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‘Gone for the weekend’

By Dinah S. Ventura

10/20/2008

As invitations go, Dos Palmas Verde Island’s “Gone for the Weekend” jaunt was too unique to miss. I mean, how often do you get to dive (well, in my case, snorkel) at what is now recognized as the “center of the center of marine biodiversity in the world,” weave a buri mat, stir a steaming vat of buri sap, plant a tree and replant a coral — all in the space of a weekend?

All these and more were exactly what we did when we visited the newest Dos Palmas resort property in Verde Island, Batangas City, courtesy of Dos Palmas’s Ivan Lim and chief executive officer Kate Borja.

After a breakfast of adobo and eggs at the Rockefeller in Greenbelt 3, we took two vans to the Pagkilatan Port in Batangas, from where we took a 30-minute boat ride to the east coastline of Verde Island, located in the north of Calapan, Oriental Mindoro, and south of Batangas City. We were told that if you took the two-hour drive from Manila to the Batangas City Pier, it would take 50 minutes to get to the island itself. The private port we drove to was nearer to the island, though a bit farther from Manila.

From the boat, the island revealed itself gently — the lush vegetation providing a green backdrop for the resort facilities and a pleasing contrast to the sparkling blue of the sea and sky and the sandy edges of the island.

On approaching the island, one may notice the two buri palms (dos palmas) that stand proudly by the main hotel and pool. The buri palm (the local term for which is buli) is the largest palm in the Philippines, reaching a height of 20 meters (75 to 80 feet), a diameter of one meter (three to four feet), and a leaf span of three to five meters. It is special to Dos Palmas because the name Dos Palmas commemorates the two buri palms which towered over Arreceffi Island in Palawan.

It was hard to believe many of us had not known of this little paradise not too far from the city. But thanks to the judicious joint venture ownership between the Verde Island Business and Leisure Estate Inc., a corporation owned by the Pastor Family of Batangas City, and the Dos Palmas Island Resort and Spa, a world-class eco-resort located in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, this resort now makes it possible for weekend warriors to commune with nature without having to take the airplane.

One of the first things the Dos Palmas group did was to refurbish the resort — repainting the buildings to a pleasing Mediterranean yellow, improving the rooms and creating a seamless flow among the different areas of the property. The resort now looks upon the ocean without the interruption of man-made structures, and no doubt guests with kids would love the huge infinity pool facing the sea, which was under contruction at the time we visited.

After a delicious buffet lunch at the resort’s restaurant, we repaired to our rooms and took our time to enjoy the comfortable bed and bath. Each room is equipped with the works: Air-conditioning, hot showers, safety deposit boxes, NDD/IDD, a mini-bar and a private balcony, all with a fantastic view of the Verde Island Passage.

According to Kate, they wanted to create a comfortable resort without taking away from the main reason one would choose to visit the island: Its natural bounty.

What makes Dos Palmas Verde Island Resort quite distinct from all the others in the Philippines is that it is right smack in the midst of the Verde Island Passage Marine Corridor, known as “the center of the center of marine shorefish diversity” as proclaimed by two experts — Kent Carpenter, a global marine species coordinator for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, and Victor Springer of the Smithsonian Institute. According to them, the area is blessed with the highest concentration of diverse marine species in the world “with 1,736 overlapping marine species over a 10-kilometer area.”

The divers among us were practically shivering with excitement at visiting San Agapito, one of the famed dive sites in the area. Others, we were told, are Rock Point, KT Reer, Galleon, Anton Rocks, Ring-Ning, Boulders, Mini-Canyon/Washing Machine, Nonie Blue, Nelson Pinnacle, DT Corner, Heidy and Lito Cave.

A marine sanctuary and a national protected area, Verde Island Passage offers a wealth of marine creatures that would catch anyone’s fancy, diver or not. Snorkeling alone reveals quite a few of these colorful beings.

The resort has full diving services and currently offers open water and dive water courses for those who are interested to learn. In the future, the resort will not just be offering technical diving, Ivan said, but will also be using nitrox, which is mixed gas blended with increased amount of oxygen.

