Resort Review: Ivy's Vine Resort (San Jose, Romblon)

Date of Stay: April 23 -24, 2008

RATING (Scale of 1 to 10)

Location: ******

Rooms: ******

Condition and Cleanliness: ******

Staff Performance: *******

Room Comfort: ******

Food and Beverage: *******

Other Amenities: *****

Value for Money: ******

Ivy's Vine Resort

Fan-cooled room

Ivy's Vine Resort, on Carabao Island (locally called Hambil), is situated close to the heart of San Jose and within walking distance from the docking area for boats from Caticlan (Malay, Aklan).  

The island is also a 30-min. boat ride from Puka Beach in nearby Boracay island.  It has 7 spacious, fan-cooled rooms with private bath and a 3-4 pax dorm-type rooms with common bath.

It also has an open-air, on site thatched roofed restaurant, a 2-storey bar, a dive center (the only one on the island) and a lovely private beach.

The resort's bar and restaurant

Since January 2014, the resort has a new owner and has been renamed White Beach Dive & Kite Resort. It has, aside from the other amenities, airconditioned as well as fan-cooled rooms, 2 billiard tables and a beauty center. The resort also offers child and babysitting services, massage, room service and bicycle rental.

White Beach Dive & Kite Resort: Brgy. Lanas, San Jose 5510, Romblon. Tel: (037) 961-0244. Mobile number: (0916) 124-6288.  E-mail: juergen.sturm@me.com.

Interview: Kaya ng Pinay Mt. Everest Team

The author with 3 gutsy ladies

Janet Belarmino

During a visit to Club Balai Isabel (Talisay, Batangas) I met, in person, 3 women who exemplify the Pinay spirit at its best: the Kaya ng Pinay Mt. Everest Team composed of Janet Belarmino, Carina Dayondon and Noelle Wenceslao.

These 3 Filipinas, all members of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), made history by becoming the first Southeast Asian women to reach the summit of 8,848-m. (29,028-ft.) high Mt. Everest (also called Mt. Qomolangma), the world’s tallest mountain (literally the top of the world) and the ultimate challenge to human endurance (it has now been summitted 3,067 times). 

Carina Dayondon

Everest sits on the border of Nepal and the Tibetan region of China. In 2006, Filipinos Leo Oracion, Erwin “Pastour” Emata and Romy Garduce successfully climbed from Nepal on the shorter but arguably the more dangerous, so-called South-East route. 

The 3 women are the first women in the world to traverse or cross Everest from the less treacherous North side (with its earlier summit window) to the South side, crossing the mountain from Tibet to Nepal, a feat done by a handful of mountaineers – all of them men. The traverse poses a bigger challenge for the women as they will be passing an unfamiliar route to come down the mountain.

Janet, from Nueva Vizcaya, is a member of the University of the Philippines Mountaineers, a fitness instructor for the Moro Lorenzo Fitness Gym in Ateneo and an excellent sport climber, lawn tennis coach and champion triathlete.  Noelle, a prized member of the Dragonboat team, is also an expert biker, extreme adventure athlete and mountaineer.  

Both women were consistent winners in the Philippine and Hong Kong legs of the AXN adventure races. Carina, a formidable sport climber and the youngest member of the team, has been scaling mountains in her native Bukidnon since she was 17 when she was studying at Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro City.  She climbed 7,548-m. (24,758-ft.) high Muztagh Ata in China-Pakistan, the highest peak ever reached by any Filipino, man or woman, before Everest.  

Noelle Wenceslao

Carina and Noelle, plus team doctor Ted Esguerra, documenter Fred B. Jamili, Emata and team leader Arturo Valdez, were to leave on May 19 to participate at the 42-km. 6th Hillary-Tenzing Mt. Everest Marathon, the highest marathon in the world (commemorates the 55th anniversary of the Edmund Hillary-Tenzing Norgay climb), from the 17-149-ft. level Mt. Everest Base Camp at Nepal (South side) to the town of Namche Bazar in Nepal (11,300 ft.), over rough and treacherous trails with two steep uphill sections. Ten days later, on May 29, Carina finished first, among foreign female climbers and behind 7 Nepali women, in the aforementioned marathon, with a time of 6 hours and 45 minutes. 

