my kind of island

here's a clip of my Amanpulo trip in a nutshell

GETTING THERE.

amidst my excitement which had been building-up for the past 7 days, i was confronted by some stressful episodes on the departure day itself when, bibi my lab, seemed to have overcome the tranquilizer we administered on her just before we left the house...doc tina said bibi would surely be groggy the rest of the day and that she'd be calm & unusually quiet during the ground time AND especially during the flight...well, that didn't really happen, as, she kept on whimpering the moment i placed her in the pet carrier upon arrival at the amanpulo lounge 3 hours prior to departure (guests are normally requested to check in at least 2 hours but i came in one more hour earlier to make sure other guests won't see bibi)...





i was planning on taking a nap the entire 1 hour-plane ride but the moment the engine was started, Bibi also started on her yelping spree, no amount of engine revolutions nor the pilot's usual introductory speech stopped Bibi from trying to get anyone's attention...oh my Lord, i was getting agitated myself as the least i need is a guest complaint...all the guests in this flight were foreigners, with about 6 kids who kept on looking into my direction at the back seat and towards the cargo area behind me - good thing i was wearing my dark shades otherwise they'd know for sure i was guilty-as-hell the owner of the crying dog urgh!...i began saying the rosary, promise!, asking God to please calm Bibi down...she kept on and on, alternating whimpers with yelps, all throughout the first half of the flight...just towards my Hail Holy Queen part, she became quiet - whew finally!, peace at 10,000ft above the ground, Thanks be to God Hallelujah!

the remaining half hour was a breeze, i actually began enjoying the ride now, no more agitating episodes from Bibi...great view of various islands!, nice clouds!, virgin forests below!, wow this is the good part of taking a small plane, one gets to enjoy the sights more... all's well now, looks like it - until the pilot started making his landing speech again as we approached pamalican island, home to amanpulo resort - Bibi's back with a vengeance as her yelps were even louder...oh please dear pilot stop yakking and just land the plane fast!

perhaps the aerial view of the island mesmerized the foreign guests so much that they never minded the dog at that point...i could see from their reactions how awed they were and really, these are the moments when i just feel so proud of our natural resources...



as on all arrivals & departures, the welcome entourage of amanpulo is led by the GM, his wife, some department heads, and the guest assistants...the GM & his wife were as excited as i am to have Bibi meet Sulu so to immediately break the ice between the two, we went to the Windsurf Hut and spent an hour there chatting while the lovedogs get to know each other...well, Sulu has gone shy, and Bibi preferred to lounge around at the sunbed to enjoy the view instead...

THE BEACH.

the Windsurf Hut has become my initial choice to spend my swimming hours on our 2nd day at the 89 hectare island...for one, it has a great vantage point of other islands and two, not many guests were inclined to windsurf that day thereby giving Bibi & i all the privacy we need, after all this is going to be her baptism of fire swimming at the beach...

at first Bibi was hesitant to go out of the sun, it took some prodding from Sulu for her to frolick in the seashore but the moment she began testing the waters & realizing the temperature wasn't cold as she probably thought, boy did she play to her heart's content...in no time did she learn how to tread...treading farther away as she realized how easy it was to just go with the tides in going back ashore...eventually she goes off to the beach on her own while i sunbathe, comes back only to join me & rest...





we didn't do anything else but swim & sunbathe on our 2nd day, she was literally dog-tired by the time we arrived at my sister's casita...







EXPLORING THE ISLAND.


having worked for Puerto Azul Beach Resort/Golf & Country Club in the late '90s, and staying inhouse at the resort for over 2 years, i noticed that the basic concept of Amanpulo Resort was quite similar to Puerto Azul, as far as blending the structures to the forest reserve is concerned...there are also various species of flora & fauna (quite a number, rare), strictly preserved & maintained by amanpulo...they also have a big nursery where they dedicated a portion growing assorted vegetables, herbs & spices for the chefs' use on guests' gourmet meals (believe the F&B staff if they say "fresh from the Chef's Garden", i tell you, i've seen it, promise!)...and then there had been times while moving around the island using a golfcart, my sis & i had to stop to let iguanas or tabon birds cross...and during my daily morning swim, bibi & i get to waddle with the fish the size of my palm, they come mostly in pairs or in groups of four...
(trivia : apparently, it was in the '70's when in one of their trips aboard their private plane, the soriano's encountered stormy weather and had to take cover in the island of Manamoc, part of the Cuyo Group of Islands in Northern Palawan...it was there when they saw Pamalican Island, an 89-hectare strip of land surrounded by white sand and used as a coconut plantation by its original owners who were residents of Manamoc...the soriano's looked for the owners, made friends with them and asked if they could come back to pamalican in the summer for family outings...so amazed were they with what they experienced in this virgin island even then that they bought it the following year...)




