Stay in Lucena beach resort

My favourite thing about the Philippines is that it is basically a whole load of islands – over 7,600 in fact. Wow! That could only mean that a visit to the seaside couldn’t be far off. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before we headed for a beach resort south of Manila, not far from the city of Lucena. We travelled in typical Filipino fashion – 13 humans and one seagull squished into a nine-seater minibus with about two working seatbelts between us. Thankfully, we lived to tell the tale.

The facilities at the resort were, let’s say, rather primitive, but I didn’t mind. We were just a few steps away from the sea which for me was all that mattered. Apart from the almost black sand, the most noticeable difference to an Irish beach resort was that here, rather than stripping off at the first sight of the sea, the locals dressed up. Full-body swimsuits were the order of the day. The pasty Oldies stuck out a mile in their scarily revealing swimwear. Not a pretty sight, believe me!

I soon realised that the locals weren’t just seeking protection from the sun. It turns out that there are some extremely venomous jellyfish in these waters. As one scantily clad non-local in the party soon discovered to his chagrin – and not inconsiderable pain. Mmmm. Perhaps just a quick paddle along the water’s edge will suffice…

Since our arrival, this was my first glimpse at Filipino countryside. The lush vegetation was a welcome relief after our first few days of overcrowded city life. As in Pasig City, those motorised tricycles seem to be the number one mode of transport. Although, here, they’re more likely to be transporting coconuts or bananas than commuters or schoolchildren.

The shops looked pretty much the same as the ones in downtown Pasig too, though probably a tad higher. In town, His Lordship had to bend double to be able to talk to the shopkeepers through the grille.

Our party hired a couple of traditional outrigger boats the next day, heading out first to a beautiful beach for a swim and a picnic. Her Ladyship, for all her love of fruit, looked less than convinced by these cooked bananas!

The highlight of the trip was the Pagbilao Bilaran Sandbar. I’ve seen a few small sandbars in my time, but this one takes the biscuit! We were in the middle of the ocean, but there was plenty of room for several vessels to land and for dozens of passengers to stroll around.

The Dynamic Duo were paddling away happily, oohing and aahing at the pretty starfish and spiny sea urchins in the crystal clear waters, when somebody mentioned that these aquatic creatures were venomous. I’ve never seen them exit the sea so quickly!

Soon after we started heading back to base, our boat got stuck on the rocks in the shallow waters. I was aghast to see the crew jump out of the boat and push, walking barefoot along the rocks which were infested with those spiny sea urchins. Miraculously, none of the crew came a cropper.

All that sea air certainly works up an appetite and I was grateful that the locals in our party had packed everything but the kitchen sink. In fact, they might even have had a kitchen sink in there for all I knew. They certainly had a ton of cooking equipment! They also knew exactly where to seek out some tasty ingredients. There’s a marvellous choice of fishy fare at the Dalahican Fish Port market. Better still – the minimum purchase is 5 kg. That’s my kind of shopping trip!

Our lot came back with a bucket of blue crabs which were soon sizzling in the pan for the evening meal. Hah, now I know what to add to my bucket list!