Modest Travels: August 2013

The Commute

From Makati, we took a taxi to Baclaran and disembarked right under the Overpass where buses are temporarily waiting for passengers. Take the bus going to Cavite City or Noveleta. The fare is only 26 pesos for adults. The bus took the Cavitex route from Baclaran. It was fast until we reached Bacoor, where traffic is quite congested. Travel time is about 1 hour.

We saw the Aguinaldo Shrine before we finally reached Panamitan in Kawit where Watercamp is located. Don't forget to tell the conductor that you are going to Watercamp Josephine Resort. It is well known so there's no difficulty in explaining where you are going.

From the highway, walk approximately 300 meters going to the resort which is situated in a big subdivision. There are motorized tricycles outside the subdivision that will bring you to Water Camp for a fee. But if you want to save a little and exercise a little, just walk.

Checking the Place

Water Camp Resort is appealing to safety-conscious parents. The guard at the gate checks every bag that is brought inside the resort, confiscating alcoholic drinks and breakable glasses and bottles. Since we went there on a Saturday, the entrance fee is quite pricey at 220.00 pesos for adults and 200.00 for children 4 feet and below. We learned that it's only 150.00 from Monday to Friday. During summer, it's 240.00 for adults, 220.00 for children, and 171.43 for seniors with ID.

Every pool has an assigned lifeguard whose eyes are always on the swimmers with his whistle fixed on his lips ready to blow in case someone does the forbidden. There are different kinds of pool that can be enjoyed. It was my first time to be in a lazy river. It was fun!

The Swimming Pools

All in all, there are six swimming pools: The Mini Wave Pool, Kidney-shaped Pool with slides, the 160-meter Lazy River, Children's Interactive Pool, Dunk Pool for two level slides, and an adult pool with water falls.

Mini Wave Pool

Kidney-shaped Pool

Lazy River

Interactive Children's Pool

Dunk Pool

Two-level slides

Two-level Slides as seen across the Adult Pool

Adult Pool

By the way, it is not required to don your revealing swimsuits. T-shirts and shorts are okay as long as they are not made of cotton or denim.

The water in the pool is of the right temperature. Don't forget to wear your slippers once you're out of the pool since the concrete floor can be so hot especially at mid-day.

Cottages

There are numerous cottages that can accommodate big or small groups. We were a fairly large group so we stayed in a bigger cottage with two tables.

Pavilion by the Mini Wave Pool. Below the Pavilion are more picnic tables.

Canopy-style cottages

Other Amenities

There is a charcoal grilling station where you can cook barbecue and grilled fish. Just don't leave unused charcoal by the grill or else, somebody will use it.

The shower room is clean and the cubicles are too many to count (okay, i did not count). Water pressure is strong and there are large mirrors for the ladies to check their hair after shower.

It could have been a perfect day until a group opened their beloved durian, the smell of which permeated every nook of Water Camp. In my humble opinion, durian should not be allowed in public places except in Davao.

We left past 5 in the afternoon. Our fun day-swim is done. Thank you to Joey, Edith, Ate Zeny, and Kuya Sergio for accommodating us. We enjoyed your company in a place worth revisiting.

For More Details:

Water Camp Resort
Panamitan, Kawit, Cavite Philippines
Tel: (+6346) 484-5703
Email: info@watercampresort.com

The Commute

It was a bright Friday morning when we decided to go early to Antipolo for hubby's convention. As usual, we took a taxi for a special fare. Good we arrived early because we were able to check the place and its amenities before everyone else arrived. The exhausting one-hour travel was compensated by the bright green surroundings of Antipolo but contrary to my expectation, the place no longer exude the calmness of a rural community.

Checking the Place

Bosay Resort's pond by the entrance gate fascinated my little boy no end. Only, there are no low fences nor ropes to limit kids from getting too close to the edge of the pond so better keep an eye on them at all times.

The resort is clean and well-maintained. It is so big that there are more than half a dozen swimming pools. There's an Olympic size pool for the serious swimmer athletes, disco pool i presume for the night swimmers, therapy pools (jacuzzi) which my kids love, turtle pool for the beginning swimmers, pools with slide for the adventurous youth, and there's the deep pool up to 10 ft for practicing divers. There are some more which I did not check because I have two kids in tow all the time. I spot not just one but three Karaoke machines by the pool side.

There's the mandatory shower room in every area. There's a lifeguard by the pool side. Safety precaution signs are not wanting. The parking area is wide. There's a hotel and a restaurant and a dental clinic in the main/admin building.

Bosay Resort has a store where you can order pancit sa bilao (250-600 pesos depending on the size of the bilao (30-40 min waiting time for a bilao of pancit). You can also buy colorful floaters for kids, and swim wear.

Entrance fee is 140 per person. Room rates are affordable. We stayed overnight in a VIP cottage where there's a queen size bed with a pull-out bed of the same size under. There's a phone line to the resort's front desk but there's no tv which is good. No wifi. Everything is okay for a small family like ours. I wish the water pressure in the sink and in the shower is stronger. Big plus points for the water heater! All these for 2,000 pesos per overnight stay in the VIP cottage.

Booze is permitted at Bosay with corkage. Overnight swimmers are quite noisy (we should have chosen a cottage far from the swimming areas). Nonetheless, the security is tight.

Based on the shirks and laughter of my kids while swimming and running around and how sound they slept that night at Bosay, I'd rate the place 8 out of 10. We will definitely come back and enjoy swimming some more.

Here are some of the pictures I took at Bosay. It is unfortunate that I did not bring my camera when we went swimming so I was not able to take pictures of my kids while in the pool.