In terms of how people use their money to treat themselves, there are two types of people in the world: those who choose materialistic pursuits, and those who engage in novel experiences-- Kevin and I are of the latter.
This fact does come as a surprise, considering that both of us are indoor introverts by heart.
Kevin and I went on a road trip one hopeful Saturday in his month-long visit in Bohol and stumbled upon a piece of gem while we were in one of our stops-- the Camaya-an-Ugpong hanging bridge -- and we took interesting photos along the way:
By then, we have already been travelling for several hours and we were looking for a place to rest.
Nothing beats an Oh, thank God. My butt can finally have a good stretch than seeing a resort right beside it.
We didn't really plan on staying for long, especially that
"Ah. Resort. Probably expensive. We're too poor for this shiz. Might stay for a glass of water, then go." - Me to me in my brain
I also considered that we had other stops to go, but while we were relaxing our body parts for a bit, we were intrigued by what other things the resort had to offer.
Lovely food, with much lovelier prices
We planned on staying at Venia's Kitchen for maybe an hour or so, just enough for my "driver" to rest before getting back on the wheel, so we at least had to order something fitting.
My eyes glittered when I opened the menu. I was surprised to see the price range of the food to be so modest. I have been in expensive resorts before, that's why I was kind of wary about the prices and kind of expected theirs to be as inflated as most of the expensive resorts I've been in of the same caliper. But nope! I was wrong, and thankfully too!
I went over the sandwich section of their menu: Nah. Not in the mood for sandwiches. Fries? No, it's too early, and fried food is basically our staple back home Pancakes? Now we're talkin'. There were three to choose from: banana, carrot and squash. All healthy of course, but I wanted to pick the most interesting one among the lot.
I ordered squash pancakes for our morning snacks, and it only cost us PHP 80 (1.68 USD). Kevin got a cold glass of beer while I ordered a healthy smoothie with that aesthetic miniature paper umbrella by the side.
The people really aced the presentation criterion of the food because the Butterfly Pea flower was a really nice touch:
The Fast WiFi
To be this far away from the city meant the reception would be poor especially while being on the road in the province, I kind of already accepted this fact. That's basically how we spent the morning part of our road trip, and I was so itching to send my family some of the nice pictures we took.
My family is also big on road trips, usually when my OFW dad comes home and everyone in the house would be complete. There were some stops Kevin and I went to, that I haven't gone with with my family like the Camaya-an-Ugpong hanging bridge.
I did not regret asking the staff if they had Wi-Fi in the resort. Ask and Ye Shall Receive couldn't sound anymore relatable at that time, and just like that, I was laughing like a jackal in my seat because I could send my family several of the most awaited photos I took around the resort.
Kayaking!
It only took a few sights on the kayaks and yachts (not sure what it's called) resting on the port to make our stay official-- Kevin and I began officially extending our stay in the resort.
Why though? Well, to go kayaking and for mah b0i Kevin to be one step closer fulfilling his kayaking dreams.
One thing interesting about Kevin is his intense fascination for boats. May it be just a simple kayak or pump boat. He'd take his time examining and imagining the possible construction plan, and asking about possible boat prices. One time in our trip he started striking up a conversation with a random fishing boat owner, because he was intrigued by the fishing boat. I couldn't see the magic of it (believe me, I tried) but his eyes clearly lights up whenever he talks about boats with complete childlike wonder.
Kayaking is at least a step towards his boating dreams, and it was part of his visit bucket list, so why not? I had a very great time myself, screaming almost every twenty minutes or so every time the kayak starts rocking on its own.
Loboc River Aesthetics
But my intermittent screaming wasn't even the best part about it, it was the river and the view:
The jungle noises, the fresh air, kids playing near the edge of the river, the variety of trees near the bank-- The river was absolutely beautiful... but it also kind of felt like we jumped inside the movie, Anacondas 🤣.
Who wouldn't be when a person finds out that the river is 4 to 5 meters deep? It's very possible to house a lot of interesting river carnivores with a strong apatite for two nerdy human beings on a kayak.
But so far, our rocking of the boat was the only perceived threat to our safety at that time 😅.
What was really cool was we travelled quite far on both upstream and downstream. I didn't imagine kayaking to be such a good workout on the arms especially going upstream. We imagined how tough it must have been for my early Boholano ancestors who only travelled using paddles.
The fun part started when the rain poured. There was no backing out of my want of having my swimwear wet (I was trying to save it for a pool session we planned earlier). We just decided to make our stop worthwhile by jumping off the kayak and go swimming (there goes my Anaconda anxiety 🤣).
We had so many new experiences during that day:
- It was both our first time kayaking ever
- It was both our first time swimming in Loboc River (I never got the chance as a kid and used to be super jealous at the other older kids who were allowed to swim)
- It was my first time jumping off a tree and onto a river (I just really tried to make the most of it 🤣)
Overall, our stay at Loboc River Resort was a memorable experience filled with fun lacking of sun and mischief. I called this an "oasis" of a resort because like all portrayed oases, we bumped into it when really needed it. At that time, we needed a break: Kevin from driving, and me from sitting at the back of his motorcycle for the whole morning.
So far, there were no regrets because we ended up spending a lot of time enjoying Loboc River and all its glory.
Roxanne Marie is the twenty-year-old something who calls herself the Protean Creator.
She is a chemical engineer by profession, pole-dancer and blogger by passion and frustration, and lastly, a life enthusiast. She is on a mission to rediscover her truth through the messy iterative process of learning, relearning and unlearning. Currently, she works as a science and research instructor in her hometown, Tagbilaran City, all the while documenting her misadventures, reflections and shenanigans as a working-class millennial here on Hive.
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