Pico de Loro - Glass Chapel by the Hill and Breakfast Buffet

Mornings in Pico de Loro are mild. It's also the best part of the day to get the perfect shot for the westward sprawl of the lagoon - with its sun-kissed reflections and mirror images of the white-washed tenements. I decided to check out the chapel by the hill.

Enshrouded by a sea of vegetation, the chapel seems protected by the rich foliage. From the beach, I walked the wooden plank until I saw the wooden stair that eventually lead to a chapel with walls made of glass - and a roof that looked like it was going to rocket into the sky.

With a 360 degree view of the green surroundings, I was impressed by its concept of being open or "bare". It would be a perfect place to get married in. Marriage after all shouldn't be anything else.

The chapel probably has a capacity of 200, 250 tops. The altar was decked with poinsettias. Imagine if you wanted an intimate wedding, this wouldn't be a bad place to hold it in.

VERANDA

Of course the best part of the structure is the sprawling veranda outside providing lookout point to the scenic Hamilo Coast and some parts of the mountain. A flight of stairs below is a small holding area with a couple of rooms, probably for when you require dressing rooms for events. Or storage of goods.

After the chapel visit, I went back to Pico Sands Hotel for breakfast before it closed at 10. Buffet breakfast is included in the hotel booking. While last night's dinner was a disappointment, this breakfast more than made up for it, mostly because there's a limit to the concept of breakfast food you can serve. But, yeah, I was more than happy with their breakfast. I initially tried their restaurants near the Club House, but they were packed and I didn't want the circus atmosphere. I was referred instead to the Baia Ballroom (below).

Pico de Loro is close to perfection where retreat and relaxation are concerned. There are areas that may benefit from improvements (like their food) or looking into (like their chaotic check out). But on the whole, it's a great place for a visit.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

The veranda just outside the chapel provides great views (below) of the coast.

Glasses as walls.

A floor below the chapel, you'll find this holding room

Front of the chapel.

The way to the parking space and the beach.

Stairs jut out towards the beach.

Free rides with these roving vehicles.

Picturesque lagoon

Condominium units

Pico Sands Hotel

My haul from the breakfast buffet spread.

Baia Ballroom

Pico de Loro Beach and Its Underwhelming Dining Experience

Afternoons in Pico de Loro bristled. The heat percolated around the windless terrain that the short hike from the hotel going to the beach turned a bit uncomfortable. I should have brought my sunglasses or a cap because even the healthiest eyes have limits to the amount of sunlight they can take in. The hotel guard did suggest I wait for the free ride, but me being the "seasoned traveler", rebuffed the valid suggestion. If I could tackle simmering Bagan (Myanmar), why not tropical Nasugbu? Such arrogance indeed. :)

The 1.5 kilometers stretch of beach was interesting, with the cove languorously beckoning westward. There's a red-and-white lighthouse standing on a cliff, probably the one from Barangay Ilingan. There's a wooden pathway that stretches close to the water and goes eastward up a hill to where the chapel looms like a breakable glass. At the base of the northern hill, a restaurant could be seen. Few souls have ventured into the waters, but by late afternoon, people would gradually, expectedly show up to enjoy the ocean.
 

The sand isn't "white" by any measure, although from the elevated hills, it did have that illusion. It's more golden, to be dramatic about it.

While there's a very visible volume of lifeguards at the Club House, there's none to be seen here, although they're probably incognito. But the waves are mild and look safe most time of the day. Still, caution is a better option than regret, go ask the parent who lost a child from drowning? Am I being morbid? You see, caution is never bad.

"TERRIBLE FOOD"

In the evening, I decided to partake dinner at the buffet spread by the beach. I decided on buffet because a la carte dining felt limited for its price so why not up the ante for all that's available, right? I didn't realize this until then that dining by candlelight is actually "dark". I asked for those bite-sized candles but they hardly made any difference. It's probably one of the darkest, dimmest dining experiences I've had in my life. There goes the romantic notion, right?

Food was so-so at best, which was a huge let down, considering the price. The tastiest in the whole spread is the Batangas "atchara" (pickled green papaya relish), I had to come back for it thrice. And if that's the best to be mentioned in a buffet spread, isn't that pathetic? After all, atchara isn't main course. Post-mortem, I read up some "reviews" about Pico's beachside buffet just to find out if it was just a "bad culinary night" for me, but lo and behold, "Foursquare" had a consensus, i.e. that their buffet has "terrible food". One can probably overcome lousy food by compensating with quantity, but "more of bad food" only spells indigestion.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

There's a lighthouse up the hill.