At a presscon held at the resort’s function room, all 3 recounted their hardships and sacrifices in the face of what appeared to be insurmountable obstacles. Janet had to battle personal problems prior to the climb, giving birth, in December 2006, to a healthy baby boy named Himalaya, just one month before their training for the Everest climb started (she was thus, the first woman to summit Everest just months after giving birth). She said it was emotionally a very difficult thing to leave her small son at home with her husband Ricky and join the expedition, putting her life at great risk at the mercy of the mountain. 

Noelle, on the other hand, lost her mom to a stroke as she was on her way to the airport to pick up Noelle who successfully climbed 20,320-ft. Mt. McKinley (also called Mt. Denali) in Alaska, the highest in North America.  Carina, on the other hand, was the family’s breadwinner.  During the climb, they also missed their families in the Philippines – something that proved to be an additional burden for them. At the Himalayas, Noelle also suffered from acute mountain sickness (AMS) and pulmonary edema while climbing (she had to descend to 5,000 m. to recover).

Their skin, especially on the face, was damaged due to the extreme cold and heat. All came down with blotches and sunburn on their faces. Theoretically, the 3 women’s route was longer and the journey much more difficult. During their climb, the weather was not too cooperative. They carried backpacks weighing 50 lbs, an ice axe that is at least 2 lbs. and wore high altitude boots and down suit that acted like thermal blankets.

The Filipinas also had to negotiate the dreaded Khumbu Icefall (where 3 Sherpas recently lost their lives), a large slab of ice that covers the lower part of the mountain's south face. Ice seracs (pointed masses of ice), deep crevasses and ever-shifting masses of ice make for a dangerous trek. Climbers usually use metal ladders to cross crevasses, making sure that the anchors on their ropes are secure.  Down the mountain, at Camp 2 (which has a reputation as the "Death Zone" where extreme cold can sap a climber's strength), the Filipinas will encounter the Lhotse Face, a steep and narrow ice-laden ledge. 

Janet and her Mt. Everest outfit

Combining hard work, dogged determination and a positive attitude, they all conquered these obstacles by training to be tough mentally as well as physically. They went to New Zealand to train for alpine climbing.  On the Himalayan range in Nepal, they climbed the lower, 5,500-m. high Gokyo Ri (which had a full view of Everest) so that their body could adjust to the lower oxygen level (50% compared to sea level) at higher altitudes.   

In spite of strong support from sponsors and a solid team behind their backs, they still worked on a tight budget.  Their route, aside from being relatively safer, was also cheaper as the permit for climbing, per person, from Tibet is about $4,000 compared to $10,000 on the Nepalese side. They did their laundry in very cold rivers and, to save on shower expenses, they did not take a bath for more than 60 days.  

A small window of good weather (very clear with winds in between 20-30 kms./hr.), a little good luck, prayers back home and a lot of determination, they reached the top of Everest to once again plant the Philippine flag on the highest point in the world. Noelle (with Sherpa Lakpa Gyalzen) was the first to reach the summit at 6:10 am Nepal time (8:10 am in Manila) followed by Carina (with Pemba Choti) 10 minutes later.  They stayed on the summit for 20 minutes.   Janet, who reportedly initially lost radio contact with the Philippine team at the Everest’s base camp, was delayed because she had to wait her turn among the climbers wanting to reach the summit. She arrived at around 7:45 am, Nepal time, with Pasang Norbu. 

