Family music along Hamilo Coast

Last week I detailed in part the start of a wonderful family bonding weekend at the Pico de Loro Cove of Hamilo Coast. This was on account of the presence of a couple of siblings who indulged in a balikbayan fortnight at about the same time — from Los Angeles and Chicago, respectively.

It marked the first time in over two decades that my three kid brothers, a sister and I got together. On the last weekend of January, we brought some progeny with us, together with two grandchildren. And did we enjoy ourselves as a baker’s dozen, even if just for 36 hours of togetherness.

Erratum: When I narrated how we took the new 90-minute route through Coastal Road and CAVITEX before negotiating some towns in Cavite, thence went up that mountain road leading to the Ternate-Nasugbu shortcut, it went past the entrance to Puerto Azul, as what I had meant and should have written, not another place. From there we took a left turn instead of proceeding towards Caylabne. That left led to the newly opened Kaybiang Tunnel, at 300 meters reputedly the longest in the country.

Emerging from that tunnel, a Filipino is regaled by fresh vistas with scenic comparisons to the Mediterranean coast, with headlands dropping down to the blue sea that skirts a number of sheltered bays and coves. Thirteen of these make up Hamilo Coast — thus the brochures’ claim that the sprawling seaside sanctuary makes it the gateway to the Philippine Riviera.

That connotes an elitist lifestyle, of course. Indeed it appeared to be, for starters, as we experienced on our first day — highlighted by a speedboat cruise along the coast until we were served lunch prepared by Pico de Loro staff at a shady part of the white-sand beach of marvelous Santelmo Cove.

By mid-afternoon, after having frolicked in the waters and on the powdery white sand, and explored both ends of the crescent-shaped shoreline bookended by rock outcroppings, we took the sleek Navigator back to Pico de Loro’s beach, a mere 10 minutes as they turned out to be adjoining coves.

It was time to have brewed coffee and relax by the Reef Bar, while the others in our lucky party of 13 sat around tables by the pool to await their halo-halo served in fresh buko shells. Some then opted to go back to our three garden loft units at the Jacana cluster for a shower and mid-day rest. It was a 10-minute walk on roads or trails that wound through verdant landscape, or a quick minute if one were to wait for the shuttle service by long cart that regularly came around.  

My sister and I stayed by the bar to wait for the sunset. She was surprised by the appearance of old friends from way back. The couple she introduced me to knew much about the place, having purchased a residential unit over a year ago. The fellow said their regular weekend stays in Pico de Loro actually dovetailed with his participation in WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) activities. He confirmed that Santelmo Cove which we had just enjoyed had been declared a Marine Protected Area or MPA, one of three among Hamilo Coast’s 13 coves.

The other two are Pico de Loro and Etayo coves. It seems the WWF’s partnership and coordination with Hamilo Coast had started as early as 2007, with coastal resource management as the primary environmental program. This features annual coastal clean-ups and mangrove reforestation. There’s Bantay Dagat support, as well as coral reef regeneration — the last a must given the old nefarious practice of dynamite fishing along the Batangas coast.

Almost 200 giant clams have been seeded thus far at Pico de Loro and Santelmo. Personnel are also being trained in marine turtle conservation, involving the care of sea turtle nests and the handling of eggs.

I recalled how one of the boatmen on the Navigator had pointed to the lush forests rising beyond Etayo Cove and said that the fauna in the area are now known to have increased in number after some settlers were relocated to Barrio Papaya in Papaya Cove. That meant wild boar, labuyo or wild fowl, even deer.

The WWF fellow stressed that there was a good “nature thing” going here. There was ridge-to-reef management, and where the leisure property development was concerned, efforts were being conducted along the lines of renewable energy (18 street lamps powered by solar panels, for instance) and solid waste management.

He said he and his wife can’t wait for the time when they didn’t have to work much in the city, so that their current weekending at a “sustainable beach resort town” would give way to actual residency. It can be done, he argued. It would then go the other way around, with day trips to Metro Manila done instead.

That idea lingered in my sister’s mind as we returned to the main beach for a special dinner served on a long table set up right on the sand, with illumination provided by several lamps hung on bamboo poles. Resin blocks with pink and purple lights from within enhanced the setting, as we dined under the stars, several meters from the clubhouse’s regular restaurants.

My sister expressed the wish or dream, sharing it with our youngest bro the Chicagoan, of maybe retiring back home when the opportunity came, and investing in a residential unit that would become an actual home, and not just a holiday destination. 

They’d do the numbers the next morning, it was agreed, as us MetroManilans cheered the idea on. “Well, whoever does it can also stay weekends in the city, right? So we take our turns in your units, haha!” Why, that’ll be ideal time-sharing among family.

Big breakfast was served on the large balcony of the three-bedroom garden loft occupied by five of us. We all sat down together at 9 in the morning, feeling very family.

The spiritually minded then heard Mass at 11 a.m. at the St. Therese of the Child Jesus Chapel, which now occupies what used to be an office displaying model units in miniature, as how I recall it last time I visited.

The visually arresting angular structure is perched above treetops on the far end of the beach, with wooden ramps leading up and down. Now the chapel is backsided by a large wooden deck for popular picture-taking, with sweeping views of the entire beach as well as parts of the residential clusters peeking through the foliage inland.

My daughter and I and perky little Vincent, at 9, had a couple of hours more to sun and swim before lunch at the clubhouse patio.

A musician-son said over the long table that what Hamilo Coast might need to enhance its identity was Hamilo Music — maybe a cross between Rio de J. samba and mellow Caribbean. Yes, my sister and her partner agreed, recounting how they had also enjoyed the previous night at Brisa, the Beach Club Bar, which had an excellent veejay doing LA-type medleys. After raucous music late into the night, they said, yes, tuning in to mellow Hamilo music in the morning would help reduce any hangover.

Before we departed past 3 p.m., we had a chance to be guided up to the 7th floor of the Miranda cluster for a look-see at a model unit that was fully furnished. It was called a penthouse loft, with three bedrooms, and a balcony that overlooked the lagoon from high above. The expansive view included the residential structures across and the Country Club at the far end.

My Fil-Am siblings asked for figures. It seems studio or one-bedroom units sold for something below or around P5M, while the two-bedroom ones went for around P8M. Not bad, it was said, compared to house-and-lots in the city, especially within gated subdivisions. Well, it also depended on the unit site. Building corners were at a premium, as well as top floors. The 3-bedroom penthouse loft we surveyed was at about P15M, and purchasing it fully furnished would require another P2M at most.

Well, let’s all dream on, we told our sis and bro who would be departing in another two days. Let’s all keep playing the Lotto, or maybe we can all just pitch in for two or three bedrooms for family time-sharing, why, even clan-sharing. By then we might already be assured that we wake up to Hamilo music, or hear it as soon as we hit the beach, or when we party at night.

Remember now, it doesn’t have to be just a holiday weekend lifestyle. It can actually become life as we want to live it — that is, working and partying by the sea, within a well-sustained and entirely sustainable community. Such as what Hamilo Coast promises to be, most pleasantly.