The Mermaid's Little Sister: The Viajeros Mexican Edition

It's been a while since my last major Viajeros trip. Oh, how I missed traveling with the guys!

They, on the other hand, have continued to conquer the world -reaching the summit of Kota Kinabalu and experiencing the famed Bali nightlife, both within the first half of this year. Yes, both trips I missed. Apart from the Viajeros trips, some have visited places with their other sets of friends while some have gone on some business trips outside the country.

Just last weekend, Viajeros pinned down a local destination. Quezon was the place. Mexican was the experience. Annual Viajeros Ball (AVB) 2010 was the event.

Ola-land

We had an early start on Saturday at Kuya Bong's place in Makati. Everyone who attended the ball, except for Ate Van and Ron, slept over. Becksie, who unfortunately couldn't join us because of law school, was also present during the sleepover. She sent us off, how sweet of her!

We missed you fellow Youngster!

We were keen on leaving at five in the morning but ended up moving a little past six. Elch drove the REVO Sport Runner up to Barangay Turbina in Laguna where we met Kuya Bodgie, who later on became our official road master (driver).

Navarro's Family Car

The roads from Turbina to Lucena were quite swamped. We spent an hour or so in the traffic. That didn't prevent us from enjoying the road trip though. Ron's Mac Book Pro with more than one thousand songs came in to the rescue whenever we felt so sleepy. "Bawal ang lumamang ng tulog," Kuya Bong would say, err, sing. Oh, a lot of singing happened in the car -from hip hop to novelty songs. You should hear them sing with complete gusto this "Batibot" song that goes something like, "Alagang-alaga namin si Puti...bakang mataba, bakang maputi..." It was hilarious!

We had our lunch stopover somewhere in Sariaya, Quezon at Max's Restaurant. Kuya Charles said that bringing of food and drinks is not allowed at the resort. So we started to dig in the cake bought by Kuya Bodgie and Ate Vannie. Mernel's Cake in Los Banos has always been our official AVB cake.

Yummy cake from Mernel's

After almost 6 hours on the road (one hour of which spent crawling), we finally arrived at Pueblo Por La Playa, our AVB 2010 venue. Pueblo Por La Playa is a 12-hectare Mexican-inspired residential and country club found in Pagbilao, Quezon.

The entire place from the hard flooring, colorful walls and Spanish-tiled stairs gave us this Mexican vibe. All we needed was our Mexican hats and we're off to Ola! land. I loved the play of colors around me. Upon entering the resort, some guests might find themselves a bit disappointed because of the construction going on at the entrance gate area. However, I forgot my slightest disappointment as the shuttle from the gate drove us to the main part of the resort. Everything from thereon is wonderful. To even say it's colorful is an understatement.

Arch details

Great idea for draperies

Our purple house for the weekend

Upon opening the door of our 2-room nook, our jaws dropped. The owners of this resort were able to incorporate the Mexican interior design. It's Mexican-inspired so the interiors of the whole place felt warm and cheery. I personally loved it! I even thought of using it as the next theme of our lanai. The wall colors were bright and sunny. The floorings were natural, hard-flooring. The little tiny details were quirky. We loved our rooms. I was amazed to see a different kind of toilet and bath. I've always been a fan of non-luxurious interior designs. We got a tub! We didn't use it though. I love the shower area.

Colorful clay jars

Open shower (well, almost)

The long bench with cushion

We spent most of our time in the calming water of the huge infinity pool. Mai, who is the latest addition to our group, was all-geared up with her goggles and Australian team-designed swim cap. The cap became a hit to us non-Marthas. She's a real swimmer. According to the proud boyfie, she was a varsity member. There were a couple of swimming laps and diving tutorials here and there. I mean come on, Ron was around! The guy doesn't give up till he gets to do something new. Well, I learned how to wear a swim cap properly! We were all Martharized! Note to self: I should bring my own goggles and swim cap next beach/pool outing. Or perhaps, I should also bring a vest.

Mai's effortless dive

"We ain't stopping!"

Kuya Charles's

Before we checked out of the hotel, we saved a lot of crazy underwater shots in Kuya Dex's amazing camera.

STRUGGLING to be seen underwater

Welcome back, Tsarls!

Queen T (Turtle)

Our only General

In every trip, there's always time to check-out. I dread this part. At Puerto Por La Playa, life is colorful to just sweat the small stuff.

Our colors of FRIENDSHIP

Over all, it was a GREAT AVB weekend - awesome accommodation, fun joy ride, and the best company of friends ever. I don't mind the darker skin tone I have now. It's all worth it. Big thanks to the guys (Kuya Bong, Kuya Charles, Ron and Elch) who organized and financed this year's AVB. Till next year, Viajeros!