EL PESCADOR RESORT HOTEL, Bolinao: A Retrospect Account of our Stay in an Upscale Fisherman's Resort

Putting up a beach resort in the middle of a coastal town such as Bolinao is a challenging feat because the environmental impacts of a growing population around it definitely will be felt in the waters around it. Several mitigations such as rehabilitating the beach sand is but merely superficial because the sea water will still remain the same, replete with organic pollution from domestic wastes from the surrounding community rendering the shores foamy with detergent. 

The next best thing for the owners to compensate for the contaminated beachfront is to place a swimming pool.  That way the hotel resort still regains it stature  as the premiere tourist accommodation in town, the remains a venue for selfies and groupies but the swimming pool is the main palce fro getting wet.

When it was finally decided that Bolinao will be the venue for this year's environmental field trip, I contacted our accredited tour provider Exploria Tours Inc. regarding the accommodation and itinerary in Bolinao since I have no idea where to stay.  In going there, Exploria provided 2 brand new Toyota Hi-Ace and Grandia vans for the 12 students and 2 faculty which includes me.

El Pescador Resort Hotel was the accommodation of choice.  It's a premiere resort right at the very tip of Bolinao and gives a bilateral access to both the Marine Laboratory and Patar countryside.  Strategically, it was a good choice which I agreed.  However, since the beach was not really ideal, I told Hector our guide that I would prefer a resort where it would really nice to swim in the beach and not always in the pool.  

The Bolinao Environmental Field Trip was just an overnight event so we maximized the time by leaving Cavite at midnight and traveled throughout the night until we reached Bolinao early in the morning.  Despite the long trip, the students are still in high spirits because they are pretty well aware of what Bolinao has to offer.

Bolinao is a small, peaceful town where life seems to be uncomplicated yet shows cluttered signs of urbanization.  This piece of land making up the southern horn of the Lingayen Gulf is predominantly inhabited by local fisherman long before the coming of the Spaniards and had been constantly in trade with the neighboring Chinese.

Bolinaons believed the proximity of Bolinao to mainland Asia is made it very accessible to trade as demonstrated by the audacity of the Bolinao local government to claim that the first mass was actually celebrated here by an Italian priest and not in Limasawa.  If the claims are true then the Philippines has long been in contact with European explorers coming from the west long before Magellan sailing from the east arrived in the Visayas. 

Upon arriving in Bolinao our first stop was the visit to the Bolinao Marine Laboratory of the Marine Science Institute of the University of the Philippines where the students had a lecture on different projects of coastal resource management and sustainable development.  We were also orientated in preparation for our island trip to Silaqui Island the next day.

After the visit to the Bolinao Marine Laboratory it was now time to check in the hotel and rest our travel-weary bodies.  The moment we arrived what do you think is the first thing that most people look for?  CORRECT!-THE BEACH!  I hurried down the lane leading to the beach unmindful of the people in the reception. It was a hot cloudless day and almost noon when we arrived.  There were no people around only us.  

When we reached the beachfront, we were not too impressed with what we saw.  There is this beach seemingly laid with white sand with a mixture of crushed corals and shells and everywhere from end to end is a long stretch of sea grass littered in the ebb tide with some debris mixed with the grass..  The sight is not something you would jump for joy. What a bummer!  The beach was actually not inviting at all. People don't want to go swimming in the beach if they don't have the chance to frolic in the sand.  In fact, in the entire duration of our stay, none of us actually swam or even dip in the sea in front of the hotel. 

After the beach we proceeded to the reception and noticed the swimming pool.  In fairness to the owner what they lack miserably in the beach they made it up in the swimming pool.  The pool is actually cool and very inviting to dive into.  I will be doing a review of it later on.

The hotel actually has two areas.  The building where we stayed seems new and the bungalows at the rear portion of the resort is the old part.  The new building has a spacious living room area with several sala sets, huge earth jars and a glass waterfalls making the ambiance of the reception area very cordial and cozy.  However, it was a little hot during midday since there's no airconditioning in the place.

We were led to our respective rooms and behold! The interior was elegantly designed with wood as the motif.  The room itself is very big with sofa.  What you're viewing here is just half of the room.  The other half looks exactly the same with prepared beds that look very inviting after a long night's journey.  It has refrigerator, dresser table, sofa set and flat screen TV with cable channels.  

(photo credit:  Jinky Lalaine Amon)

The room juts out into the sea via a balcony that gives guests a 180 degree picturesque view of the sea.  The downside of this however is that it doesn't have internet wi-fi.  Having disconnected with the virtual world might actually be a good thing so that it helps you reconnect with nature. 

