Luxury Cruise Ship in Cawit Port

Cruise ship on its way to Cawit Port

Cawit Port in Marinduque is now included and part of the itinerary of a Filipino-owned cruise company-the 7,107 Island Shipping Company. According to a blog from the provincial website, a summer cruise is scheduled for March, April and May, 2009.
The ship offers amenities of a 5-star hotel such as casino, bar, restaurant, sun deck, spa, gym, mini pool,clinic and conference rooms. The ship's capacity is 400. The ship departs from the port of Subic, Batangas and Manila. This summer cruise included trips to Apo Reefs, Tara and Coron Island in Palawan as well as Cawit Port in Marinduque. Last April 9, the cruise ship stopped in Marinduque for one day. This is indeed, good news for the tourism business in Marinduque. For pricing, schedule and other details, visit the web site, www.7107islandscruise.net ( Note: there is a 20% discount for senior citizens).

Marinduque Vacation-An Alternative to Boracay

Chateau Du Mer Beach House, Amoingon, Boac

It is vacation time now in the Philippines. If you want to get away from the noise,crowds and pollution of Manila and its suburbs, now is the time to have a Marinduque vacation instead of Boracay. In Marinduque, you will have a relaxing, quiet as well as an affordable vacation. Marinduque is only 30 minutes from Manila. Zest Air offer promo rates as low as 990 pesos round trip to Marinduque from Manila. Marinduque offers a range of accommodation from as low as 1000 pesos ($20) per person per day to as high as 20,000(about$400 )pesos per day. There are more than a dozen hotels and inns right in the middle price range in the six towns of the province.

For the cheapest rate, (1000 pesos per day per person), Chateau Du Mer in Boac offers you an air conditioned room with hot shower with both ocean and mountain views. For details, visit www.chateaudumer.com. or http://chateaudumer.blogspot.com

For the most expensive rate, you could have a 3-bedroom villa with your own jacuzzi and eternity pool at Bellarocca Island Resort and Spa in Buenavista ( formerly Elephant(Fantasy) Island Resort).

However, if you want night life, crowds, noise. booze and drugs, Boracay is the place for you.

For details about Marinduque, visit the government, and tourism website as follows:

www.marinduque.gov.ph

www.tourism.marinduque.gov.ph

And for other information about my island paradise, visit http://marinduqueawaitsyou.blogspot.com or http://marinduqueonmymind.blogspot.com

Tourism Website- Marinduque

I am delighted to announce, the new website for tourism (www.tourism.marinduque.gov.ph) in Marinduque. It is a separate website from the provincial government website. There are six package tours that could be arrange ahead for tourists, backpackers and island-hoppers. The tours are as follows:
1. Luzon Datum of 1911-Geodetic Center of the Philippines
2. Hinulugan Falls Wilderness Tour
3. Balanacan Island Hopping Tour
4. Tres Reyes Island Hopping Tour
5. Maniwaya and Polo Islands Hopping Tour
6. Tarug Cave Tour

Details for the above tours, including contact telephone numbers are listed in the website.

The website also lists all accommodations ( hotels, resorts, inns, pension houses and private rooms) from the six towns of the province. The price of accommodation range from 1000 pesos per person per day ( about $20 US) up to $400 per day( see newly completed resort in Buenavista, www.bellaroccaresorts.com). For exact price of lodging please call the respective hotels. The telephone numbers for each hotel are also listed in the website.

I have some good news for the budget conscious tourists to Marinduque. I have decided to open the two guest rooms in the main house of my beach resort, Chateau Du Mer to the public beginning today.

Both rooms are air conditioned and also have electric fans. One room has a queen size bed and the other has two double beds. The bathroom has both cold and hot shower. Included in the rental of 1000 pesos( $20 US dollars) per person per night is the use of refrigerator and microwave oven. There will be an additional charge of 200 pesos per day for the use of the gas stove/oven for heavy cooking.

The two rooms have a distant view of the ocean from the west balcony of the main house. The east balcony has a mountain view. The two rooms are open only from April 15 to November 15, every year. Exception to this rule may be negotiated.

Please note that the 2-bedroom beach house with the panoramic view of the western Marinduque sea is open whole year round.

For details and reservation, visit www.chateaudumer.com or e-mail me at tagajaro@comcast.net

Welcome to Marinduque and hope to see you soon! David

Happy Easter to All

Easter Pageant in the Boac River Bed Park

To all my readers, Happy Easter. I missed the Moriones Festival, 2009. So, if you were in Marinduque this Easter, please give me an update, via e-mail or comments in this blog.

My wife and I spent our Easter with our granddaughter, Carenna Thompson, Easter Egg Hunting at the backyard of their residence here in Sacramento. Her mom invited about 12 of Carenna's classmates and their parents and prepared a delicious brunch, complete with mimosa and honey baked ham.

In the afternoon, I started browsing in the internet and I found two websites and one blog site that Marinduquenos all over the world may be interested. Here are the website, worthy of reading if indeed you are a true-blooded Marinduqueno or Marinduquena.

Tourism:(New) www.tourism.marinduque.gov.ph

Bellarocca Resorts ( digital pictures) http://digitalphotographer.com.ph

Blog site: http://marinduquemandin.blogspot.com

Enjoy the beautiful photos of Bellarocca Resort by Dondi Narciso.

Bellarocca Island Resort and Spa( formerly Elephant Island)

Newly Completed Bellarocca Resort as viewed from the Mainland

My wife and I have just spent five months in Marinduque and now enjoying spring time here in Northern California. Boac was getting hot and humid and my wife and I decided not to attend the 2009 Moriones Festival Activities. The last few months while we were in Marinduque, several of our friends here in US and Canada ( members of Marinduque International, Inc) have been inquiring about the new resort, Bellarocca (formerly Elephant Island) in Lipata, Buenavista. So, we called the department of tourism at the governor's office. They gave us the telephone numbers and E-mail of the sales manager of the resort in Makati, Manila. I have the complete information on the resort, including promo rates, status of building and sales kit. From the description of the amenities, buildings, and personnel, I will agree that indeed it is either a 5 star or 6 star resort. I based this on International Interval(II) ratings of resorts. ( we have been members of II for the last 15 years). The cheapest hotel room is $252 per night single or double occupancy. The most expensive is $792 per night for a 3 bedroom villa with its own swimming pool.
.
The ordinary Filipino or American tourist indeed can not afford this luxurious rate. This rate will include the use of the golf course scheduled for completion, October, 2009. Food is not included in this promo rate ( 40% discount) effective only up to October, 2009. The restaurant menu and dishes range from 500 to 2000 pesos per dish and special meals could be arrange ahead and may be served in your suite( vegetarian and kosher dishes).

Locals are not allowed in the resort. A few of our balikbayan friends wanted to visit the resort just for the day for sightseeing purposes only, but were not allowed to enter the resort or use the restaurant for lunch. Reservations are arranged in Manila including transportation from the airport to the island ( private van, speed boat or yacht from Cawit Port). Since the soft opening last February, tourists from Japan, Korean and rich Filipinos from Manila( actors and businessmen) have been enjoying the amenities of this luxurious resort, managed by Genesis. For detailed information, visit the newly constructed website:

www.bellaroccaresorts.com

If you need additional details, I have the complete promo rates, building description etc.. of the resort. The resort is compared to or patterned after Santorini Island in Greece. It is just too bad that locals are not allowed to visit the resort on a daily basis. Some day if I win the lottery, I will stay there for a month or if the resort becomes a member of Interval International( as rumored), I will definitely exchange two weeks of my vacation time from our home resort, The Ridge at Lake Tahoe, Nevada