one of my early favorites is GARY'S NEST, named after the resort's chief engineer who had been with the soriano's even prior to the development of the island...this spot is on top of a huge pile of boulders & boulders of rock which the resort has utilized as one romantic venue for private breakfasts, lunches or dinners...it is overlooking the beachfront to the left, and the pier to the right...i heard that a private barbecue for two here costs between $300-500 depending on the setup...
(trivia : a charming politico apparently proposed marriage then to his current wife, right there on Gary's Nest...how morantic aint it?)





there's also the GROTTO, truly a perfect place for meditation and some private moments with our Creator, best to visit right after a refreshing session from either the SPA CASITA or GARDEN SALA, or even from the YOGA class...of course for the sporty individuals, they've got a nice GYM with state-of-the-art equipment, and full-serviced TENNIS COURTS...it's nice to visit the DIVESHOP as well, and surely be convinced to take a lesson or two on diving...a walk by the LAGOON is also recommended, and not to be missed are the cocktails being served there when the lagoon is dressed-up to the nines : floating candles, live string quartet music, loads of lights adorning the area...








my personal choice to be is the BEACHCLUB, i'd say it's probably the busiest guest area in the island, even busier than the CLUBHOUSE where the infinity pool is located along with the FASHION BOUTIQUES, ANTIQUE SHOP, the LIBRARY and their fine dining outlet...the BEACHCLUB is situated right along the main beachfront where one may join the twice-a-day snorkelling trips or simply enjoy other non-motorized water equipment, all for the complimentary use of the guests...here, one can easily get lured with cocktail drinks, al fresco meals, or just sunbathe in style if anything else...i am so in love with this area too bad bibi's off limits here, she would have loved joining the snorkelling too tsk tsk tsk...





everything in amanpulo is quoted in dollars BUT, with the strong peso now, i believe that their rates (both on rooms and F&B) are actually affordable...the notion that it is indeed just for the rich, the famous or the infamous - is a lot of bull...i think one should simply think on the context of getting REAL VALUE FOR YOUR VACATION MONEY - you want to be treated right, pampered ceremoniously, feel like a king or queen, enjoy the beach as if it's your own, get utmost satisfaction in every service you take from the well-trained and very discreet staff, where else does regret come in?...honestly, i could say that if there really is a paradise, then it's in amanpulo...

i don't want to sound like their brochure but really now, one will eventually end up being so after staying in the island even for just a couple of days...it's no wonder that so many foreigners get in the country, go straight to amanpulo and no longer have a need to see its other parts, not even metro manila itself - they already carry the beauty of the philippines and the renowned hospitality of the filipinos when they leave this island...

at best, i could only suggest to local residents that (tho' you don't have to do it now), amanpulo is one place in your own country that you should get to visit even once in your lifetime...there may be 17 other Aman Resorts properties all over the world but ours is becoming the favorite of true-blue Aman junkies...

for years i've had bragging rights about personally dealing with ex-US President Jimmy Carter when he spent over 2 weeks in Puerto Azul to complete his Habitat for Humanity project in Cavite...now i'm altering it with my Amanpulo visit as my new claim to a seemingly far-fetched dream which came true at the least expected time...one more item in my decade-old wishlist crossed out, indeed!

GETTING BACK HOME.


we cut our vacation a day earlier because i grabbed on the opportunity of taking the "flyback flight", meaning it just brought in guests to the island but wouldnt be taking out guests back to manila - it was basically an extra flight carrying new guest arrivals but no guest departure...i didn't want to subject myself to more agitation with bibi most likely misbehaving again and ruining guests' trip out of the island if i'd still stick to the original plan of flying back home with resort guests the following day, in a regular flight...so i thought, heck, with the "flyback flight" and no guests in it, bibi could scream all she wants this time...what a bummer tho' because of all things happening, bibi was so quiet and behaved the entire trip grrr we could have stayed one more day!

Click to view related posts :

amanpulo / Sulu