Another great thing about Verde Island Resort is its passion for environmental conservation. When the partnership began, the Dos Palmas group was adamant about maintaining the natural environment just as it does with its Palawan property. It immediately set up a research center with in-house marine biologists who have partnered with local universities and institutions to come up with research to reinforce the ongoing protection of the Verde Passage. This research center will be in the forefront of educating and collaborating with the communities surrounding the rich marine area to ensure that it is well protected for generations to come.

This is where tree-potting and coral replanting come in. In an effort to educate and involve resort guests, Dos Palmas Verde Island Resort has come up with activities that allow those interested to leave a lasting legacy in the island. Guests may pot a buri seedling if they wish and have the chance to see if the tree with their name on it has grown with every visit.

“A buri palm lives for up to 30 years, bursts into a million flowers and dies after this singular bloom. From the thousands of fruits with seeds that will shower around the mother tree, hundreds of baby buri palms will grow clumped closely to each other. In the struggle of the seedlings against each other for space to grow, only a few survive to maturity,” explained Dan, the resort’s marine biologist.

“As part of our commitment to the environment of Verde Island, we have begun caring for the baby buri palms that we retrieved from the wild. This nursery project will complete the cycle of care for the buri palms, and will help ensure that future generations can continue to benefit from this marvelous tree,” he added.

Aside from this, they give guests a chance to see how they are working with the island community to nurture the local culture and promote sustainability. “We have decided to veer away from dole-out charity projects, and are focusing our efforts, instead, on capacity-building and on providing livelihood and employment opportunities to the residents of Verde Island,” Kate said.

Partnering with Got Heart Foundation, the resort sources souvenirs such as the buri-based products like banig, tuba and pakaskas, and fresh, organic produce from the community. “We’re helping the community improve their product designs and quality, which benefits them in the long term,” Kate added. “We also aim to eventually obtain 80 percent of the fresh produce that we need (seafood, organic meat and poultry, organic fruits and vegetables, ornamental flowers) from the community. We are seeking to promote organic farming in Verde Island, and have recently sponsored the hog-raisers from the sitio of Pajo on a training in organic farming (training was held in Palawan).”

Rather than fencing itself off the community that has thrived in the island for decades, Dos Palmas Verde Island Resort has chosen to immerse itself in it and do what it can to improve education, livelihood, among others, among its people.

Guests also have an opportunity to see the community at work during the resort’s buri weaving, pakaskas making, bibingka making and even tuba harvesting activities.

After all these invigorating activities, one would only be too willing to surrender to the ministrations of a trained therapist in the spa that boasts of several pamper treatments such as scrubs and massages. Spa lovers will definitely enjoy the Dos Palmas’ signature massage or hilot which will treat guests a cleansing incense to the foot soak with detoxifying herbal tea. Local Batangas ingredients such as kapeng barako and cacao will interestingly be incorporated in the rituals as well.

Other resort facilities are a souvenir and gift shop, a café/cocktail lounge and a recreation center where you can play popular indoor sports such as billiards, table tennis and darts. For meetings, presentations and private gatherings, the resort, too, has five large function rooms.

If you’ve had enough of the ocean activities, one can also go horseback riding in an area uphill in the resort, or go on an island boat tour. Apart from a community walk to explore Pajo, a wild island tour by 4x4 and jungle trekking will be made available by late this year and early next year.

Unforgettable memories are not the only things you take with you as you leave the island. You’ll also learn how important it is to do our share for the environment, just as the resort does though its environmental management system that includes recycling, proper utilization of raw and energy materials and proper waste disposal. It also stays away from harmful chemicals used by other resorts and instead opts for safer means. For example, alternative silver ionizers are used for disinfecting water while biodegradable are utilized for cleaning and laundry. Also on the drawing board are plans to make use of alternative energy and employ other environmental programs.

All this means that we can go on enjoying Dos Palmas Verde Island Resort for a long time to come.