From the chapel by the hill to the sea.

Beachside restaurant

My gastronomic haul from the buffet table. The only good thing about this is the atchara so I didn't come back for more. Well, I did return for the atchara. Does that count?

Dinner by the beach is a dim dining experience. I should have picked one of the restaurants of the hotel. 

Pico Sands Hotel front desk and lobby.

Pico de Loro Introduction - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2014/04/pico-de-loro-hanging-loose-simmering.html

Glass Chapel by the Hill in Pico de Loro - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2014/04/pico-de-loro-glass-chapel-by-hill-and.html

Kaybiang Tunnel: The Philippines' Longest Subterranean Road Tunnel

On my way to Pico de Loro, a relatively painless road trip that took roughly 2 hours from Manila, I got to pass through mountainous terrain sprinkled with verdant greens. Thirty minutes before arrival at the resort, I finally saw the Kaybiang Tunnel, the Philippines' longest subterranean road tunnel, which links Ternate, Cavite and Nasugbu, Batangas. Technology blasted a hole, a tunnel if you will, through Mount Palay-Palay (aka Mt. Pico de Loro). This isn't a minor hill, mind you. Just check out the lush forested land above the tunnel. You can climb an uneven pathway for some photo-op over the mouth of the entrance, though I doubt if it's anything worth gloating about. Leftward is a statue of the Virgin Mary.

The tunnel is the focal scepter of the 1.5 kilometer access road that cuts Manila-Batangas travel time from 4 hours to 1.5 hours. From experience, the way back took less than an hour.

It isn't any wonder then that real estate valuation in the coastal areas have skyrocketed. But how long is this tunnel? Hold your breath - it's just 300 meters long.

The 300-meter tunnel specifically located in Marigondon  took 4 years to complete which is tantamount to saying, if this consortium did Vietnam's Hai Van Tunnel, Southeast Asia's longest at 6.28 kilometers, it would take them 20 long years to finish. By that time, I'd have had 20 different versions of iPhone and probably a slew of grandchildren. ;)

Moreover, a few factors irritate during a visit. Motor bikers would populate this area to make their joy rides and rev up their bikes, repeatedly make that awful noise while jetting in and out of the tunnel. The pleasure is still a mystery to me. Noise is never listed in my exhaustively long checklist of pleasures.

One other observation? It's morbidly dark inside. For comparison, check out the lighting of the Hai Van Tunnel (below) when I took the "shuttle bus" (well, it was a cramped coaster really) between Da Nang and Hue in Central Vietnam? Why can't a country with a robust economy such as ours afford lights in a 300-meter tunnel while Vietnam could afford THAT much number of lights in their tunnel? You wonder.

Heavily-guarded Hai Van Tunnel reduces travel time between Da Nang and Hue by almost an hour and shortens the distance by 20 kilometers. Pedestrians, motorcycles, carts and bicycles are not allowed in the tunnel, thus shuttle transport is available 24 hours a day. Since I hired an Easyrider's service, I had to get offloaded to a bus to get to the other end of the tunnel - my driver and his bike had to ride a separate truck! There was a minimal fee for my bus seat, as well as the motorcycle, but it wasn't really much.

Back in Kaybiang: Once I got through the tunnel, an inspiring scenery of the blue ocean greets you. There are a couple of lookout points where you could park your car to enjoy the scenic coast. I was already enjoying the adventure even before it officially started.

I couldn't help but think of the Boni Avenue-Pioneer Street Tunnel (Mandaluyong City) that feels longer than Kaybiang, but in reality it isn't. The tunnel is just 280-meter long. Does it really follow the "subterranean" (underground) criteria? They dug a hole, but half of it is on raised land. So probably it doesn't.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Kaybiang Tunnel

Look at all the lights at Hai Van Tunnel in Central Vietnam. I took the front seat beside the driver. Flash photography not allowed.

The eastern coast has scenic views. Is that Limbones Island?

Someone is selling ice cream in one of the remotest places along the highway.

Visit Pico de Loro - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2014/04/pico-de-loro-hanging-loose-simmering.html