Karancho Beach Resort

Aki here. For those who asked if we were able to go to the beach last Sunday, Yes, we did. And yes, the weather was terrific! Thank you so much for those who helped us in praying for good weather. :)

We went to Karancho Beach Resort, which is among the series of resorts lining Marigondon in Lapu-Lapu City.

For a normal Sunday, it was a little too crowded but then it was such an experience because we met with our old friends and made new friends as well. There were lots of dogs in the place too: their resident Great Dane, Scooby (who was too shy to even show us a glimpse of his fur); a German Shepherd, Miniature Pinscher and of course, our frenemy Belo the Poodle.

However, the best part in this entire beach trip for me is that Poopie, yeppers, The Pooper Scooper herself, finally shed all her inhibitions and for the first time, had the time of her life at the Beach! (We sure did not see that coming!)

We hope you’ll enjoy watching our humble slideshow. We promise to post our favorite videos once the hoomans figure out how to save it into a readable format *rolls eyes*

Happy Wednesday everyone!!

Isla Romantica: My Videos

Woofyy! Finally, uploaded some of our videos. Hope you'll be able to somehow experience what I have experienced during my last weekedn getaway

(Btw, sorry for the lack of post. Manang is very very busy with work and is turning into a raccoon rather quickly. I am happy to announce though that she was finally able to have our Christmas Cards printed and we had already bought the materials for the cards yesterday, but since we will be personalizing them, we might be able to have everything mailed by next week, yet. whew!)

Isla Romantica: Islet Meets Dog

Okay, so we have arrived in Isla Romantica, what's a dog to do then?

It's a little hot outside and we arrived around 10 AM with the sun almost directly above us. After gathering myself and urging the hoomans to cool off in the water, we were gone.

Manang and I were getting ready to go explore the island. The small makeshift hut at the back is where we deposited our things. We only paid Php 100.00 ($2.00) for the entire day's use of this hut. Except for that, staying in the island was free!

Hurry, manang!

Last one to the water is a rotten egg!

I love playing fetch

I think that it is best played in water... woofy!!

man, am I good at it or what?

manang, here is my ball.

can we do it again?

(sorry, the sun is directly above us in this shot)

and again!

whew, I'm beat.

I'm retiring for the moment.

Don't think I'm done yet.

I'll be back for you Mr. Water, so don't you dare ebb.

manag R', I'm bored.

can we go back into the water again?

manang R', manang tin and Ms. Clavel brought me to the other part of the sea near another nearby island. I had lots of fun playing with the sea weeds.

What are you?

A star--fish, you say?

But why aren't you up in the sky where you belong?

Bonding with Manang R'

and stepping on her foot in the process

hurry up manang!

why are you so slow?

me and the girls just right after our visit to the nearby island

are we missing another 'girl' here?

bonding time with my sisters was fun, but I am a man's man

and I need male company (just so I won't go soft all over... BOL)

manong taught me how to snorkel, isn't that cool?

I am now officially known as Achilles the snorkeling dog.

Hwwatt?

I hear sounds of distress!!

Wait, you mortals, Super Achilles the Snorkeling Dog will save you!

Hold on tight, manong.

I'll get you to shore.

After bonding with all of my human companions, what else is left for me to do? Apparently, a group of rambunctious kids were eyeing me from the corner. At first, everyone in the water (except for my humans) would shriek in sheer terror as if I were about to remove their spleen. Finally convinced that no amount of reassurance from my humans would make them change their minds, I have decided to bridge the gap by giving each of them a big, fat, drooly salty kurukukoy kiss. Soon enough, everyone was my friend- Mission Accomplished. *insert smug look here*

Swimming with the heavily tanned visitors

My new friends

Do you think I am a gentleman for letting them lean on me like this?

The best part of the day was making a stranger open up

and trust you with their lives, even for a bit.

This kid said I was his new bestfriend...

It's almost 3:00 PM.

We've been here for almost 5 hours already.

The sun is no longer as hot.

