_{*"Pico De Loro resort was an absolute surprise - I expected a concrete jungle and boring swimming pools. Instead there were hikes, beaches, coves, lakes and more."*}

「 Pico De Loro Resort, The Philippines 」

_{T H E F I N A L C H A P T E R}

Batangas, Philippines

_{Wednesday, 17 October 2018}

After the grand celebration for my lola's (grandmother in Filipino) 90th birthday party, we had some time over the next 3 days to explore the area and see what the resort had to offer. I always have itchy feet when I get to a new place, I'm sure a lot of you travellers have the same feeling - you get to somewhere new and you can't wait to get out there and explore. I had a predetermined view that Pico De Loro resort might counter my usual habits when arriving at a new place, and thought it would be very restrictive through rules. **I was wrong.** As it turns out, there was a *huge* amount to see and do within this resort and it wasn't as restrictive. as initially thought. There are ample amounts of activities to do as well, such as the guided jungle hike which takes you over the peaks and down into the adjacent Santelmo Cove, which is essentially Pico De Loro Cove's smaller brother. Unfortunately a recent storm fell many trees on the hike-trail, so they were disallowing people from doing the hike, guided or not. It's a shame that they do not allow going it alone without a guide, and this is probably my only gripe about staying here! But in anycase, this was overshadowed by the pristine white sands of Pico De Loro Cove - which is perhaps the most striking feature of the resort. Located at the edge of the resort, the fine white sands encompasses the entire beachfront. The scene was gorgeous, with towering peaks lining the edges of the cove, almost sheltering the resort and adding to the feeling of privacy and exclusivity. There are also a few relics of World War II which the resort retained, such as two huge artillery cannons that were used during the war to repel against invading Japanese war ships. https://i.imgur.com/2NMbBcL.jpg_{**Pico De Loro Cove from the sky**} https://i.imgur.com/uILSHAb.jpg_{**Me manning an old World War II artillery cannon against the invading forces**} As I mentioned in my previous post, there was a noticable lack of other guests at this place, with every other sun bed pretty much empty. In essence, my family may as well have been the only ones on the resort! This may have been because we were visting during the off-season - not that it made a difference as the weather was glorious every single day we were here. And it was perfect for the family, even my 90 year old grandmother! Despite the recent storm, the waves within the sheltered cove were relatively calm, allowing most of us to play in the sea in relative safety, as if we were children again. Even my lola was able to sit within the waves and enjoy them as they broke gently over her feet, which by the way was absolutely joyous and heart-warming to see. It was a good feeling knowing that everyone here was able to enjoy themselves and really spend quality time together. The family really don't see each other that much (as we live in different corners of the world!) so it was lovely that my lola was able to have her children and grandchildren all in one beautiful spot to celebrate her birthday. https://i.imgur.com/ksuA1XT.jpg_{**Some of the family wanted a photo by drone!**} Another beautiful spot is the church up on the hill, made up of almost 200 steps directly from the beach front. Everyone, even my lola, climbed up it as we were told that it yielded breathaking views of the cove. As it turns out, they weren't lying. The views from up here were spectacular, especially from the drone. It was the perfect sunset spot really, as you had a perfect view of the sun as it set behind the peaks of the cove. For more explorations, the lake in the centre of the whole resort makes for a peaceful walk. It takes almost a full hour to walk its entire perimeter, especially because its so easy to get distracted by the nature that surrounds it. There's a small island in the middle of the lake which is explorable, as well as different bays where you can feed the different kinds of fish that live in the lake. By sunset however, the lake's expanse lights up and mirrors the sky almost perfectly. We had a fun three days here on this island, and a sobering end to all those days, with every sunset more breathaking than the previous. The final sunset was the most beautiful of all, with a red streak forming across the sky. We drove back the morning of the 4th day here - satisfied that the trip was such a success, content that we all had such a good time together, sad that I had to say goodbye to everyone again, and excited that a new adventure was about to begin. https://i.imgur.com/j392cjT.jpg_{**The chapel hidden away in the canopies**} If you've been following my blog, you'd know that every new location takes up around four or five chapters before the next destination. As nice as Pico De Loro is however, it's not a place for an adventure. Hence I'm going to commence writing about my next destination in my next post - the island of Siargao. This island is probably one of the most stunning, active, and adventure-filled places I've been to in the world - with a crazy nightlife to boot! So much so that I did have flights booked for Korea and Taiwan, which were **forfeited just for the island of Siargao**. I can't wait to share my adventures and experiences from this island with you all. Until next time! https://i.imgur.com/sRUCIuZ.jpg_{**The glorious red sunset on our final day at Pico De Loro**}

_{F I N A L P H O T O G R A P H S}
Pico De Loro Resort, The Philippines

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_{D E T A I L S} 🌏 | Pico De Loro Cove, The Philippines 📷 | Canon PowerShot SX730 HS/DJI Spark 🎨 | Lightroom Mobile edits used

Over the next few weeks I'll be trekking through The Philippines and I'll be sharing with you my stories, emotions, advice and tips about this wonderful place. I will be doing this while sharing my photographs with all of you too. I sincerely hope this inspires you to **go out there and travel**! Please do **follow** if you want to keep up with my journey through this country <3 Any upvotes or reblogs are hugely appreciated! Much love, everybody.

_{P R E V I O U S P O S T}

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