Isla Verde Resort – ''The Threshold of a Dream'' (by tatay ross)

 

This story began on the main IslaVerde Resort blog as 'Part 1 - The Beginnings'. 

In November 2012 I was invited to travel to Isla Verde in the beautiful Verde Island Passage.

 I'm an Aussie and I was staying in Manila after meeting Jo for the first time and visiting Pagsanjan and doing the Pagsanjan Falls canoe trip and seeing a few other places. I had previously seen some photographs of part of an overgrown block of land, but had no idea of the surprise in store

At some ridiculous hour of the morning, Jo woke me and we walked to the bus terminal and boarded a coach. The coach journey was an adventure in its own right and will be the subject of another post. I will say though it was interesting. All transport drivers in Manila have skills that the average Aussie truck, bus or taxi driver could only envy. Having been all of those I was amazed at the precision of these guys in traffic. It took around an hour and a half to get through the city and arrive at Batangas Port. Once there, we did some shopping then Jo found us a Tricycle Cab (Trike in Thailand) and off we went to what I think was Leah Beach.

 When we arrived there, we had some light breakfast at a little shack on the beach and waited to board our Banca. A banca in the Philippines seems to be more or less the generic name for any boat from a river canoe to a very large outrigger ferry. These ferries are really just like huge outrigger canoes with houses built in them to cover the passengers.

 Eventually cargo was loaded and we passengers were taken aboard by a small banca with a single outrigger, which I suppose is so that the craft can be brought alongside the boarding plank leading up to the deck of the ferry. A short time later we were off on a trip that would seal the Philippines as one of my favourite places and experiences – and make me want to retire there.

I live in The Whitsunday Islands in Queensland in tropical Australia. So Imagine my surprise as we were approaching Isla Verde. Other than a few small coastal villages with the buildings constructed from local stone and cement, or from bamboo and thatched palm, this island looked just like say, Whitsunday Island or Hook Island where I usually live on my yacht.

Ashore, the beaches are rock, coral rubble or lovely sand. And I only ever saw one road vehicle, a small motorcycle. Verde Island is only about seven and a half kilometres long and about four kilometres at its widest point.