I am totally beat.

Is it time for a last lap?

Give me a few sec, okay?

This will be done in no time.

That sealed the deal for all water dwellers.

Officially.

Please watch out for our last segment: Saying Goodbye. Also, we will be posting the videos in a separate post because it is just to heavy altogether. Hope you enjoyed our little trip.

Isla Romantica: Getting There

When I was a puppy and all that surrounds me is an endless trail of roof ceilings, manang told me that when I feel sad and see a little shimmery glint of diamond in the sky, I should close my eyes and then make a wish…

Mr. Starlight,
Radiating gleefully in the sky tonight,
please enable my hoomans to bring me back to the beach one more time.

A few weeks back, exactly 10 days ago, we received another invitation from Ms. Clavel to go visit the beach. Every day manang would pester manang R’ and Tin if the beach trip would push through, and so it did.

Taking a rented jeepney (a famous Filipino mode of transportation) from manang’s company driver, we left the Ilonggo House at around 7:00 AM and headed for Lapu Lapu City, which was about an hour’s drive (see map in tool bar).

This time we are not going to our Eden, instead we will be going to a new place located somewhere in Cordova Alegria, still in Lapu Lapu City.

I love jeepney rides because it allows me unlimited tongue wagging possibilities.

There are 2 bridges connecting Cebu City/ Mandaue City with Lapu Lapu City: the new bridge and the old bridge. We took the old one and got a full view of the Marcelo H. Fernan bridge (a.k.a. the new bridge).

Poopie looked sleepy. This was her first official road trip in Cebu. With Poopie is our birthday girl- Manang Tintin…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MANANG TINTIN!!!!

Jeepney rides had been part of my travelling lifestyle. Here are my before and after Jeepney-riding, beach-bound pictures.

Finally we had arrived. We took a 5-10 minute walk through unspoken vegetation and marshland (just kidding!), traversing through a well treaded path which leads to a quaint sand bar where we are supposed to meet with our next mode of transport.

We are the leader of the pack- the alpha dog.

And just so everyone knows... I left my indelible mark

This path leads down the sand bar.
Wooofy!! Is that where we are going?

waiting for the banca to arrive

Manang, can you hear my heartbeat?
It screams: “WATER!!!”

While waiting for the banca to arrive, Poopie hid beneath the crevice of this rock. Unlike me, she was deathly afraid of the water and was happier land-bound.

“I hope that banca never arrives”

Is that the banca already, kuya?

I can see it!
Our banca is coming.
I can see the islet clearly, too!!

Wooofy! Our ride is here…

The banca (small boat) ride from the drop off point to the island took us another 10-15 minutes. On low tides, the sand bar becomes more prominent and one can just traverse through the knee to shoulder-deep water.

For my first ride, the hoomans were surprised to discover that I was such a good boy.

I never knew banca rides were so much fun!

This isn’t too bad, at all, isn’t it manong Aki?

Destination: Isla Romantica

The island was owned by the banca operator. Its Spanish name “Isla Romantica” literally translates to Romantic Island or Island of Romance.

I surveyed the place with much enthusiasm and gusto


I tested the waters and the indulged in its tranquil waves


Finally, the Chinese Labrador has landed.



watch out for our adventures in our next post: Islet meets Dog

Beach Countdown

Remember this place?

This is our Eden in Cebu City

A private beach nestled in the island of Lapu-Lapu City,

and about 1 hour drive from our residence in Cebu.

Well....

Thanks to Ms. Clavel,

we were invited again to come and visit...

Woofffyyyy!!!

Thank you Ms. Clavel!!!

I can't wait to swim and run...

Not to mention, make manang really green with envy

(because she doesn't know how to swim :P )

I can then trade stories with Cody,

about frolicking in the water, kicking water into manong's face

and swimming to my heart's content

and oh!

Snoring heavily after a long day of sun and sand!!

9 More Days

and....

Even the hoomans are jumping for joy

A very excited 5 month old Me with Manong and Manang Rhoda