“What would you do if you were stuck on a deserted island?” is usually a hypothetical question, but one that Ito and I got to experience for a while (sort of). Well, okay, it wasn’t that deserted because there was the resort’s staff who took extremely good care of us, but we did have an entire island all to ourselves, at least for two days before all the weekend tourists arrived (which they did!).
On our first day in Sumilon, we walked this undeveloped stretch of white sand beach that faces the open sea and as we strolled around we heard lots of different bird calls and saw a variety of pretty birds (which I can’t name), because as it turns out, the island is both a bird and marine sanctuary…just gotta love nature! (Incidentally, birds and aquatic motifs are the hottest prints for spring/summer 2012, so it’s the perfect fashion inspiration!)
After our short hike we headed back to our cottage to relax a bit. The cottages had wi-fi, so there wasn’t much ‘unplugging’ involved–we uploaded some pics, then Ito watched a video while I tried to read and instead ended up taking a nap on a hammock. The sound of the waves and birds really lulled me to sleep! Soooo relaxing…
A little later in the afternoon we took a short stroll and went for a swim in the extremely picturesque sandbar…
…which had an amazing 180-degree view of the turquoise seas and the islands of Negros and Oslob. It was the perfect spot for sunbathing too!
The amazing thing we discovered from the staff was that this is a shifting sandbar, so it’s here today…
…but in the months of September-December, the winds and tides shift and it moves the sand to the other side of the island! How crazy is that??? 🙂
Before sunset we moved to the pretty pool with a bird’s eye view of the ocean where we swam a little and had some seafood pasta and fruit shakes for merienda. Little did we know that the staff had a little surprise cooked up for us…
…before we headed back to our cottage to shower and change, they told us they were preparing us a complimentary dinner! Both Ito and I were happily taken aback–they had even set up a table with candles and scattered petals all around it. I’m sure it was because Valentine’s Day was just a few days away, but it was still such a sweet, unexpected gesture. The food was excellent! I would have skipped merienda if I had known they were serving us so much food.
They first brought out cream of pumpkin soup, followed by a delicious salad called the Blue Water salad, then for our main course they served us grilled tenderloin steak, lamb chops and prawns. Yum-mmmm! I was so full, I could barely breathe by the time they brought out the dessert and coffee. We thanked the amazing staff and asked them to give our compliments to the chef. After dinner, Chef Eugene came out to meet us and we found out he used to be part of the original team at Lolo Dad’s…no wonder the meats were grilled to perfection.
As the proverbial cherry to top off our day–which had started off with crazy, stormy weather and ended up being full of surprises–we were given one last treat by Mother Nature. An oversized, dramatic full moon rose as we were having our dinner, starting off with a giant, orange globe that slowly rose up into a huge golden orb that lit up the star-filled sky. Wow, what a day!
Filipino hospitality at its best! Sumilon Blue Water Island Resort has the best staff ever! 🙂
I couldn’t agree more. They took care of us like family–well, spoiled family, LOL!