GOOD FRIDAY….its good!

Last holy week, Good Friday to be specific, my husband--Jeff and I did the unthinkable. With a few minutes to prepare and no idea where to head off, we packed our bags and with 2 children aged 5 and 7 in tow, dashed out of our house for an unprecedented, totally unplanned for getaway.

Normally, my vacations revolves around a well-planned schedules plotted months ahead. This compose of mini inventory of my vacation stash and several trips to the malls to make sure my “survival kit” can withstand all major foreseeable disasters, with tsunamis not totally out of the picture. And my husband, he is an epitome of inspector gadget; you can be assured that he always has an extra of something.

I boast of being an extensive planner too, in fact, good enough that I am a member of our production planning team in our office. It was indeed very uncharacteristic of me, so totally against my grain to head to somewhere without so much of a hotel reservation.

Anyway, my husband assured me that it’s going to be fun. So with a long, heartfelt prayer and a 50 watt smile, I gamely gave in to the call of nature unpredictable as we head off south.

Our first stop was a hidden mountain resort whose signage we spotted right by the roadside. It said, 6 kilometers from main road and the picture showed a promising nature adventure, comfortable accommodations and several spring watered pools, we were ready to be surprised! Well, 6 kilometers to our estimate should not be more than a 30-minute drive. In reality, it felt like forever to get there. My youngest Karlo kept saying, ”I think we are lost, we should have a GPS (referring to Global Positioning Satellite)”. I think he had too much of Little Einstein show.

Good that it didn’t rain days before as I could very well see the deep mud tracks that has now hardened and has become deep potholes and humps to contend with. And the surprise, well, we were surprised indeed but not in a good way. Some of the pools look very green, my eldest son Khalil smugly coined it a “toad pond”… he couldn’t be more right!

My spirit was slightly dampened as we head back to highway, but still buoyant, looking forward to the adventure which we don’t really know what yet.

Next stop was a roadside eatery near San Fernando. It was actually a pleasant find as we didn’t expect small outlets to be open on a Good Friday, surprise still to see that they offered pork adobo in their menu, not your usual fare during Lenten season. We packed our own lunch so we only need to buy a few supplements to justify our use of their tables and chairs. The kids ate a hearty lunch and even had a chance to play in the swing nearby… indeed a good way to stretch after a long journey.

At about 1 pm, we traveled onwards still unsure of what the day had in store for us. We marveled at how each town has changed over the years. It must have been more than 10 years the last time we passed by these towns. The former landmarks I still keep in my memory were no longer there. Indeed commercialism has crept in into major town centers with Goldilocks signages now vying for better view over Dunkin Donuts’.

Another stop was the Molave Milk Station for a quick soft ice cream fix, very timely with the sun getting more and more intense. Much to my surprise, the property is owned by the Unchuan’s. So this was the place my friend Marissa (Unchuan) of White Sands Beach Resort was inviting us for several times a few years ago. We have to turn her down since the boys were still very young and their asthma was quite hard to manage back then. The property was very well kept and I saw several dairy cows.

I imagine myself being transported to the typical picturesque New Zealand; I was prepared to see milk maids strutting by. Unfortunately, aside from the small strip allotted for the milk station, the farm is not open to public unless of course you know people in high places like the mistress of the house herself. The family wasn’t around at that time though and with the sun setting, we knew we have to find our hotel soon. We were back on the road in 10 minutes tops.

We then head straight to Club Serena Resort (www.clubserenaresort.com) in Moalboal, working on a lead given by a very picky friend who swears that the place is really nice. Prior to actually reaching the place, we had a few quick stops on various forgettable resorts. I was getting worried, but well, what the heck; I assured myself that these were all part of the adventure.

Club Serena Resort was totally divine specially having eyed several resorts that don’t really come close to it by a mile. We were greeted by the manager on duty which everybody calls Haze, he speaks good English and was very accommodating and knowledgeable of their services and facilities. We had a quick tour of the place, quaint with just 8 single-detached accommodations, a nice swimming pool just right for my boys and a small beach front offering a short walk to reach the crystal clear waters. The manager asked if my husband dives, of which he replied no and pointed to me instead. Well, I had a few scuba escapades in my past life but not anymore. But yes, Moalboal holds a special place in my heart as this is where I had my first dive in Pescador Island holding hands the whole time with my Padi instructor.

My boys had their gelato and pasta carbonara for merienda while Jeff and I had our ginseng coffee and beef empanada with mozzarella cheese. Absolutely wonderful and I very much liked the place that my heart sank several degrees when we were told that they are fully booked. The manager was kind enough to refer us to another resort though and even did the calling and arrangements, service par excellence indeed!

Upon checking the place we were referred to though, Jeff didn’t like it at all and instead, we decided to head off to another strip of resorts nearby. At this time, it was about 4 pm already. The sun was almost setting but we were determined to find a comparable resort to Club Serena. We would probably have been ready to settle for much less except that now, we have a standard to compare all the other nearby resorts with. I was ready to go second rate on several things but not at the expense and comfort of my boys.

If not for the kids, we would probably have asked Club Serena to allow us to camp out at one of the cabanas there. I doubt if Club Serena would allow us though as that would probably be over extending their generosity already.

In a few minutes, we were at Panagsama Beach strip, with rows and rows of resorts on both sides of the road and of which, a few paces leads straight to the beach. The set up is reminiscent of Boracay but the similarity ends there. While I remembered wonderful scuba diving memories in this place, somehow it has lost its magic to me now. Hotel owners did little to improve it or probably driven by constant influx of customers, they have placed little attention to its upkeep. Most of the rooms are full except for one, but with careful thoughts, we decided that it was not worth staying there.

And so with the road now officially dark, we decided to head off back to Cebu but not after spotting a roadside restaurant called Palalong, situated out of nowhere near a cliff in Dumanhug, the town next from Moalboal. I thought I remembered seeing the words “bed and breakfast” but one of the busboys said no when my husband asked if they had a room for the night. I called it divine intervention that I took a few minutes to wash up at the sink as my husband flipped through the menu and found the room rates right on the first page.

Aha! So they did have a room. Apparently, the guy he earlier asked did not really understand the question and conveniently answered “no”. This is something to take note of when talking to somebody, make sure he understands what you are asking…lesson 101 in effective communication indeed!

I was relieved to find the room clean, faucet and aircon running and I must say the view of the Southern part of Cebu and nearby islands from our vantage point were stunning! It was indeed a hidden treasure, that’s not so hidden.


In the morning, we were pleasantly wakened up by the bright sunlight filtered on the window curtain. My little boy still disoriented from the unfamiliar room gave me his sweet smile upon remembering that we were off on a wonderful trip.

Do I feel guilty having spent my Good Friday that way? The answer is absolutely NO.

While I have nothing personal against penance and doing personal sacrifices during the Lenten Season, I have come to realize that no amount of my good works could purchase GOD’s favor and salvation.

In Ephesians 2: 8 to 9, it says,

“For it is by grace that we are saved, through faith---and this is not from ourselves but as a gift of GOD---not by good works so that no one can boast”.

There are days when I do go on fasting and meditation to clear my mind and spend time with GOD. However, I chose not to do it last Friday. After all, I need not please men and conform to their standards and expectations.

And my thoughts on good works? Well, if you have been recipient of the goodness of the Lord, you cannot help but extend the good that you have experienced. Doing good towards others is my way of saying thank you to GOD for the good that He has done in my life. It is never to bribe Him to grant or pardon me for something.