BEACH MONTEMAR : Bantayan Island Bound Again and Sharing Some of my Fave Photos and Hated As Well

 

I always dream of going places but I as I get older my excitement diminishes. Planning about trips becomes more of a burden which hinders me from chasing those dreams. I tend to overthink a lot about the inevitable. Just like what I thought while looking at this photo I snapped while journeying through the seas to Bantayan Island. It was almost evening as the sun started to go down. The sunset gave me a beautiful sight but it also gave me the realization that a day has almost ended and a new day will be coming forth, full of unknowns and uncertainties. Another day for our cells to degenerate, we get older, our parents get older, the earth is not even getting better — a realization that nothing lasts forever that change is a constant matter. Ugh. I am just such an anxious and fearful being — a pessimistic idiot! Sigh.

The idea of resigning from work and just spend my days with my family would be great but reaching adulthood is real. I am trapped in the race of survival. I have to live in order to live. But anyhow, I’m still finding ways to escape from this delusional madness even just for a snippet of time.

That’s why whenever I have the opportunity to go home to Bantayan Island, I make most of my time to relax, unwind and most especially to spend quality time with the people who are dearest to me, my family. I fully agree with the saying

“Love your family. Spend time, be kind & serve one another. Make no room for regrets. Tomorrow is not promised and today is short.”

When I got the chance to go home, my family and I celebrated our togetherness in Beach Montemar. I was thrilled and ecstatic because that was my first time to set foot on that resort. I got to take photos again which I love doing. So here are the photos I captured — photos that I love and hate as well. Can you guess what my hate photos are?

 

But before that, let’s have this one first. This happened during HOLY WEEK, so almost all beaches in Sta. Fe were full. We opted to get resorts located in Bantayan boundary especially in Barangay Baigad (Barangay Baigad belongs to municipality of Bantayan but near Sta. Fe )where Beach Montemar is located. We called the resort beforehand but sad to say all their cottages had no vacancies. So we decided to rent one of their bungalows and would just set some tables and chairs outside the hut and lay mat on the sand. It turned out to be a better choice even if we wouldn’t stay there overnight. We had our own comfort room where we could have privacy and if we get tired we could sleep inside and also we could charge our phones. We could hang our wet clothes to dry and many more. It was just convenient and was a wise idea.

This is the place where I held my unboxing video of my tent. I bought my tent online and wanted to see its appearance and see if I was not scammed or what. Here’s my unboxing and review of my Mongar 2 Ultralight Tent.

BEST BUDGET TENT : MONGAR ULTRALIGHT 2 PERSON TENT / Unboxing and Review like a Potato – YouTube

Anyway, without further things to say, I’ll give you now the virtual tour of Beach Montemar.

This was during peak season, so many guests flocked to this resort. Some of them were having family /clan reunions, others were catching up with classmates or friends, while others were tourists visiting Bantayan Island.

As what I said before, Montemar Beach Resort is not located in Sta. Fe but in Bantayan. This resort possesses white sand with coconut groves and clear turquoise water, a typical tropical scenery. This visit was during moonsoon time, that’s why you see lots of sea grasses that were washed away to the shore by strong winds.

At other times when there’s no habagat (moonsoon), the view would have been dazzlingly clean that would exhibit a comely beach paradise. Just look at this beauty.

The video and photos are posted by Beach Montemar on their FB page

 

 

Of course, I wouldn’t leave this place without taking photos of myself. If you are curious on how I edit my photos, I also have a tutorial here on how I post-process my snaps.

Related article click this link 👉: This is How I Edit My Photos For The Gram

Another amenity that one can avail in Beach Montemar is their swimming pool. It is somewhat situated on the top of some boulders or rocks and when you are there, you get to see beautiful scenes of the coconut groves and the sea. I just love the structural design of their pool.

If you get hungry, Beach Montemar can cook for you delicious dishes.

There’s not much shade when you are swimming in the pool or even in the surrounding pool area. That’s why protecting the skin by using sunscreen is a must. Traveling is fun but always protect your skin from the harsh rays of the sun. Good thing Sevensense Sunblock is sold in this resort.

This is during late afternoon when some of the guests went home already. I got the chance to take picture of their cottages.

 

When I got bored taking photos I decided to stroll around away from the resort. I really love the idea of walking on the sand, putting my feet on a different marvel. There are not much establishments yet near Beach Montemar. I could see some wild floras that sprouted on the beach and lots of seaweeds and grasses that were washed off from the sea to the shore. But as I looked closer I noticed they weren’t just sea weeds but trashes — lots of trashes. It would have been okay if they were just remnants from natural things but I saw a lot of disgusting waste obviously from freaking PEOPLE! ( Even if I picked up some pieces, it wouldn’t help solve the problem. ) These are my hate photos.

When I was a kid my mother always told me to bring my trash and put it in my bag or pocket if I didn’t see any trash can and I imbibed that until this day. It’s just as simple as that. The world has suffered enough from all the carbons we have emitted. It’s not even easy to change our way of limiting ourselves to use plastics but I believe that proper disposal of garbage may be a small act but will be a big way to help Mother Earth. Leave no trace always. Please…

I saw these kids touching and playing with these starfishes. I told them in a friendly way that we shouldn’t touch these creatures and other marine species because they might die. They have tiny parts of their body that if some of them would be removed when you hold them, they couldn’t move or eat properly anymore. To my surprise they stopped playing and they even said sorry to the starfishes.

And lastly before the day ended, I would like to share my fave photo. It was not me who captured this photo. It was my seven-year old niece. I was happy to know that she had an eye for photography.

But my most favorite photo is this, a picture that should be treasured in my heart forever —our family picture.

After beaching, we went to the church of Bantayan, I was surprised of what I saw on the ceiling, a beautifully crafted artwork. This one is truly a masterpiece showing off the glory of the Catholic Religion. Salute to the artists!

Before I end this blog, I realized something after this trip — time is ticking, we never know what the future holds. But time that is well spent leads to a life well lived. It is useless to brood on negative things. Let us look at the bright side of life. I realized that celebrating life is something that should be sprinkled throughout our everyday moments, because we blossom when we are happy. And when we are happy life is colourful. Life is beautiful. I hope we can find joy in our life no matter what the circumstances. – CHASING POTATOES

Location

Baigad, Bantayan Island (59.88 mi)

Entrance and Room Rates 

Entrance Fees for Adults – Php 150.00

Entrance Fees for Kids – Php 100.00

*Air Conditioned room for 2 pax @ Php 2,000/night (free breakfast for two) – max of 3 pax

*Fan room for 2 pax @ Php 1,000/night – max of 3 pax