  Second, the airconditioning is the inverter type where it automatically turns off during the night until it wakes you up because it's also too warm in the room.  We had a problem trying to set the thermostat so that it doesn't turn off often throughout the night.  We didn't sleep well that night.  Well, that's probably the energy conservation plan of the resort owner.  I hope it doesn't become a disadvantage for them when guests starts complaining.  Another thing is the shower while taking a bath.  The experience was like taking a shower under a drizzle of rain because the water heater is giving out too little water from the spout.  

But I do appreciate the water and energy conservation efforts of the owner.  But I think they should raise the awareness of the guests so that they don't come out of their complaining of these.  Many guests are wasteful because they have a mindset that they have to get their money's worth when staying in a hotel even to the point that they waste away the electricity and water more than what they paid for.  It is this very culture that contributes to our many environmental woes.   

Now, let's review the food in El Pescador! First of all, since the town of Bolinao is well known to be a fishing village, it is just fitting to give the resort its name "El Pescador" a Spanish word which means "fisherman" in English.  Given that, the menu always contains fish which expectedly should always be the case.  In all the dinner and lunch and even breakfast, different kinds of fish cuisine was served that goes well with the other viands occasionally accompanied with chicken and pork.  Of course the meal always comes complete with different preparations of vegetables.

Hector our tour guide was pleased with the way the tour was turning out fine that he treated everyone with "Halo-halo" a type of dessert which contains a variety of sweet ingredients and fruits mixed with crushed ice blended with sugar and milk. Halo-halo is a local name which means "mix-mix" in English.  Everyone jump for joy as they grab their goblet of the delicious treat and started to gobble up its delicious and cold contents to beat the summer heat.

Next is the swimming pool that makes you feel so royal since we practically had the place for ourselves which makes the experience very classy as if we were staying in a five-star hotel.  

The downside however is you don't get to see the view of the sea while enjoying your cool dip in the pool.  In the middle of the day there is really not much shade so expect to really get a deep tan by the afternoon.

(photo credit:  Jinky Lalaine Amon)

Probably the one thing that El Pescador really lacks is a dead center sunset or sunrise.  I'm always a sucker for sunrise and sunsets and I often while the time away doing nothing but wait for the perfect moment to take the shot. Upon orienting myself with the position of the sun, I realize the sun sets on the left side of the resort while facing the sea.  I was not really enthusiastic about taking a sunset picture with the sun dropping over land and the sky was blanketed by a hazy sky scattering the light all over the sky.  It actually created a panorama of a burning sky which regretfully I wasn't able to capture but luckily one of my students took this shot from her suite balcony.  However, the setting sun was really not good to shoot directly because the shape is very diffused and there is not corona to defined the boundaries.  It was a good sunset indeed while we were immersed in the swimming pool and resting after a tiring day's work.

The sunrise on the other hand came out on the other side if the resort and it was not your anticipated sun slowly coming out of the land.  It had actually risen up way past the horizon by cloaked in a layer of dark cottony clouds diffusing the light all around the sky.  By the time it appeard behind the clouds, it was already way up but at least it illuminated the sea beneath it where I got a picturesque scene of a fisherman preparing for today's fishing trip while the sun reflected gloomily on the waters beside him.  It was a good morning indeed!

While taking a stroll on the undesirable part of the resort where they dispose the construction debris of the resort, I came upon this junked Russian submarine parked in the corners.  I was able to determine its origin based on the inscription on one of its valves.  Seeing a submarine always raises my eyebrows about the intention of whoever the owner is.  

I first saw a submarine here also in the northern Philippines where it was displayed as one of the popular tourist spots also in the northern Philippines facing the West Philippine Sea.  Although it was still in a good condition it also raised some speculations in me.  Is it just coincidence that affluent people in the north of the country are fond of submarines?  Did you ever recall a local recreation or travel TV show that features submarines as their marine attractions?  Nah! I don't think so! Why would someone invest so much money on a submarine without using it for recreation business to recover his investment?  If you ask me, that's probably because he can recover it in another business that is clandestine, inconspicuous and probably illegal.  Why need a submarine? It was probably used for transporting contraband goods. The contraband goods if I may aptly describe it might have come from a country which is very close to the north of the country and the receiving party here in the Philippines might be a very affluent and influential person.  Anyway, they are all just speculations and I still leave it to you to figure it out as well.

Overall, our stay at the El Pescador was a pleasant experience that I may consider makes up for some of its shortcomings.  The food was delicious and adequately served.  The rooms were splendid despite the absence of internet connection and the energy ans water conservation features of the room.  The swimming pool was ok despite having no view of the sea.  But despite these setbacks, El Pescador still remains a resort hotel to recommend because of the hospitality and the good security and concern for privacy of its management.  I just hope that when the resort is complete that they should have a very efficient solid waste and water treatment facility to mitigate the pollution and maintain a sustainable environmental management plan so people will still flock to this resort hotel everytime they visit to see the treasures of Bolinao.