I've heard of Isla Reta but I didn't know there was an Isla Reta 2. =p I only found out about this beach when my classmates in training and I decided to go Island Hopping one fine Saturday last February. We rented 2 bangkas and went to Samal. Since most of my classmates were not from Davao, Mr. Bangkero (is that what we call the driver of the bangka? haha) gave them a quick Samal Tour on Samal's popular beaches like Paradise and Pearl Farm. The original plan was to stop over at Isla Reta, have lunch, then continue on to the next beach. However, admission to Isla Reta was P50 per person i think and they were also going to charge us for the cottage. My classmates thought that was too much since we were only planning to stay for like 30 minutes. So we hopped back into our bangkas, looking for another beach to eat at. I'm not sure if we came to Isla Reta 2 by chance, but I'm glad we stopped over here. It's a secluded beach farther than Isla Reta 1 (i think it's on another island), and it's less populated (actually when we went there were just three groups of people in the beach (we're number 3). I love untouched/undeveloped beaches (like Canibad) so i definitely enjoyed Isla Reta 2. There was even a small cave, we had our pictures taken in there too. The only downside to this beach (not only Isla Reta 2, but the whole stretch of that side of the island) is the sea urchins! Miss Lucy (our trainer) even got stung (she had about 10 stings *ouch*) and my classmates had to take turns pissing on her toes wehehehe. I also got stung by twice, but I think it was a baby. hahaha coz the black part that got left inside was super small, I just let it bleed out and then i removed the splinter. It was a super fun trip though. Although I don't think I'd travel that far again. Canibad is better for me, and walang sea urchins dun. =p
Bali Bali Resort
I discovered Bali Bali thru Joy Lao's multiply site and I super wanted to go there. When I asked my mum if she k
nows about that resort, she mentioned that she'd been there before. Sakto, Holyweek was coming up and our family didn't have plans yet. So we decided to book an overnight stay at Bali Bali Resort. Bali Bali is a quiet and serene beach and I'm raving about it because:
(1) It's a small resort. There are only 6 cottages in the resort (and each cottage has it's own theme -- cute!). Our group already occupied 4 cottages, so we pretty much felt like we had the resort all to ourselves. =)
(2) It has an infinity pool. I was quite disappointed though, the beach wasn't beautiful, or at least the beach in the resort. While swimming i even saw a Mr. Donut Box (Anu buzz =p) party burried in the sand. There were also a lot of plants in the shallow part of the beach. The father we went, the better the beach became. =) At the super deep part (past where the resort's bangka parked), me, Jett, and a couple of my cousins went snorkeling (soft of) and there were so many beautiful fishies. Gio even collected giant starfishes to bring back home.
(3) We don't have a view of the city (and Marco Polo) from the beach. It's located at the side of Samal Island so it's not facing Davao anymore. Like I said earlier, i favor beaches that doesn't have the view of Marco Polo.
(4) There was Videoke -- I think this is the only time I've sang so much. Agawan kami ni Jett sa mic hahaha!
and (5) Our package included unlimited food -- which wasn't very unlimited in our case. I'm not sure if their cook was sanay to cook for 20+ guests with big appetites hahaha.
I was only a bit disappointed because I think they lacked manpower. The receptionist was there the whole day that by the time it was midnight, she told me they would be closing the "main hall" of the place and if we wanted to sit around and talk, we could do it outside. There were tables though. Wala lang, sayang naman na andun na kami.
It's not as if we get to stay up (and in my case, use magic sing =p) all the time. hahaha We understand though, that she was already working since 6am so she needed her rest. Coz she would also need to get up at 6am the following day. =p Nonetheless, I enjoyed my stay in Bali Bali. And I got to bring home tons of pictures. haha (Forgot to take a picture of the infinity pool though -- shtoopid me =p)
Chema's by the Sea
I've heard so much about Chema's but I've never been there. I think everyone I know had been to Chema's (except for Jett haha). So I was super excited when we made plans to visit last Mother's Day. Chema's is beautiful, but for me it is very much commercialized and there are too many people here. It's quite big although I did not get to ask how many cottages are there. When we were there the resort was quite crowed, but that's completely understandable because we were there on mother's day. Chema's for me is similar to Paradise Island, but caters to upper class guests. I believe it's smaller too and they have a limit to the number of guests they admit.
I think the thing I love the most in Chemas would be the infinity pool which is just by the shore. =) It has shade too -- which is just perfect because Jett doesn't want me tanning
. haha
Overall, my stay in Chema's was just okay. I suppose it's a resort I would go back to (I know I have a lot of friends who love C
hemas), but I don't really see something super special with it. It also didn't help that whoever I was speaking with on the phone (for reservations) was suplado and nonchalant and that the owner or manager (i'm not sure) of the resort had a loud argument with the people beside our huts during our visit. x(
Interested in these beaches/resorts? Check out these links:
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