Bacolod Living!

Vacay time!!!! And boy did we need to get away. Completely disappointed and worn out from our run at the championship, Coach Roger asked if we would like to visit Bacolod before we left. Why not? I can always use a good couple a days off from competition, especially after what had just happened that past week. I wanted to go and hide my face in some remote island and forget about the pain.

So Phee Jang, Jen, Coach Roger and I packed our bags and headed out to the beautiful Bacolod, the capital city of the province Negros Occidental.
It was about an hour plane ride from Manila. Cool thing about the plane ride was reading about our defeat in the paper under this huge picture of the Army team. Good for them, but I did not save that article. *Kanye shrug*

Upon arriving to the city, there was this tropical island feeling. We were picked at the airport by Father Cachero, the president at the University of Negros Occidental, which happened to be the sister school of San Sebastian. We also would be staying on their campus. In the back there are these rooms with about 6 beds where visitors stay. Its back in this wooded, vegetation-filled area, kind of secluded. SO imagine our fright when we started hearing things crashing against the walls and the ceiling. lol Creepy!

The next day after a quick breakfast at Jolibee, we headed off to the Mambukal Mountain Resort, located in Murcia. Hidden inside mountains, hills and plenty of greenery, it kind of looked like we had driven up into Jurassic park and at any moment a T-Rex was about to present himself from behind some huge tree.

But it was absolutely gorgeous. Immediately available to us were hiking trails, hot springs, pools, water falls and probably much more. There were even bats that were just chilling upside down in trees above us while we relaxed in the hot springs below. Really cool. (BTW, Father Cachero & Phee Jang have all the photos, I will try and steal some from them)







Even though it rained on our way out, the trip left us completely relaxed and after eating, we headed out. Speaking of eating.... Do I need to even explain the deliciousness below. Take a look.



































Basically every time it was time to eat, we ate seafood; buffet style until I was too full to walk. Any kind of seafood that I had ever imagine, thought about, seen in a book... I swear it was available to me. The one thing I love about traveling is trying the food. I mean why not? Kind of over McDonald's you know!

If you are wondering if we did other things over than eat and relax. .... NO! Just kidding! We actually visited this really cool landmark called the Ruins. Its like this gutted out 2 story house they renovated. We arrived just as the sun was going down, so it was simply breath-taking. It had a very romanticized feeling. According to ExperienceNegroes.com, the Ruins was the resident of Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson, a sugar baron. He built it for his wife Maria Braga and was filled with nothing but the finest things collected from his travels through Europe. The mansion was set on fire by US Armed Forces during WWII and then again by the residents to keep the Japanese from utilizing it. Note that when building the structure, a special Grade A mixture was used for the concrete walls, which is why it is still standing today after the fire. Pretty neat.





Funny story # 2... So remember how at the beginning of this blog I mentioned burying my head and trying to forget all about volleyball? Well as soon as I walked about 10 feet onto the Ruins property I hear someone yelling, " Ford! Ford! Hey Ford!." I was like No Way! I have left Manila, and there is no possible way that anyone would know me out here. Sure enough we were greeted by Shakey's V League fans. How freaking awesome is that? A man and his wife and children were thrilled to take photos with us. They had watched nearly every Baste match on TV and were big fans. :)

Oh our last day... Of coourse we ate Seafood buffet again.... YES! Father Cachero, who was the best host ever, picked me out some delicacies of dried mango and fruit to take back and enjoy...

Over all I had an amazing time and Im so happy I got an opportunity to visit the lovely city of Bacolod. Father Cachero and his staff were simply the greatest host ever. Salamat po!


Check out the Slide Show for more photos :)