PALM BEACH, LAIYA, BATANGAS: EXPLORING THE LAST FRONTIER OF THE BATANGAS COASTLINE

The trip to Laiya was an unplanned expedition.  I have read lots of articles about this place and heard stories of friends who have been to this final frontier of Batangas before entering the province of Quezon.  I was in my Quezon adventure that day and while on the way home early in the afternoon, I decided to make a detour in Candelaria turning left towards San Juan, Batangas.  I am feeling this is going to be an instant adventure.  I was driving uphill and when I reached the top, a spectacular view of Laiya Bay greeted me and whoa!  This turned out to be another bucket list adventure!

 Laiya is a coastal barangay in the town of San Juan, Batangas situated between the towns of Lobo, Batangas and Sariaya, Quezon.  Laiya can be approached either from Lipa, Batangas passing through Rosario and the other way is a bypass from Candelaria then converging to Rosario as well.  San Juan has a long stretch of white sand beaches dotted by resorts that are side by side.  This secluded part of Batangas is once a haven of privately-owned resorts so this place was spared from rapid environmental degradation by the onslaught of city sleekers who during that time trooped to nearby Sariaya which was the nearest public beach south of Manila. Even though Sariaya is farther from San Juan, if you compared the two beaches with each other, the deterioration of the beaches of Sariaya is very obvious today.  I got to take this picture from a vantage point in front of La Luz resort showing the southern view of San Juan where most resorts are situated close to each other.  The white beach actually is laid not with fine white sand but a course texture of coral rubble, a bit far from the powdery white sand of Boracay.  Some parts of the beach have a gradual descent while other have an abrupt treacherous descent, so you have to be very careful in swimming in the ocean.

The northern stretch of Laiya together with barangay Hugom is rugged terrain where the white sand beach is sparse and the rocky bottom dominates the shoreline.  The area also is mountainous so you have to drive up a rugged road to reach the far-flung resorts because pavement ends up at the end of the national road before the climb. I decided to explore this part of Laiya because of its seclusion and of course the adventure that goes with it.

As I have no resort in mind at that time, I went resort-hopping to look for a place to stay for the night and found Palm Beach Resort.  With a little bit of classy ambiance, the resort nestled at the base of a cliff is lined with a sandy beach but abruptly becomes rocky not far from the shore.  There is a floating platform where you can go diving from there and a fleet of kayak for those who want to want to explore the shoreline up north where the terrain becomes more scenic.  When I checked out the room, it would satisfy the picky customer based on my standard.  The staff were friendly and accommodating.  I am expecting this will be a relaxing escapade for me.

 The resort has 2 infinity pools that are situated on both ends of the resort.  The pool has a breathtaking view of the sea so dipping in its clean, cool and refreshing water made my Laiya expedition worth more than I expected.

  Each swimming pool also has a bubbling jacuzzi where you will see me right now.  The scenery is so relaxing with the mountains at your back, the ocean view in front complemented with clear blue skies above.  What more can you ask for! This is the LIFE!

This is the 2nd jacuzzi beside the 2nd infinity pool at the other end of the resort.  It's a round jacuzzi sustained by a waterfalls that refreshing to relax under. 

I had a blast with the 2 infinity pools but I feel that if this place was filled with people I wouldn't be enjoying this much.  Privacy is a very important component in a vacation that most often comes with a price.

I had the beach all by myself that day.  It was late in March and very early in the summer so the summer rush to the beach hasn't started yet.  There are kayaks to be rented and a platform out at sea at the extreme left of this picture where you can do some diving.  I didn't rode the kayaks during my stay but I'll male sure I'll do it on my next visit.

The southern portion of the beach is a rocky coastline with large rocks jutting out of the surface which becomes a labyrinth of irregular masses of stone formations during low tide. I decided to explore this area further.  The small peninsula out there is where La Luz Resort is located.  I heard that the place is frequented by celebrities so I decided to take a look but I didn't choose to stay there because they don't have a swimming pool which Palm beach has.

The penn has a huge boulder with a large gape in between where seawater rushes in.  The jagged rocks made it difficult to explore around and the rocks breaks abruptly into a deep cliff that overlooks the sea.

I did some photoshoot effects to create that "rock climbing" effect. It was pretty cool, don't you think?

For someone who has an affliction like me, who underwent a major kidney operation.  These are times where I wish I could really do some rock climbing. It would have been an awesome experience.  But things change and somehow you have to accept certain realities of life.  I may attempt a thing or two but sometimes you need to modify and innovate to create that moment.  And with the power of the the lens in my hand, I can create a world that equates to the dreams I once had.  I'm happy and that is all that matters most!

When I finally climbed the top of the boulder, a spectacular view of the sea  greeted me, leaving me dumbfounded in silence.  I had my guitar with me and all I can do was sing to the natural beauty of the place with much emotion and I found my peace of mind that very moment.  The first song I remember singing to the sea was a favorite song "Corner of the Sky" sung by Basil Valdez.  It was a very seren, solemn and liberating experience.

As I left the rock and began my way back to my resort which was far in background, I can't help but take a posterity shot of the beautiful Laiya lanscape behind me which marks one of best bucket list adventure I ever had. 

The next 3 pictures are scenes in the immediate vicinity of La Luz Resort.  The resort has a beachfront dominated by huge rocks and a small patch of white sand beach.  If your're into snorkeling and diving, this is the place for you since you don't have to venture far from your resort.

This is a part of La Luz resort.  Much of the other infrastructures are obscured by trees and and that 'natural' ambiance was maintained to create that rustic, rural, ocean-side atmosphere.

La Luz juts out into the sea like a nipple which actually divides Laiya into the southern part which is already anthropogenically altered and the northern side where most parts still remains relatively rugged and pristine.  It's up to you to take your pick.  Just a word of advice.  The northern part will require you to bring a tough vehicle for the anticipated climb up the mountains.

When I returned to the resort, I was pretty tired so I rested a bit under these cozy nipa huts along the shore and later in the evening availed their massage service here and had the best, relaxing massage for the summer.  The attendant even told me I was snoring immediately after she started.  Well, judging from what I felt when I woke up, the massage she gave me was a pretty damn good massage if you will ask me.

The owner of Palm Beach has other attractions such as this dune buggy, an all terrain vehicle that they probably use to drive around in the rugged part of the mountain.  They just leave it there for display for guests to have fun taking pictures in it.  Count me in as one of the avid fan who rode this vehicle.  Good thing I had this place all by myself. hi hi hi hi!

Another attraction is this resthouse that I think is only used by the owner and their personal friends and guests.  It waa a cozy resthouse with a wide veranda for people to enjoy the sea breeze compared to their accommodations that are generally concrete buildings with air-conditioned rooms.

After the day's fun activities, I sat down for a sumptous feast that the resort prepared since the food is already included in the package.  Since it's the beginning of summer, might as well celebrate this grand summer blast! BON APPETIT!

After dinner, I culminated the evening with a dip in the warm, bubbling jacuzzi where I had the place all by myself througout the evening.  The experience was so grand that I felt like I was the owner having this very private moment in my jacuzzi under a clear night sky matted with millions of stars to celebrate the moment with no other people waiting for their turn.  These are rare moments in deed!

The next day, I went through the usual beach activities and before I left for Manila, I had a last glimpse of the resort from atop the cliff and bid it goodbye saying that I shall come back once again to enjoy Laiya's beauty in the near future.