Very unique vacation stay. Stayed the first part of the week in Coron, which is the main tourist…read morepart of this island of Busuanga. That town is quite populous with both tourist and natives trying to service said tourist. There are lots of vehicles zooming around and lots of businesses all around so you can choose whereever or however you want to roll. You can do cheap or you can do expensive and more exclusive. I actually toured around so much in 3 days in Coron that by the last day there, I was exhausted. Which is why I am so glad I chose to move to this other part of the island to conclude my trip.
La Estancia is on the other side of the island. Because the roads are narrow country roads, it took an hour and half to drive to this tucked in resort, even though it may only be 30 miles in distance. After you drive on country highways passing by lots of rural living, you'll then have to turn and drive on a dirt road for at least 20 minutes. You can't drive fast here, so this takes up much of the time.
So this small resort is literally built on the edge of the island, in the middle of an island jungle setting. Once here you are not going to roam around and look for town activity. Well you can, but it won't make a lot of sense once you step onto their grounds. Once parked the jungle now becomes super manicured and designed like you have just landed on a fantasy island. Lush trimmed tropical fauna and exotic flowers wafts their scent through the warm air. Exotic birds chirp and play while large kaleidoscope-colored moths ride the warm breeze. By the outdoor reception area up on top, there is a small pool that is actually filled with filtered salt water. Which threw me off after trying it the next day but made sense as the sea was more within their reach than fresh water that you would have to apply chemicals to.
The main building where all the rooms are, are down the hill at sea level. All room's front doors are facing the outdoors with a small porch. I had a room on the lowest level so when I gazed through the windows, the calm seawater was literally within feet of my window. A small beach with beach chairs and a hammock within steps of my front door. If you wanted to order/get something to eat or go to the pool, then you'd have to walk up the stone terraces to those designated areas. But from the room's view, the most spectacular and private I've ever experienced. There's definitely a catch to when you purposefully leave heavily trafficked areas and not be amongst the bulk of tourist.
Now when you leave such areas, you will now also be in another world, a world saturated in nature, where live things live and roam and where the people don't try and exterminate everything due to being uncomfortable. The people who live in these parts simply learned to live with all the plants and animals that were here all along. So even though the room was super clean and stylish with a great and comfy bed; a small lounge near a window to sip on morning coffee to stare out onto your own private beach; a small but stylish bathroom; and a great A/C unit with remote control; no tv, so no extraneous noises.
A person staying here will have to be able to accept that they are also still on a remote island setting. Simply said there may be tropical bugs/catepillar type things or small geckos that will inevitably be around, maybe into the rooms sometimes. Always with some distance like the corner of wall or on the side of a bathroom. I remember being a kid and just being around these natural occurrences. It wasn't until I lived in the U.S. where I found out that people really get freaked out by this stuff. So it is hard for me to depict this as I'm mostly communicating with an American mindset, but I also want to be transparent and let people know what comes with the territory...literally.
But on my very relaxing stay here, I had a one day access to a boat ride where they took me to a few other islands (much less crowded than those near Coron), where we could snorkel, just lay on the beach and at lunch time they served up a lunch that they packed from the resort. Also able to kayak on the calm waters near the resort. And if you want to just do nothing and take a nap after a meal, there is no real itinerary to follow here, at least that's how I wanted my stay to unfold.
So scan some pics, as words cannot do this place justice. Simply a stay I had not ever experienced, where I was so far away from the bustle and the mainstream, yet was catered to with a certain level that I normally don't put myself in. But you have to be able to accept and/or love a good dose of solitude, value a respect for nature and be able to appreciate tranquil beauty. I know many that can't handle this much quietness and peacefulness. #truth. I was blown away almost every minute of my stay. I accept the terms and will be back, hopefully sooner than later. I have scoped and mapped my tracks, return to Zen I will.