Just woke up and decided to write about this fantastic weekend celebration with my family at Hidden Valley Wavepool in Pinamungajan, Cebu. Another Lulinghayaw sa Cebu coming your way!
It was Pa's 75th birthday and my eldest sister wanted to treat us to a quick getaway. She might have heard of this famous wave pool from her friends and asked me if it'll be perfect for Pa's birthday celebration. I've been wanting to come here since it was opened but never had the chance as I rarely explored the western part of Cebu. Honestly, we're the total opposite of my parents; they are home buddies, and as much as possible they just want to spend all kinds of celebrations at home. It's actually difficult to convince them to travel. After a few talks, they were in!
My sister suggested that I bring my boyfriend. My brother-in-law and my sister always do! They've been dreaming of the day that I'll finally bring my boyfriend, a real one not an imaginary! 馃槀 If I'm not mistaken, it was GB's first time coming with us on a family trip. I remember how my mother despised the idea that her little girl is finally getting into a serious relationship. She once told me "Ayaw gyud na dad-a imong uyab diri. Kung mo ari gani, si Papa lang nimo ang paatubanga nya" in English that basically means she doesn't want to meet my boyfriend! My mother's just jealous.
Hence, there certainly was nothing more nerve-wracking than bringing GB home and introducing him as my boyfriend. I brought one before but he just blended with all my friends during one of the parties I hosted. I was afraid Ma would do what she initially thought of doing. It didn't happen tho; they warmly welcomed GB and never showed signs that they didn't like him. Well, there's nothing to unlike. She even mentioned that GB was the only guy who kissed their hands (all my brothers-in-law never did)! Plus points! 馃榿
Pinamungajan is accessible through a road connecting my hometown to the rest of Southwestern Cebu. We took that road going up the mountains of Carcar. We eased through Pinamungajan, making a few stops here and there to ask locals about our destination. Unfortunately, there were a few resorts named "Hidden Valley" in the area and maybe locals were confused about which Hidden Valley we were trying to reach. We ended up hopping from one "Hidden Valley" to another until we got it right!
We reached the place and registered. I couldn't remember how much we paid as it was my sister's treat. Perks of being the youngest in the family! You don't have to pay a dime, that's always the case if my sister's around. 馃榿 It was already lunchtime we arrived so we decided to eat before anything else.
The entire property is definitely huge that you'd need to walk from one area into another just to check all the amenities they offer. GB and I wasted no time, I didn't want to swim in the largest pool (see photos below) as it was too hot and there were no trees or shed of any kind here. Might as well go back later when the sun's heat aren't too harsh.
We continued exploring and walked towards the mountainside of the resort. There were cemented pathways and we just followed them.
We reached an elevated part where we could already see the entire property or so we thought. Later on, we found out it wasn't the only pool in the resort. The pool is massive that it could house 300 people at once. And since it was the pool nearer the open cottages, most of the people especially kids stayed here most of the time.
GB and I found ourselves trapped at the mountainside part of the resort, there was a door but it was locked. We went down again and took another route to reach the other end of the resort, where we heard the real fun is awaiting.
It was an uphill walk but all worth it when we saw this inviting lap pool. If we travel, GB and I always take delight in lap pools. Swimming then became our exercise for that day.
And what an absolute happy pill to be traveling in an uncrowded place, right? It is as if we rented the entire place! This resort used to be jampacked with patrons and tourists alike after COVID, they're seeing fewer and fewer visitors. Maybe that's not the case these days as we are experiencing fewer restrictions on travel and leisure.
Now, this is my favorite part! After a few minutes of enjoying the lap pool, we explored further. We ended up hearing loud shouts nearby. I was amazed at how this resort could strategically hide this place. If you won't explore or ask around, you'd definitely miss the best part of the resort, the circular wave pool.
If you wanted to catch the big waves, you have to know the time they'll operate. Of course, it's costly to be turning on the machine which causes the big waves all the time. The resort schedules the waves so you have to be there when it happens. Once the waves started to hit, they'll be good for 15-20 minutes base on experience. And then there's this waiting gap and then they turn it on again until a certain cut-off time.
It was my first ever wavepool experience and it was totally fun. I kept laughing the entire time the waves hitting on my body. This pool isn't for kids tho. If you're bringing kids, you might want to stick to the huge pool by the cottages. It's a wavepool too but not as deep as this one. In that case, kids can still enjoy themselves without fear of drowning or any other kind of injury.
Of course, we did took a lot of photos, too!
And there, more photos os GB and I guaranteeing another great weekend!
It was late afternoon we decided to go back to the main wavepool. We heard it'll be splashing its last waves in a few minutes. So we hurrieed! We almost missed the waves but we were still able to catch the last ones haha
We headed home before the night falls. It was a fun day with family. My mother and father and their friends still enjoyed it despite not being able to explore the entire place. Ma has a knee injury so she couldn't walk far and does very limited movements. But I guess having her friends, talking for hours, catching up made her day. GB and I had the time of our lives, as always.
Sadly this weekend, no trips whatsoever as yours truly had recently encountered and sustained another spine injury. Healing might come in a few days or weeks. I'll be a home buddy until then!
What are you up to this weekend? Make sure to make the most out of it! 馃榿
Sending love and peace your way! 馃グ
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