Our holiday in the Philippines this year was until a few days after Easter Sunday. We wanted to squeeze in as much getaways as we could before going back to Riyadh, so we ended up going to Matabungkay beach in Lian, Batangas on a Black Saturday.
Most people flocked to the beaches or to somewhere cold during the holy week since it is a non-working holiday in the Philippines. Even the beach in our town gets packed during this season. And as expected, it was crowded when we went to Matabungkay. It would have been better if we had an advanced reservation in a resort of our choice, but we didn't have a solid plan before going. We inquired in Matabungkay Beach Hotel and Resort (which is upscale compared to its neighboring resorts) and it was fully booked that day. In the end, we chose to rent a floating cottage for Php 5000 for the whole day. Rates for floating cottages differ when it's an off-peak season.
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| Floating cottages in the summer heat |
We brought our food with us in the cottage, shared our lunch before diving into the water. But first, we didn't forget to wear sunscreen. It was a hot day and it was relaxing to stay in the water. The water wasn't crystal clear, but it was clean and there's a lot of sea grasses.. We had our cottage pulled to somewhere far from others to enjoy our own space. You can get your floating cottage as far as you want from the shore so long that it's not so deep. Whenever the water got shallow where we were 'parked', we just waved to someone at the beach to let them know we wanted the cottage to be pulled somewhere.
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| Janus definitely having fun |
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| More floating cottages |
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| A view of Matabungkay Beach Hotel and Resort |
Later in that afternoon when it was low tide, we thought a sand bar appeared. From a distance, it really looked like a sand bar so we wanted to see for ourselves if it was. We had our floating cottage parked near it and walked all the way to it. It's not (only) sand that actually surfaced - there's a lot of sea grass and seaweeds. We saw some sea cucumbers (which scared the heck out of me), starfish, sea urchins, shell fish, and more.
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| My family exploring the 'sand bar' |
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| Starfish? Sea star? Yes, we put them back |
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Sea urchin, which we dared not to touch
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| Let's take a photo so we'll remember! |
We went back to the cottage after some exploration and packed up our things. There was a nearby private shower room, which was already included in what we paid. Before going back home, we tried the lomi in Nasugbu and it was filling. Overall, it was a great trip! It was dark when we reached home, but just in time for my husband and I to join the Easter vigil.☺️
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