LA ISLA BONITA GETAWAY
The Philippines, being an archipelago, has so much to offer. Currently, it has 7, 641 islands all in all. That includes Talicud island. It is part of Island Garden City of Samal, Davao del Norte and is not well-known to many people since it's a lot farther than the main Samal island where beach resorts are everywhere.
Little did we know, it also has many beach resorts and amiable locals. One of the famous beach resorts is Isla Reta.
From Sta. Ana port located near Magsaysay Park of Davao, we traveled by boat. We waited for the boat to be full. It took us almost two hours to get to Isla Reta. When we got there, we were welcomed by the stunning view of white powdery sand and clear blue waters of the island as seen in the photo.
After which, we needed to pay for the entrance fee for staying in the Isla Reta beach resort to have lunch. We waited quite some time for our order arrive. They have wide range of food options from seafood to grilled meat.
Since we reserved an accommodation in La Isla Bonita, we needed to check in at 2:00 pm. So, we exited the Isla Reta beach resort and rode a "habal-habal". Note: The road wasn't smooth as there were a lot of bumps along our way. We managed to get to La Isla Bonita resort safely.
After checking in, we decided to go around the island. We went to some good spots and other beach resorts like Babu Santa. While riding, we were able to see some known places like the archway in the photo below.
This is in Babu Santa, another resort in Samal island. It is usually included when you do island hopping.
Like most resorts, there was an entrance fee. During our stay in Babu Santa, we were able to find coconut trees. I was so fortunate to be able to eat the coconut meat and drink the juice. After a refreshing snack, we went for a nice cool swim.
This picture was taken from the road of Talicud island.
This is in the La Isla Bonita Resort. It's good to have some morning sunshine when you wake up.
It was really a great place to loosen up and focus on the moment. It wasn't really crowded at this time which made the resort feel like it was all ours.
We had dinner in the restaurant area of the resort. They offered a good range of foods.
Then, we proceeded to the room and had a good night's rest. It was peaceful and the moon was bright which gave the island a natural light since there's always a scheduled power interruption in the area. The power resumed at around 4:00 am.
Upon waking up, we had breakfast and went back to Isla Reta to go back to Davao. But before going back, we took a dip in the resort and had lunch.
Overall, it was a new experience and learned more about the island.
