There are three things my family looks for in a resort for
our annual summer vacation. 1) It should be beachfront. 2) it should be close to Metro Manila, and 3) and most important of all, it should not
only be senior citizen and Person with Disability or PWD friendly, it should also allow
pets. We simply can't imagine
a family vacation with family members left behind in Metro Manila. Plus, this is really a celebration of our
baby girl, Aeon.
Aeon is a three-year-old shihtzu, and from the time
we adopted her, she has brought nothing but joy to the
family. I actually gave up a lot of out-of-town trips just to have cuddle weekends with her.
We started going out of town to celebrate her birthday when
she turned two. On her first
birthday, we threw her a birthday party.
For her third birthday, we landed on a resort six hours away
from Manila (seven with all the stopovers).
Yes, it was quite far for us, but it was well worth it. Birdland Beach Club in Bolinao, Pangasinan
gave us a perfect backdrop to build more happy memories with our baby and her
brother, a Jack Russell terrier named Popcorn.
And our babies got a furry warm welcome from Birdland’s pet
ambassador, Strong!
We humans also had a friendly greeting from the owners,
Michael Parayno and Joanna Ledesma.
Actually, it was more of a family reception. Michael and Joanna made us feel like family
members coming home for vacation.
Like family, they served us good and healthy meals, knowing
that we come from a place that is filled with unhealthy diet choices. For dinner, Joanna served us savory chicken
broth was perfect for that cold, windy night. We had that with grilled fresh fish and
vegetables. We capped dinner with the
most delicious apple pie we have ever tasted, served a la mode.
Our breakfast was also superb. We had dried fish, which Joanna refers to as something
else. “That’s our bacon here,” she said. We also had native longganisa, eggs, salad,
and a local delicacy called Binungey with muscovado sugar, which we opted
to take home.
Birdland
does not use MSG in their food. They also
prefer muscovado over white or brown sugar.
The website says they also grow their own vegetables and fruits.
Joanna, by the way, sells healthy,
organic, dehydrated fruits and vegetables.
When
we arrived, our room was not yet ready, so Michael and Joanna invited us to
lounge around in their huts. They knew
we were tired from the long travel, and also full from our lunch at Sungayan
Grill, another must-visit spot in
Bolinao. The afternoon sea breeze,
something we are deprived of in the big city, was really good for
us.
The
huts, I think, are a good choice for accommodation in
this resort. They are perched on the
cliffs above the ocean, giving an unobstructed view of the West
Philippine Sea. The breeze flows freely, and
the sound of the waves and wind are perfect lullabies.
Even though the huts are amazing, we had already booked the Ella Fitzgerald
room. We opted for an air-conditioned room because we thought it would be a hot afternoon.
The
rooms of the resorts are named after jazz legends. My first encounter of the resort was of a
photo posted online of the West Philippine Sea jazz festival, which the resort
hosts.
Michael
was an owner of two legendary jazz and blues clubs in the US, also also carried
the name Birdland. If you’ll go around the resort, you’ll see some newspaper
clippings displayed in a board.
Our
Ella Fitzgerald room is located at the second floor of a small building. We got the view, the terrace, and enough
space for our babies and us. The only
problem we had was the low water pressure (which I
think the whole Bolinao experiences anyway, so it is not really a minus to the
resort).
 |
| View from our room |
Since
we were the only guests at that time, we had lots of choices where to nest that
afternoon. I decided to go for a bit of
quiet time with Aeon in a hammock in one of the huts. My
mom, my sister, and her boyfriend opted to go for a swim with Popcorn and
Strong.
By
6PM, we were all taking snaps of the beautiful sunset. Birdland is also blessed
with this wonder.
We
spent the next day swimming and taking pictures. The resort is very picturesque and we can tell the environment was considered in the way the structures were built. I remember the old Cinderella tagline: "Works with
nature, not against it.”
It
also is true to its name, as it provided lots of birdhouses for our feathered
friends, and a few of them graced us with their presence.
Before
we left, we had another chat with Michael, this time about a film
festival. Michael and Joanna are not
just awesome to their guests, they are also good citizens of Bolinao. They work on being the center of Bolinao’s art
and culture.
Well, I hope the festival pushes through so I have another
reason to come back! Looking forward to that.
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