Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Tamarind Tree Resort, Padre Burgos, Quezon Province


Date visited: May 2009

Rating: 4/10 




The Tamarind Tree Resort sand looks white on the surface, but it's dark beneath.That's not a figure of speech. I swear. 






We went to Padre Burgos, Quezon Province to take advantage of the Labor Day long weekend. Since I was seven months along, we wanted a nice quiet place that would only require us to be on the road for about three to four hours. The websites I visited said Padre Burgos was within that range, so we went on this trip.

We ended up travelling for about six hours.



The resort has beachfront Bali-style nipa huts and hilltop Filipino-style ones.

You see, to get to Padre Burgos, we rode a bus to Lucena that took about four hours. 
Then, we hopped in a jeepney,and that trip lasted more than an hour. I am not exaggerating.  Maybe it was an extremely slow bus or jeepney that we  took. Had we known it would take us that long, we would have just traveled to a nice beach in Pangasinan. Don't get me wrong - Borawan Island's really nice - but I was two months from delivery, so the trouble wasn't worth it.





Local children swimming at The Tamarind Tree Resort beachfront.


Anyhow, I don't really remember if we stayed at the Tamarind Tree Resort because it was the only resort close to Borawan Island I could find, or if the pictures on the resort's website got me. I was disappointed by the resort's beach as the sand's nowhere near white. When I saw the beach, I was reminded of the beach in my hometown, which isn't really nice, but people frequent because it's uber close (i.e. I was thinking, had I been in my hometown, a trip to a beach like this wouldn't cost as much). However, if you're not finicky, the beach is still suitable for swimming. 





The veranda of the resort's dining area gives you a view of the ocean. 

Advantages:





1. It's a 10-15-minute boat ride to Borawan Island.

2. Almost all the structures go with the resort's tropical theme. 

3. Despite the resort being situated on a hillside, it's beside a barangay, so you have easy access to supplies. 

4. You can pitch a tent in the resort if you're on a budget, or if you just feeling a bit adventurous. 

5. The resort owner's accommodating. She had us join another group bound for Borawan Island, so we could share the cost with them.  

Disadvantages:



1.  The beach. I've chattered endlessly about this. 

2.  There are a lot of mosquitoes in the area. The resort addresses this by providing giant mosquito nets which their staff members offer to put up at dusk.   

3. The resort's proximity to a barangay is also a downside. Although the resort is fenced and has a gate, the beach is accessible and visible from the barangay, and vice versa, so privacy is kinda an issue. 

4.  Not good value for money. Back in '09, we paid P6,380 for two people for a three-day two-night stay in the small, non-airconditioned beachside hut.The amount included three meals. 
5. Food's nothing special. 





Borawan Island. The beach seems to be divided into two sections by that rock behind us. 



Borawan Island is a totally different story though. I found its water weird, in a nice way, because of its remarkable gradation (sounds pretentious, I know - bear with me here). The water near the shore is very clear, and it turns to a dark shade of turquoise drastically if go just a tad farther. The color also makes the water look a bit surreal. It gave me the feeling that the abyss is right below. 




Check out the gradation thingy I was talking about. Can you see it? 

The sand's yellowish and coarse, but still very good sand by my standards. The beach isn't very long, but the small island's huge rock formations and limestone walls make it beautiful. 


There's a small store on the island and cottages that you can rent. You can even camp there if you're up for it.


This one's for Jeff--my HTML editor. 

Check out other beaches I've blogged about too:

Anawangin
Bantayan Island
Samal Island



◄ Newer Post Older Post ►
 

Copyright 2011 Adventure Guide is proudly powered by blogger.com | Design by BLog Bamz Published by Template Blogger