were staying at my aunt's colleague's unit located at Jacana. It was said that Pico De Loro Resort and Country Club are owned by SM Primary Holdings. That's why if you'd notice, the so called 90-minute getaway's starting point is from the SM Mall of Asia and their souvenir shop is actually "Kultura" which could only be seen in the SM department stores.

There are so many available units via Airbnb that you could rent if you're planning to visit this remarkable resort. Here are some of the model units you can also look at if you are considering being an owner of one of the units someday.

The hotel can be seen in Agoda as well and the room rates starts from HK$800 up. This price includes breakfast and free wifi. I am going to limit the information to that because nowadays, those are the 2 important things guests ask anyway. Based on research, kids as long as they would use the existing beddings, are free. Until those who are 11 years old. The usual, you check in at 2pm and check out at noon.

A piece of advice from me, units in airbnb got the advantage of offering you a fully furnished kitchen which may help you in saving up with food. If you plan to stay here for a week or two, may I suggest that you combine dining out (since there's no more rewarding than eating fresh grilled seafood by the beach) with cooking your food and eating indoors. If you have kids, make sure you stock up the fridge with snacks and bottled water. You don't want to risk them being cranky because of hunger or dehydrated because of getting a day in the beach. Watch out also for bees that may sting you. The flowers around the units harbour beehives.

Here's a sneak peak of the whole place. Credits to my cousin, JP Gloda for this video.

Pico De Loro had allowed my daughter to bond with my family whom she just knew for the first time as she visited the Philippines for the first time as well. I am thankful for their warmth that made a good trip possible. This vacation will be remembered so well as the great getaway post nuptial of my cousin. Like Angsana Laguna, Pico De Loro Resort and Country Club is a beautiful family friendly place to visit. I give it 5 stars.

Standing at the middle of
the Pico De Loro Resort and
Country Club where residences
and a hotel surrounds this lovely river.

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10 IMPORTANT THINGS I LEARNED IN ATTAINING FINANCIAL KNOWLEDGE

This year marks my decision to be financially literate.

It all started when I had attended a seminar held here in Hong Kong called, "Rich Dad Poor Dad". Like any other free meet-ups made available in most countries wherein finance is the name of the game, it was the usual 2 hour motivational lecture by this woman who had been into the deepest, darkest hole as a result of her bad decision making, lax prioritization and irresponsible lifestyle. Needless to say, it leaves her penniless, hopeless and desperate until she mentions attending the very same thing we (the audience) are attending. Her story touches all the necessary buttons to set us all into an awakening. To sum it all up, the story telling part resonates to most of the middle class (which to my estimate composes 65% of the attendees): continuously in a situation of being overworked and underpaid. Dramatic as it may sound, it set us off to a mode of action in just an hour.

With an expert knowledge about these people who go to seminars, the staff knows that one way or another, this 65% is in need of enlightenment from their own current financial situation. While the rest were dragged to attend because of their curiosity, including me, its motive was quite established with a pang.

Through the rest of the seminar, the lady introduced methods that she followed on how to get out of the draining misfortune. The one I attended focused on real estate. It encouraged all the way to invest the money they are saving. The clue was to look at the rate of return on investment as to which tool you'll embrace and work on.

May I say that in the end there was selling of the "help" that you should need but it was enveloped as a form of investment on education. As a writer, I continuously research. Included in reading books and studying statistics, I consider reviews, comments and forums concerning a specific topic that I need to know about before I write my own input. Because of that, I know there are a lot of free information in the Internet that I can hold of. This convinced me that right before I entered the room, I was just after the satisfaction I would get and the refresher on the methods I stubbornly keep up with. I just wanted to be aware further more. So, I have set myself to hold my credit card very well and to let the information settle before I make a move... or a swipe.

I was successful in not doing so.

But I came out from that free seminar, rich in resources. Books, links, inspiration. And the one that I benefited from the most were the books, "The Rich Man in Babylon" and "Think and Grow Rich".

Now reading these books had kind of made me learn 10 very important things:

• Set a S.M.A.R.T. goal. I know some may have come across this abbreviation a thousand times but just for the sake of reiteration, let me give you what this effective acronym stands for: 

              S - specific; M - measurable; A - attainable; R - realistic; T - time-bound
       
         These meanings are pretty self-explanatory. But there's one thing you need to do after coming up with one, you write it down and recite it as often as you can, stating it as if it happened already, claiming it and considering it as done. Mine was to have Php50,000 within a year, even declared it in front of my husband (despite the book's advice to just make a commitment with yourself) just to give myself a sense of stronger responsibility to live up to my word. He challenged me why not 50,000 Hong Kong Dollars? And so, I added it up.

• Never lay all your eggs in one basket when it comes to investments. - There are different investment tools and the more you are well versed on them, the more you'd be able to calculate the risks that come along with each.
• Understanding the concept of the 8th wonder of the world called "compounding interest", you may think that time is not your ally anymore. But think about the present learning as a gift and consider "now" as the best time. Countless years may have been wasted before but there's no other best time to start than today.
• Learn from those who had gone the path already. Easily put, if you want to be rich, learn from the rich, the experienced. There are a series of steps that are usually presented in books but the most important is, if it's feasible and if it is actually doable. The only way to find out is if there's somebody who had tested and did it themselves. Follow that person.
• Keep the three laws of money (save, invest and re-invest) intact in every financial decision you will have to make. Saving may be in a way of assets, bit coins, saving plans and is not limited to just keeping an amount of money safe in a bank.
• Emergency fund is necessary as your safety net as you level up into investing. Establish this first before anything else so that come what may, you will have a fall back.
• Never ever neglect paying yourself first. This is not through material stuff like buying yourself a new gadget, clothes or shoes come every payday. It is putting aside money for your retirement in the future. Paying yourself first is paying yourself for every non-working day you need to live for after retirement, keeping the same lifestyle like when you still had a job.
• Habit forming will be your weapon in keeping up with your financial goals. 
• In every investment you have to make, see to it that you separate your emotions from the very beginning. Because if you do, you're already 50% short on your ROI.
• Anything that you do, integrity is the key. If you want to come up with a business, word of mouth will always pave the way to your success. If you're hard to work with and trust unworthy, chances are, people will talk negatively of you. Whether you're a boss or an employee, treating your subordinates right and respecting your bosses, having the appropriate work ethics can send you high rocketing into success. From there, you'd be able to give your goal a check, leading you to the road to financial freedom.

Right now, I have been awakened. Having a family had pushed me into planning for my own financial freedom. Let's see if it works.

Related posts:

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2. JOLLIBEE - why it's worth buying its stocks.

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