It’s been a while since my family had a very nice vacation. Well, not just your average vacation. The one where you would get totally spoiled and have the time of your life. And since summer came in with a very stressful heat wave, we decided it was time to experience that again.
Thanks to Metrodeal (a website which gives away discounts and vouchers), we were able to find a resort for a very good deal: a two-days and one-night stay at Caliraya Resort in Laguna, with all-you-can-eat buffets for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
It even comes with admissions to most of their facilities, including the zip line, pools, and so much more. Now that is a great deal! We were accompanied by my friend Bianca and her parents, which are also my parents’ friends.
We scheduled the trip on May 5-6. May 6 happens to be the wedding anniversary of my parents, and Bianca’s too! It was a double anniversary celebration.
The trip to the resort was a good four-hour drive. When we finally got there, we had to ride a boat to get to the other side of Caliraya Lake because that is where the resort is located. I loved the resort. The climate was cool, like Tagaytay, with lots of trees and uphill slopes. What I loved most is that there were only a few people. It was peaceful. I don’t like crowded places, especially when it comes to resorts, so that quality made me love the resort even more.
On our first day we scouted the area. The landscape was full of trees
and nature, which made it a nice backdrop for picture-taking. We took
some pictures, and decided to try the zip line. On the ground, we were
confident on riding the zip line, but once we were ascending the stairs
to the zip line, our courage left us with every step. In the end, we,
two families of six people, all chickened out and left the zip line.
Haha!
We found an obstacle course as well as a ride they call ‘Slide Pinoy’, just outside our villa. It’s like a mini zip line. Just look at the pictures and you’ll get the idea. It was very fun! I rode it so many times.
When night was approaching we decided it was time for dinner at the Main Building. The buffet had only few choices of food, but it was enough to satisfy your hunger. After dinner, we rented a KTV room. We sang karaoke for one hour and returned to our villa afterwards.
After an hour or so, we decided to go night-swimming. The pool was enormous, and there were only a few people. We swam to our heart’s content. I’ve waited for that moment. After experiencing the vicious heat wave of April, swimming was on my mind the moment I felt the heat. After swimming, it was time to go to sleep.
The next day, we woke up early to eat our breakfast. The breakfast was just your average breakfast food; eggs, corned beef, fried rice, and some pan de sal on the side.
After breakfast, we went to the Viewing Deck of the Main Building. There we had a majestic view of Mt. Banahaw and Caliraya Lake itself. We took lots of pictures of course! Bianca’s mom also rented a ping pong table, so we had time to play. Well, we didn’t actually play since we can only do serves. On our way back to Villa A, we passed by a hanging bridge.
Afterwards, we decided to take a dip on the pool again, but this time only I, Bianca, and her father swam. We had the entire pool for ourselves, since there were no other people besides us. We cherished every moment of it since we were to check-out at noon.
When the time to check-out finally came, I was a bit sad since I’ll miss the place and the relaxation as well. After eating our lunch, I just rode the Slide Pinoy again and again until we had to go.
Our stay may be short, but it sure was satisfying and fun! I got to relax and forget about my problems and the stressful school year ahead. That experience will surely be one I will never forget. I don’t know when we’ll be having a vacation like that again but I do know one thing- I’ll surely be coming back to Caliraya Resort someday.
Contributed by Arjude Gerona
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
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