The WISIWYG Blog

June 9. A few more days (a few more hours to some) and the days of school officially begins. Or to look at it in another way, a few more days and summer officially ends. For me, however, summer always end after the company outing. Why? Because often, anything done after the company outing, no matter how great it is, will more or less rate a far second in grandness. And should you try to think of them maybe a year later, often you won't find them that easy to remember.

This fact cannot be any truer when talking about the AWS Company outing for this year. Having turned 15 years, we expected it to be Grand. And our expectations didn't fail us, because last May 29, me and my officemates headed south of Luzon to enjoy the confines a paradise called Arreceffi Island, better known to many by the resort that welcomes guests there, the Dos Palmas Resort.

The Travel

More than two and a half hours of travel, plus all the unwanted delays, can really make a person tired. True enough, our travel from Manila to Dos Palmas did just that.

After a delay of nearly an hour, we left Manila on board a Cebu Pacific plane at around 9 AM and reached the Puerto Princesa airport more than an hour later. From the airport, we travelled by land for some 30 minutes until we reached the Sta. Lourdes Wharf. And from the Wharf, it took us another hour of travel by sea to reach the shores of Arreceffi Island.

Two and a half hours, plus nearly an hour of delays and wait, is indeed tiring. And it could have been more tiring if we had nothing to do during the travel. Luckily, we found a lot of things to do during those hours -- from trying to get the calling cards of our co-employees (a game thought of by the outing committee), to measuring the heights of PBA players (they boarded the same plane with us), hearing the "funny" stories of our guide (and don't forget the C and the G for stalactites and stalagmites), and taking pictures of the various islands (and some swimsuit clad ladies on their beaches) that can be seen between Sta. Lucia Warf and the shores of Dos Palmas. But the ultimate tiredness-reliever was the sight of the Dos Palmas shoreline--our entrance to what would be our home for the next two days.

The Resort

 

 

 

True to the lyrics of the song that welcomes every guest when they arrive on the resort, Dos Palmas is indeed a tiny paradise. Located an hour away from the hustles and bustles of Puerto Princesa City, it provides you the quietness unheard of in a city, and the peace that only the confines of nature can offer.

 

If you are a sucker for white sand beaches, the Dos Palmas resort is well suited for you. In a quiet afternoon on the island, you'll have more than enough time to observe the picturesque beauty of the beach, where you can see the pristine white sand meeting the crystal clean waters in different shades of blue. And in a distance, the water meets the rays of the setting sun, giving it a golden radiance perfect for a romantic date. Sadly, I was alone when I observed all of these.

 

Dos Palmas, however, is not all sands. Above the sands, the island resort has a lot more to offer. The bay cottages were equally as picturesque as the white sand shores, while the village cottages look equally accommodating. If your skin doesn't appreciate the salty sea water much, there is a large swimming pool for your enjoyment. Beside it is a Jacuzzi where we sprawled during the night, while all the others were enjoying the pool.

 

If eating, drinking and merry-making is your way of having fun, then the main restaurant has everything that you need. An eat-all-you-can meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner would surely fill every empty part of your stomach. Beside it is a bar with an assortment of drinks. And while drinking, provided you are not wet from swimming, you can have fun at the billiards table, thedart boards and the karaoke room, all located within the main restaurant cottage. If you're wet, though, the closest place where you can go near the resto is at the table tennis area near it, where you can enjoy playing until all your fats have been burned away(I wonder though if three days would be enough for that).

Now, that's pretty much all that you can see on the island resort. But there's a lot more to see... that is if you go under water. A minute or so from land, a motor boat can bring you to Helen's Garden, a popular dive site near Dos Palmas where different kinds of fishes, corals, starfishes and many other underwater creatures can be found. If you're lucky enough, you'll be able to see a turtle, Nemo, or maybe even Ariel (wishful thinking) during your dive.

The Accommodation

 

During our 3D/2N stay in Dos Palmas, we were housed on two types of cottages: the bay cottages and the village cottages. The bay cottages are the attractive cottages built above the water surface. The company VIP's were the one housed there, which gives me enough excuse why I can't describe how the interiors of the cottages look like (hindi ako papasok dun, kahit anong pilit nyo!).

 

 

The village cottages, on the other hand, are those built on land, and called so because of the way they are grouped (like a village). Each cottage is made up of four large rooms, each with two beds (1 king size and 1 large bed), a bathroom/lavatory, and a terrace overlooking the beach on some cottages and the mangroves on others. All cottages were solar powered, which is probably the reasons why there were no television sets in place. All rooms, however, were air-conditioned, has a refrigerator and an FM radio that can receive, uhmmm... one FM channel :D. The lack of electronic amenities, however, is more than welcome because it keeps you away from your room during the day to enjoy the activities, and lets you sleep peacefully at night.

(to be continued)

 

*P.S. Thanks to Mike and Gel for some of the pictures. Sorry, hindi na ako nakapag-paalam.