I haven't had the chance to take a summer break to go on a vacation. Been so busy with work, personal stuff and the wedding preps of course. I had tons of daily stress creeping up my back and its making me sick already (as in physically sick).
My honey has been experiencing more or less the same amount of stress, especially now that he's moved into a new job, which is more competetive and challenging than his most recent work. Pressures from all aspects of our lives have been slowly pressing us down and we even barely feel that we have time for each other, although we see each other everyday as we go to work, have lunch/dinner and head on to other evening appointments at night before going home.
Sometimes, even the night's sleep is a just a part of the daily routine. Its making me feel robotic, and routinal. I needed a break. We both need it badly. My take was to visit Bohol on a roundtrip experience. I imagined we could head out for an early saturday plane ride to Tagbilaran and head out to our favorite Powder Keg restaurant for breakfast. Maybe walk around the shore throughout the rest of the day or lounge around in the resort before heading back to Manila at the earliest flight schedule.
Well, Cebu pacific's booking site wasn't so cooperative. We opted to find a cheaper alternative of a weekend escape. My honey came up with the idea of going to Island Cove in Cavite. Well, we both haven't been there, so it was worth the experience. The transaction was very easy, considering our busy schedules. We just needed to deposit half the amount of our total reservation cost, then pay the other half when we get there. Everything was done here in Manila via calls, emails and a bank deposit.
It was a good thing we didn't have to go to Bohol, as there was still the storm caused by Isang. We left QC at 9:15am to head out to Cavite. We got there at around 11am. The ride was easy and light. We were both just ecstatic to take the break.
Island Cove was really an island itself. A very small island whose space was really maximized for such getaways. Though we had to tour the place with our bags on hand while waiting for our rooms, we visited the Animal Island first. They had trams to transport their guests from the Hotel to various parts of the island. They were electric, so the ride was a very nice experience. It was quite, full of nature and the sun was great that time. First stop was the crocodile farm. I've never been to one before and so I was greatly amused.
The crocs were on the move to get the best meal they will ever have--my honey 🤣. Another round of feeding session, this time the crocs were more aggressive.
We also got to feed the monkeys which were situated across the crocodile cages. I pity them, for when the crocs do manage to escape, they are preys. They were just in an open island with only small huts for shade and swings that they can play and climb onto.
There were a lot of birds, and wilds like the deers, ostriches, boars, etc. The Bengal tigers were my favorite. I took a lot of their photos. For me, they were just grown, oversized, cutely-striped cats. 🤪
Though my honey managed to touch the paw of this seemingly pet Bengal tiger, I wouldn't dare to do so. Its enough for me to see them and even talk to them (see this tiger was responding with various small roars).
There were really a lot of things to do here. We couldn't find the time to do everything in just two days! Soon after we got worn out from walking around Animal Island, we headed back to the Hotel to claim our room. We had to unload our stuff and rest for awhile, for we wanted to check out the pool area.
They had slides and different sections of the pool had different heights. I was glad they had a 4ft deep poolside. I wouldn't have to worry about stressing myself out to swim. I just wanted to play and stay in the water for as long as I can. The water was not dirty, but it wasn't very clean too though. Some leaves and twigs fell into the water occasionally, nonetheless, I have nothing bad to say against it. The floor is clean, and is not slippery. The water is also clear, and had not much chlorine, so it was easy to swim with your eyes open under the water.
Food is quite expensive there though, but its good.
I especially liked the orders we had in Sangley Express. This was a mini Sangley's point which was the canteen for the poolside. The Korean Beef and Chicken Mushroom rice toppings were the best! (only I did not manage to finish mine because it was really a lot). In the evening, after trying out the jacuzzi (which wasn't so hot as expected), we had dinner at Sangley's Point. I ordered for Chef Salad, while my honey had Baby back ribs. Their salad was good, but my honey said the ribs were not as good as he expected them to be. I tried out their Passion Fruit Iced Tea, which I very much enjoyed. I even bought an extra one for take out to be brought to the Hotel, only to find out later on that it was an alcoholic drink. LOL. 😛
On our way out from the sumptuous dinner, we wanted to try out the Karaoke place, but were really exhausted by then. We were feeling the effect of the water in the pool. Instead, we planned out for an early morning fishing at the Fishing Village the next day. The noisy frogs were the last thing I remember of Island Cove's Sangley Point that night, after we played with the piano right outside of Sangley Point. We went back to the Hotel and watched World Poker Tournament til we were sleepy.
Come morning the next day, we woke up late for fishing. 🥲 Instead, I took a hot tub bath before we headed to Sangley Point for buffet breakfast. It felt like the usual buffet breakfast we usually have at Josephine's Tagaytay, only bigger. I had daing na bangus with garlic rice, bread and strawberry marmalade, watermelon slices, hot tea, fried potato wedges, and a one-piece pancake. As I write this post, I still feel the fullness from this morning's meal. 😋
After the huge breakfast, we strolled around, rented a bike and then visited the human sized chess board. I tried to compete with my honey, but had to give up. I'm a lover, not a fighter! 😆 I must admit though, some pieces were heavy, some were light. Extra exercise!
Well, generally speaking, we could have maximized our weekend getaway if we were able to visit all of its amenities, as most of them are free for use of Hotel guests. We missed the fishing village, the Patron, the Karaoke room and the gym of course! I would definitely want to go back! The place was not swamped with too much people (maybe because it was still raining now and then). The rooms were cozy and they had more tools and materials for use of guests than in other Hotels I've been into.
We'll be planning about a good next weekend getaway. Somewhere near and nice just like Island Cove. Maybe next time, we'll bring along both families (just maybe).