Patio Victoria Beach

As mentioned in a previous story, I like to hang-out in this place when I want to de-stress, be calm or when I just feel like there is nothing much to do other than "tunganga"! Well, today I needed to make some excel files running a lot of formulae, emails and powerpoint presentations. But doing them at the office or doing them elsewhere did not make any difference. So I did them here while chillin' out!

Noontime and on a Wednesday... of course the beach was devoid of any human beings...

This was my view to the left. I promptly noticed that there is already a wooden fence between Patio Victoria and the Baluarte Beach Resort. Hmm, I thought for a moment what the fence was for... and of course, I didn't like it. Especially that Patio Victoria and Baluarte Beach Resort have the same owner.

My lowly mind did an imaginary debate, telling the owner it is against the law, and it ruins the natural attraction of having a contiguous sandy beach. Especially if you, the owner of both establishments, is the Mayor of the city. He is approachable anyway, so, I told myself I should tell him during breaks in one of the meetings I am scheduled to attend with him present. Yes he is approachable. And friendly.

If you look closely though, it is not as bad as in San Antonio. On this beach, even if the fence is bigger and sturdier, any person can still pass unhampered walking by the sandy beach - by the water's edge.

Anyway.., looking front as I kept tapping on my notebook, this was the view...

Darker out on the horizon is Dio Island - pronounced [di-yo] with stress & guttural stop on 2nd syllable.

I tried zooming my phone's camera to hone in on Dio Island and the result is not bad at all...

It's a little island surrounded by a white sandy beach, with sand bars at both ends. I know I have been there during my youthful years, but, the circumstances as to when, how and why, I cannot remember.

Well, if you listen to the grapevine, that island is also owned by the owner/s of Baluarte Beach Resort and Patio Victoria, that there's a big fine resort in there, and/but it is off-limits to the public nowadays (purportedly because it is just for their family's private use), that it is heavily guarded all around and 24/7, that even fishermen are not allowed to dock there, that people who go there ride on speedboats!

Anyway again.., back to where I was.., at Patio Victoria.., this was the view to my right...

Under and behind those coconut trees, you can see three of the day-use native cottages and even the roof of the big banquet hall. Note: when I say big, it's as big as-in being a popular wedding reception venue and can even host university graduations! They have their own catering company, by the way!

Ah, behind all of them is "out front" - the frontage, curbside and parking area of this whole facility.

From the above picture, let's shift a little bit to the water's edge which I find interesting...

You see that curving edge in the middle of the picture? Those are not natural rocks up there, as I have been observing this place for about 5 months now. Those are throw-away chunks or slabs of concrete that they have been dumping on the sand (by the water's edge). They slowly get covered by the beach sand (probably pushed up by the waves) that in time becomes a natural part of the area. Ang galing!

The area I'm talking about extends from those (now exposed) 'rocks', all the way to the right, beyond that photo-op gazebo-like structure. Intentional or not, I think that is a better way of land reclamation!

Oh, you probably cannot see it clearly on the above picture, but there is a manong standing there. He was tending to his home made goggles while resting from spearfishing. I approached and asked him about the "rocks". And he confirmed my hunch, they eventually get covered by the wave-stirred sand and eventually become part of the beach. And when not yet fully under the sand, they're also where fish of many kinds hang-out, in fact the reason why he does his spear-fishing in this area. Oh wow ha!

Manong further educated me, that those broken slabs of concrete and/or asphalt, or the big and small chunks of cement and/or hollow-blocks come from buildings and roads ruined by Yolanda.

Amazing find!