All three Sherpas guided Leo Oracion and Pastor Emata in their historic climb to Everest.  This was no small feat for three tough-as-nails ladies whose childhood exposure to ice, until three years before (in India), was limited to ice cubes, sorbetes and halo-halo.  Again, they proved that if we set our minds to it and unite in a common cause, we can climb whatever heights and reach whatever distance we imagine. They didn’t just do it for themselves, but for all the Filipinas around the world struggling to conquer their own mountains.  In doing so, they have again made the country proud and left a legacy of hope, faith and triumph of the human spirit.  The real victory is conquering, not Mt. Everest, but ourselves, our fears, our insecurities and our differences. 

Resort Feature: Club Balai Isabel (Talisay, Batangas)

Clubhouse and swimming pool

Restaurant

The 10-hectare Club Balai Isabel, opened in 2007, has residential houses and two boutique style clusters: the Sampaguita Manor, with its 6 hotel-type rooms with mini-refs, hot and cold shower  and balcony, all nestled on a garden of different trees and ornamental plants. 

Owned by Talisay native Mr. Nelson Terrible and his wife Ms. Cecille Terrible, it has a full-service restaurant, at the clubhouse, with a magnificent view of Taal Lake and Taal Volcano. 

Villas

The Ylang-Ylang Villa, on the other hand, offers 6 two-storey, kitchen-furnished studio units, all ideal for families. Since the 400-m. long lake shoreline is not recommended for swimming because of its murky and deep water, the resort has put up, aside from its free-form swimming pool, the Mobideep, an inflatable swimming pool with separate pools of different depth. Its deepest pool, measuring 21 feet, is even used for scuba diving training.  

For conferences, the resort also has 2 function halls (Kasili Hall and Kasay-Kasay Hall).  For company team building, the resort has a challenging Balikatan Course consisting of 5 different obstacles. Apart from its swimming pools, the resort also has tennis, badminton and basketball courts and guests can also rent a kayak to go around the lake.  The clubhouse also has a business center and novelty shop.

Mobideep and Taal Lake

Obstacle course

To encourage environment protection and conservation from the community, the resort has started a Solid Waste Management project wherein Talisay residents can avail of support from the resort in the form of loans or financial backing for community projects on condition that they turn in a certain amount of recyclable waste materials to the resort. 

According to Nelson, this concerted effort will make people realize that nature and Taal Lake should be protected to be able to retain their livelihood, especially fishing and tourism. The resort, on the other hand, also addresses the water shortage problem, one of the biggest environmental problems that the country has to be faced in the coming years, by using filtered lake water for the swimming pool as well as in Mobideep They also make sure that they are using low energy-consumption equipment in the resort. 

In the near future, Club Balai Isabel will be adding more facilities, including a recreation center equipped with videoke, a movie room, billiard tables, Wifi and Play Station 3 rooms, an internet shop, Tea Lounge and a library. Wi-fi will also be made available in the public areas. The resort will also be building facilities for skim and wake boarding.  

A wellness center, offering medical spa and traditional medical facility as well as non-invasive therapies and executive checkups for tourists and guests, will also be opened. Nelson is particularly excited about the opening of the Spa Suites, eight 2-8-pax huts which will have a queen-sized bed, private bathroom and a private jacuzzi in a lush garden setting. Club Balai Isabel will soon offer the Taal Lake Cruise using their 20-pax Cancun which is equipped with washroom and mini-bar.  

Club Balai Isabel: Talisay National Rd., Brgy. Banga, Talisay, Batangas.  Tel: (043) 728-0307.  Manila Tel: (632) 817-0572 and (632) 809-0585.  Mobile numbers: (0916) 552-4319, (0905) 301-1418, (0922) 823-5854 and (0928) 507-1093.  E-mail: craterlakeresort@yahoo.com. Website: www.balaiisabel.com.ph.

How to Get There: From the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), you can also get to the resort by taking the Greenfield/Asia Brewery exit and heading towards Tagaytay City. Turn left at Calamba Road then turn right at Ligaya Drive and head towards Talisay. Turn left at the junction of Talisay National Road and look for the entrance of Club Balai Isabel, which will be at the right side of the road.