"The Heart of the Philippines"

About The Resort and How to Get There

A short but bumpy trip can transport you to the "Heart of The Philippines". Do you know that right at the center of our archipelago lies Marinduque? I learned from my Social Studies that it is located in Luzon's Region IV-B, the MiMaRoPa group of provinces.  And an hour from its capital city, Boac, is the spectacular and luxurious beach resort called Bellarocca Island Resort and Spa. It literally means "beautiful rock". And what a beauty it really is!

Bellarocca is an island that was formerly called "Elephant Island". On the map, it is still labeled as Elefante Island. True enough, from afar and from above, the island looks like an elephant lying down. Zest Air is the only airline that flies you to Marinduque. A streamer at the airport read: Zest Air, the Refreshing Airline. Unfortunately, it was the 'Most UNrefreshing Airline' for me. The MA60 is powered by propellers only, not by jet engine so it can seat 56 people only. (Marinduque's Airport is just small, a big plane could not be able to land there.) The space was tight and its air-conditioning system was bad. The flight was warm and uncomfortable. Can you believe I was sweating inside the plane? Luckily, the flight only took 30 minutes….."Whew! What a relief!" We were neither refreshed at the start nor at the end of the flight. More luckily, we were welcomed by a staff of the resort with cold water and a cold towel. I thought to myself, "This feels soooo good!" The resort provided a 45 minute shuttle ride from the airport in Gasan to the dock using a van. When we got to the dock, a rubber boat ride took us to the resort in 5-10 minutes depending on the current. 

    

Where We Stayed at the Five Star Resort

The minute the boat docked at the Marina, I told my good friend, Joaquin, "Wow! This is so cool!" I didn't expect the view to be this beautiful. Its architecture is unique. The resort staff welcomed us with a necklace made with leaves and flowers. Then a driver fetched us with a golf cart and brought us to our "home" for 4 nights. The golf cart can bring you anywhere in the resort. It’s a bit hard to walk uphill, especially the trail from the beach and the marina to the rooms.

We stayed in a "terraza'.  It has three floors, two bedrooms and a dining room and mini-kitchen. The master bedroom is downstairs which has a king-sized bed, an LCD TV, a Skype-powered telephone and a huge bathroom with bathtub. While the bedroom upstairs has two double-sized beds, an LCD TV, a balcony that looks out to the sea and Mt. Malindig and a big bathroom and comfort room, too. The Resort Manager who met us at the docking area warmly welcomed us again with an orientation about the resort while we enjoyed a great tasting glass of pandan juice and munched on walnut and choco cookies. My friend and his family stayed just right next door, so I was very happy that my brother and I could easily play with him and his brother.

Exciting Activities We Did in Bellarocca

After looking around and checking out the terraza, we were all hungry so we went to the Clubhouse dining area. While waiting for the food, Joaquin, Miguel, Zander and I went to explore and we were so excited to find the game room which had a billiard table, a board game room and a foozball table. We started playing billiards first. It was so fun that we could not stop! We played billiards and foozball everyday at the resort.

We ordered lechon kawali (which I loved!), some noodles, maya-maya fish and adobo. Everyone was happy with the food and service. In the afternoon, we went swimming at the lap pool. We had a lot of fun - racing, talking, doing somersaults, etc. Another excitement we had that time was when we were playing 'catch', my brother threw the goggles too high that it went all the way up to the roof and over to the poolside hotel. We had to call a hotel staff to get it. We swam for a long time. By the time we went up, it was already getting dark and I was famished. Good thing there was instant noodles! So that was my appetizer before dinner. Hehe! The four of us kids went up to the Clubhouse earlier so we could play billiards again while waiting for our orders.

The next day, we wanted to go snorkeling. But too bad, it was high tide and the current was strong. So this time, we went to the infinity pool. It overlooked the sea that you can hear the waves crushing into the rocks. It was wonderful to swim there, feeling the sea breeze and the openness around me. It was cloudy, so at least it was not too hot nor raining.

After lunch, we watched TV and rested. We took a nap and enjoyed the comfortable bed and pillows. On the third day, my dad, Zander and I went to play golf at the resort's 9-hole course. We took a speedboat to the main island and then walked a short distance to the golf course. The golf course was big and really green. Guess what? We also saw some mushrooms growing! When we headed back to the resort, we saw Joaquin's uncle flying a kite. So we joined too.  At first I thought it was boring but when I tried it, I exclaimed "Gee! I am really flying a kite! This is great!" Later, we went around the resort to take some pictures - the meditation area, the Helipad which was located near the edge of the island, the nice lobby... until it began to drizzle. So we were not able to watch the sunset. Sigh! There's also a trail of 299 steps up the mountain to get the best view of the sunrise. But that was too early for me to get up.

On the last day, finally the weather was right for snorkeling. It was so cool! With a life vest, fins and a mask, I marveled at hundreds of different colored fishes. The guide brought me to an area that was so deep where schools of fish swam and the view was even greater. My brother just snorkeled and fed the fish in the shallow area with the kind manong diver. But my dad and mom did snorkeling twice. We also went kayaking. I rode with my aunt and, guess what? For the first few minutes, we were okay....until a giant wave came and pushed our boat to the shore and flipped us over! Both of us fell and we ended laughing! Then it was me and my mom's turn, as my aunt's leg was hurting already. This time, we kayaked left and right, more balanced and smooth. We panicked a bit when the wind pushed us quickly towards the rocks. I learned to maneuver the kayak with my paddle as we went along.

 

Our group also did a local tour of the province. Thanks to my aunt's friend! She took a break from her work in Manila to be there and offered to tour us around. We visited Boac, with all its old houses and quiet streets. We stopped first at the Capitol building. Then we went to the museum and I stood beside the Roman soldier (with its wooden mask, sword and shield). Do you know that Marinduque is famous for its Moriones Festival during the Holy Week? I read that Morion means mask and the festival is based on the Roman centurion whose blindness was miraculously healed by the blood of Jesus from His wound.

The Boac Cathedral, the oldest church in Marinduque built in the 1600s, was well-preserved. It was silence all around, nobody there except us. It was awesome to see the giant bell, the old walls and the the church itself . I can tell that my grandma was so happy that we were able to go there. We had lunch in Tita Nyds' house and it was a feast! The food was very tasty and abundant: big prawns, freshly caught fish, pako salad, lechon kawali (again! yummy..), pansit, the local version of adobong manok (with coconut), clam soup and fresh fruits. On our way out, we even had freshly picked buko juice.

I found Marinduque to be a quiet province that is rich in natural resources. I guess life there is simple yet there are many things to appreciate.
 

Now, Bellarocca is a one-of-a-kind resort to visit. Though it does not have a fine white sand beach and a wide shore to build sand castles, it is still a place I will want to go back to.  

So, what do you think? Isn't Marinduque a cool and relaxing place to visit? If you're ready and eager to go......just GO! Don't miss Bellarocca and the activities I mentioned!