|
ONE
special summer weekend worth looking back to was my
visit to 10-hectare Club Balay Isabel in barangay Banga
in Talisay, Batangas. This spur-of-the-moment day trip,
with events organizer Bernard Supetran, his son and his
niece, again brought me face-to-face with Taal Volcano,
the world’s smallest and deadliest volcano, and Club
Balai Isabel, opened in 2007, was to be our jump-off
point. We left Manila early in the morning, got tied up
in South Luzon Expressway (Slex) traffic. We took the
Santa Rosa Exit, drove along the Santa Rosa-Tagaytay
Road, turned left along Aguinaldo Highway and drove down
Ligaya Drive. We still managed to get to the resort in
time for a Filipino breakfast at its full-service
restaurant within the clubhouse, with its magnificent
view of Taal Lake and Taal Volcano. It also has a
business center and a novelty shop.
We were
welcomed by resort owner and Talisay native Nelson
Terrible and his wife Cecille. After breakfast, I still
had time to explore the resort’s accommodations and
facilities, which include residential houses and two
boutique-style clusters: the Sampaguita Manor, with its
six hotel-type rooms with minirefs, hot and cold shower
and balcony, all nestled on a garden of different trees
and ornamental plants; and the Ylang-Ylang Villa, which
offers six two-story, kitchen-furnished studio units,
all ideal for families. Since the long lake shoreline is
not recommended for swimming (because of the murky and
deep water), the resort has put up, aside from its
free-form swimming pool, the Mobideep, an inflatable
swimming pool with separate pools of different depths.
Its deepest pool, measuring 21 feet, is even used for
scuba-diving training. The challenging Balikatan Course,
consisting of five different obstacles, is mostly used
for company team-building. Apart from its swimming
pools, the resort also has tennis, badminton and
basketball courts, and guests can also rent a kayak to
go around the lake.
Then, it
was time to go. Aside from the other resort guests, we
were with distinguished company, as joining our trek to
the volcano were the three Filipino women who conquered
Mount Everest just a year ago. This was to be my third
visit to the volcano and my second to the viewpoint (the
other was a trek to the crater lake itself). To get to
Volcano Island, we used a number of the resort’s 32
accredited motorized bancas. After a 30-minute trip that
took us around the island, past the 311-meter high (the
island’s highest point) Mount Binintiang Malaki
(seemingly featured on most Taal Volcano postcards like
an island but actually connected to the real Volcano
Island), we arrived at the Welcome Center. From there,
it was all 45 minutes of hiking, first along the beach,
then into a shady forest and, on our last leg, up a
steep, dusty and treeless trail up to the viewpoint. The
viewpoint was a cool welcome relief for its shade and
its magnificent bird’s-eye view of the beautifully azure
and seemingly peaceful crater lake with its small
island. The trek back to the Welcome Center and our
boats was faster but very slippery.
Once
back at the resort, we all proceeded to Kasay-Kasay
Hall, one of the resort’s two function rooms (the other
is Kasili Hall) for a buffet lunch. After lunch, a press
conference was held centering on the three Pinay Mount
Everest Team members—Janet Belarmino-Serdenia, Carina
Dayondon and Noelle Wenceslao—who narrated their trials
and tribulations before and during their conquest of
Mount Everest. During the presscon, Mr. Terrible also
expressed his concerns regarding the environment. To
encourage environment protection and conservation from
the community, the resort has started a Solid-Waste
Management project wherein Talisay residents can avail
themselves of support from the resort in the form of
loans or financial backing for community projects on the
condition that they turn in a certain amount of
recyclable waste materials to the resort. According to
Terrible, this concerted effort will make people realize
that nature and Taal Lake should be protected to be able
to retain their livelihood, especially fishing and
tourism. The resort, on the other hand, also addresses
the water shortage problem (one of the biggest
environmental problems that the country has to face in
the coming years) by using filtered lake water for the
swimming pool as well as for Mobideep. They also make
sure that they are using low energy-consumption
equipment in the resort.
In the
near future, Club Balai Isabel will be adding more
facilities, including a recreation center equipped with
videoke, a movie room, billiard tables, Wi-Fi and
Playstation 3 rooms, an Internet shop, a tea lounge and
a library. Wi-Fi will also be made available in the
public areas. The resort will also be building
facilities for skim and wake boarding. A wellness
center, offering medical spa and traditional medical
facility as well as noninvasive therapies and executive
checkups for tourists and guests, will also be opened.
Terrible is particularly excited about the opening of
the Spa Suites, eight roomy huts which will have a
queen-sized bed, private bathroom and a private Jacuzzi
in a lush garden setting. Club Balai Isabel will soon
offer the Taal Lake Cruise using their 20-person Cancun
that is equipped with washroom and minibar.
To also
get to the resort from the Slex, you can also take the
Greenfield/Asia Brewery exit and head toward Tagaytay
City. Turn left at Calamba Road, then turn right at
Ligaya Drive and head toward Talisay. Turn left at the
junction of Talisay National Road and look for the
entrance of Club Balai Isabel, which will be at the
right side of the road.
For
reservations: (043) 728-0307, (632) 817-0572, 809-0585,
0916-5524319, 0905-3011418, 0922-823-5854, 0928-5071093,
craterlakeresort@yahoo.com, www.balaiisabel.com.ph.
|
