I've shared our
accommodation at Grande Island Resort. Now, I'll be sharing how fun it is to be on an isolated island when there's so much land activities you can do. Here are the land activities we tried and I recommend them for you too.
1.
Ride a Bike
Grande Island Resort offers bicycle rental
for 150 php an hour. We decided to take a bike and explored the area.
They have safe pathways from the port leading to the very last house.
Biking not only gave us an opportunity to exercise, it also allowed us
to go to a greater distance at ease. We were able to observe that they
also had horses while we were biking.
2.
Watch the Sun Set Along the Sea Shore
Enjoy the fresh sea
breeze as you watch the sun set along the sea shore.
Watch the sun paint the skies with orange hue.
The scenic view by the sea shore, rush of the cool air and the melodious sound of the crashing waves will surely offer you the relaxation that you can't get in the city.
3.
Get Educated with the Historical Island Tour
The
Historical Island Tour time schedules are 6 am, 9 am and 3 pm. The duration is 30 to 1 hour for 250 php per person.
According to Kuya Bert,
our tour guide, the 42-hectare Grande Island was first discovered by
the Spaniards during the 1600's. A war between the Spaniards and
Americans ended with the latter as the victor. The Americans built
underground power lines and water pipelines from SBMA as the source of
electric and water.
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| Back Beach |
We were taken to the undeveloped back beach where
we saw picnic tables built by the Americans. The beach was so beautiful
but not safe for swimming as the water is the breeding area for sea
creatures such as jellyfish, sea urchins, stingray and sharks. You can
see some of the jellyfish, sea urchins and corals even on the shallow
parts. If you go to the deeper parts, you can find baby stingrays and
sharks.
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| Chiquita Island |
Chiquita Island is a nearby island that is part of
Grande Island Resort. It is a 4-hectare island which serve as a bird sanctuary. They offer nature trekking there too.
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| Picnic Area Built by the Americans |
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| Battery Flake Tower |
As the island is not a warzone but used as a fortress and
battery, it has canons and heavy machine guns for anti-air and water
ambush and defense. The
Battery Flake Tower still stands and is great
for picture taking.
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| Maid's Quarters |
We also saw the
Maid's Quarters.
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| Hospital |
The lake used to be their football field. We're told that
the rain forests are home to geckos which go out around 3 pm.
4.
Speed Downward Via Zipline
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| JA of thepromdiboyadventures.blogspot.com |
Grande Island Resort's 300-meter long and 40-feet high zipline.
The zipline is a good activity that is safe even for kids.
5.
Explore by Horse Back Riding
You can go up the mountains and see more of the island via horse back riding at 500 php per hour.
6.
Eat, Drink and Be Merry
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| Orchid Hall A |
 |
| Orchid Hall B |
Food
and drinks are not allowed to be brought on the island so I had a heavy
breakfast before our 9 am ferry ride. And yet, after all the biking,
swimming, boating and diving, I found myself constantly looking for
energy replenishment. Good thing that
Orchid Hall serves food anytime.
 |
| Eat By the Pool |
You can have food delivered to your room and eat at your comfort by the
veranda (additional 20% room service fee) or eat by the
Orchid Hall A or
B or by the pool (Only 10% SBMA and Service Charge). Since we wanted
to eat and bond as a group, we chose the latter. The food was
reasonably priced as an order is good for 2-3 persons. Being a group of
10 allowed us to explore to selections.
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| Sweet
& Sour Fish (355 php) |
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| Pork Sinigang (375 php) |
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| Shrimp Sinigang (395 php) |
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| Bulalo (455 php) |
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| Chopsuey (295 php) |
For lunch, we had the
Sweet
& Sour Fish (355 php),
Pork Sinigang (375 php),
Shrimp Sinigang (395 php),
Bulalo (455 php),
Chopsuey (295 php) and
Plain Rice (50 php). For
dinner, we had the
Sweet & Sour Fish again (Yes, my companions loved
this!),
Garlic Shrimp (375 php),
Beef Broccoli (355 php) (the meat was tough),
Pork Sinigang
again (This is the best dish as the group raved for this non-stop. It
didn't even reach my end of the table),
Pinakbet w/ Bagnet (325 php),
Pork Sisig (325 php)
and
Plain Rice.
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| Omelet |
For
breakfast, we were fortunate to have a breakfast buffet which they serve
when guests are 20 or more. They have
an omelet station with three choice of ingredients: cheese, ham and
green and red bell peppers.
They had hot water for coffee and rotating
toasted for toasted bread served with jam and butter.
The buffet selection includes:
Hot Lugaw
with chicken, hard boiled egg and black pepper,
Buttered Carrots and
String Beans,
Tapa,
Tocino and
Fried Bangus. It also.includes Orange
Juice for drinks.
I'd like to thank our server
Ver who gave as the best dining experience in terms of service.
There are also souveneir , pet and plant stores if you want to take something home.
Cash
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