Our Blue Coral-Acuatico Beach Resort Experience in Laiya, Batangas

My sister - the birthday girl - Anna poses beside the infinity pool at Acuatico Beach Resort

We managed to go to Acuatico Beach Resort (a high-end beach resort in Laiya, Batangas) because it is just beside Blue Coral, where we were actually booked. We read a lot about Acuatico so we thought we should do a quick look of its facilities before we took our lunch. And boy, how we envy the guests because of its stunning infinity pool overlooking the ocean.

We grabbed every opportunity to have our photos taken. (Tatay Lito poses for a picture at the beachfront of Acuatico.)

But let's forget about Acuatico first because as I mentioned earlier, we decided to stay at Blue Coral.

We arrived before 12nn but we were allowed to do early check-in on condition that we also do an early check-out the next day (an approximate of 22 hours of stay).



Because Blue Coral was a lot cheaper than Acuatico, we did not expect much from the place. We only wanted four things – swimming pool, beach, comfortable room, and good food - but I can say that we received more than what we expected. The poolside room is big enough to accommodate all of us. It has two double-sized beds and one double deck that can actually accommodate three or four persons. (See the left photo.) The aircon and the fridge are in good running condition. The bathroom is okay - no broken tiles and faucet. It is also big enough to allow two or three persons inside. Our decision to stay in Blue Coral in lieu of Acuatico was a good (or wiser?) one.





But since we read a lot of not-so-good reviews about food at Blue Coral, we opted to pay for the accommodation and made the decision to find someplace else to feast. However, our tummies were already complaining so we decided to eat lunch at the Blue Coral restaurant only to be surprised that the food was not bad at all. Tatay Lito loved the fried chicken so much. We thought that maybe because of reviews, they changed their cooks. Hehe.

We came to Acuatico to have dinner buffet to celebrate Anna’s birthday. The food was great – we had spaghetti, marinara, and carbonara cooked in front of us by the chef. There were salad, halo-halo, chocolate, and others for dessert, and beef, chicken, fish, pork, and others for viands. I did not eat sisig because it’s ‘mataba’. Overall, it’s quite worth the rate per pax. I said ‘quite’ because we were not big eaters.

We did not swim in the beach on the first day because the current was kinda strong. Lucas said “the water is moving”. Also, the beach was kinda dirty, with pieces of leaves, woods – and diaper. But the next day, we were greeted by the water’s calmness and cleanliness that we enjoyed the beach a lot. I do have to mention that Blue Coral’s swimming pool was also clean and well-maintained. Not too many people, so we were able to swim freely.

Before we went home, travelers as we were, we asked for one of the most visited restaurants in San Juan, Batangas and Old San Juan Restaurant was recommended to us. It was an old house converted into a restaurant. There were a lot of antique pieces inside (as expected). The sisig was okay for me as it was ‘malaman’. The bulalo was okay. The kare-kare needed more sauce. Overall, it was a fine

lunch for all of us.

We saw a church nearby. Being lovers of old churches, we went to check it and of course, pray. We were told that it was the church where Ryan Agoncillo and Judy Ann Santos got married.

Overall, it was a well-spent family trip. A white (okay, cream) beach not too far from Manila. Who says you need to take a plane to enjoy beaches in the Philippines? Laiya, Batangas can give your family the same enjoyment.

The Power of Healing

Few people are given the chance to feel the presence of the Lord during the celebration of a healing mass. I am blessed to be one of them…

I will not go into details about what happened to me on the night of September 7, 2012. Let’s just say that my blood pressure has risen to 220/110—my first time. I was rushed to Jose L. Amante Emergency Hospital, went home after three hours and had several laboratory tests the next day at Healthway Festival.

As I waited for my cardiologist, I experienced panic attack and my blood pressure increased again at 150/100. I went to Asian Hospital and was placed under emergency care. After an hour or two, my blood pressure lowered to 120/80. I felt super fine.

Or so I thought.

I began to feel weak later in the evening. My cousins (Alvin and Morris) and my sister Anna brought me to Perpetual Help Medical Center in Binan, Laguna. I was only under observation at the emergency unit but I opted to be confined immediately. At that very moment, I feared that something might happen to me. The images of that fateful night kept coming back to my mind…

 I heard knocks at my door. It was from Gelo, my 11-year-old nephew. He asked me to rush. “Si Nanay! Si Nanay!” I heard him saying as he ran. I hurried to their place, found my mom unconscious and saw my eldest sister and cousins trying to revive her… I just looked at her. Her face was so pale... We brought her to Asian Hospital. At first, I kept on talking to her. But hours have passed and she's not improving... I knew then, we would lose her... 

Yes, we did. But the image of her face that night hunts me until now...  

After three days, I was discharged from the hospital. But after only a couple of days, I was back again. The culprit: low sodium. My doctor said I could have fainted. Good thing it did not happen. After four days, I was out of the hospital.

One… two… three weeks have passed and I felt the same. There was no improvement in my condition. My eldest sister Didith called for a priest to bless our house. Luckily, it was Father John Tabot who came. He invited me to his healing mass on the coming Friday and I did.

While hearing the mass, I felt very weak. I was having second thoughts about finishing the celebration. It was as if somebody was pushing me to get out of the church because nothing good will happen. Surprisingly, it was like this when I went to hear mass at Sto. Sepulcro Parish Church in Landayan a week ago. But I prayed and vowed to stay—even when I felt that I am to faint in no time.

While lined up in front of the altar for Fr. John's blessing, my eyes caught the image of Jesus in the cross. I began to mumble “Lord, heal me… Please, heal me…” Those were the only words that I kept on saying. Tears began to fall. I did not know what was happening to me. It wasn’t me. But I was really crying. When Father John approached me and touched me in my forehead and said a prayer, I closed my eyes, cried with soft voice and felt like I was floating. My body was so light as if my spirit was about to go. Or, was it God's spirit that's lifting me? Before I could get the answer, I found myself falling from my back...

After the mass, I felt so good and so strong. I knew then, I was off to recovery. So I promised myself to blog about it here in Google before anything else so I can spread the good news. This may not be a post related to my travels but this is a journey that I want to share first and foremost.