Life, Day by Day

Now it can be told. Guest, clients and visitors of MERCI food products can now enjoy the services of their newest baby, the MERCI Shuttle Bus! The air-conditioned MERCI flagship 31-seater bus is the newest value-added service of CM & Sons Food Products, the company behind MERCI products.

Mornings at Lalimar is breathtaking...you wake up to this... a view of serene water meeting the blue sky... My brother was up early, so he had breakfast with our driver-mechanic at the resto-bar by the pool. My mom, daughter and her nanny were having their breakfast at the cottage veranda and told me to order mine. I wanted bacon and eggs but was told "baconsilog" was not available so I opted for "longsilog" instead, also to be delivered to the cottage of course...I told you, they had great room service...although I think it's also because my mom is a big tipper :) The kids were still asleep so I decided to explore our surroundings while waiting for breakfast. Cottage 1 where we stayed the beautiful eternity pool As you can see from my amateur pictures (taken with a simple digital camera), that this is a beautiful place and I'm very happy that we came.  Although the beach was full of stones, pebbles and corals, they were n...

The coastal view from Vallehermoso to La Libertad is breathtaking. I would love to have a home here where you wake up to the sea and sky becoming one. The road trip to Lalimar Resort took about an hour and it was easy to find since it is located right along the highway. The place looked clean and parking was spacious. There were a lot of people but I found out that these were just day guests. It was a very informal set-up...reception was also located at the bar where I found Leny who was in-charge of our reservation. I knew that check-in time was 2 PM but we arrived early a little past 1 PM and our room was still being readied but the staff was kind enough to allow us to stay in the porch while waiting. The room was very spacious, T&B was clean and there was hot and cold water. After a simple check-in procedure, we all settled in...and the kids went around to explore the place. I checked out the bar...and found that mineral water and sodas were expensive...a liter of Wilkens...

It was after the surgical mission organized by the Provincial Health Office in '97 or '98 in Calatrava town that the team decided to come back to Bacolod via the new Negros Translink Highway.  It was about 60% finished then, steep and dusty with some fantastic sceneries.  Today, more than 10 years after, it is a bustling highway and the scenery became even more beautiful. The waterfall which I first saw in the 90's is still there with it's viewing deck.  There are vendors now selling foodstuffs and restrooms! The air here is cold and if you plan to stay longer and explore, it would be practical to wear something  to keep you warmer or bring a jacket. But sadly, there is one thing that has not changed much...and that is, denuded hills. I still do not see new trees in the hills of San Carlos and Negros Oriental.  After some picture taking and a car-sickness mishap (all that zig-zags and curves took its toll), we arrived in San Carlos at around 10 AM.  San ...

For the longest time I have been wanting to take a road trip to Northern Negros via the Translink Highway that run from Salvador Benedicto town to San Carlos City .  The first time I passed through here was in the mid 90's when it was still being completed...the view was fantastic but on the roadsides were basically just nipa huts and road workers.  I remember we were a convoy of ambulances and we would wave at the people and they would wave back, especially the children.  I actually felt like some minor celebrity...heehee.  And so last June 5, 2010, a day after my brother's birthday, we decided to take that road trip.

It's been a long time since I last undertook a long road trip without car air-conditioning...so long ago, that I have forgotten how the wind feels like against my face.  Last Friday, I went to Barangay Pandanan in the mountains of Murcia town riding an old KIA vehicle and although I initially balked when I first saw our ride...this experience is something I will always remember with a smile. The moment we set out, I knew it was going to be a fun day.  As soon as we were out in the highway,  the cool wind was brushing my face and lifting my ponytail...The air was filled with the smell of grass and cut sugarcane...I could smell the molasses in the air as we passed areas where there are sugar centrals...I saw the mountains of Negros and Mt. Kanlaon clearly and not through tinted windows...I heard the rush of water in the rivers and creeks we passed.  The road trip awakened precious childhood memories that I thought I have forgotten.  It was a wonderful, wonderful d...