A day away

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That’s Poon-dock-it for those of you who have not mastered Spanglishalog.

We had a very nice overnight getaway in the lovely barangay Pundaquit in the town of San Antonio, Zambales province. It’s only about an hour away from Barretto, and I always enjoy the change of pace with its beachy, small-town vibe. I changed things up some this trip by staying at a venue I’d never tried before, the Hidaway. Another first was booking a nipa hut room. It was small but surprisingly comfortable. It would have been more enjoyable had some maintenance issues been addressed (for example, the bedroom door scrapped the floor and the bathroom mirror was missing). Still, no complaints. Our hosts and the staff were fun and friendly, and we had a good time hanging out with them.

Here’s the story of our brief journey in pictures:

I asked the owner’s wife why they named it “Hidaway” instead of Hideaway. She said the Hideaway name had already been taken. All the locals call it Hideaway, though.
They call it a hostel, but everyone seemed friendly. *ahem* Actually, I never considered staying here previously because I didn’t want to stay at my vision of a hostel. Then I saw an ad of theirs on Facebook, and I saw it wasn’t a dormitory with shared bathrooms.
Our nipa for the night.
I look like a model in an advertisement.
It looks like Swan is trying to entice me into the bedroom
There it is–small but functional
It was surprisingly comfortable and cool inside, with only a fan mounted on the wall.
And the bathroom, with a heated shower. I only used the toilet this trip.

And that’s all there is to the small nipa hut we stayed in for 2500 pesos. Honestly, that seems way overpriced, but I’m not complaining–it served our purpose. Let’s check out the grounds, shall we?

The pool. Swan waited until after dark to take a swim because the water was too hot for her during the day.
A view from above. That building in the back is the Love Shack Restobar. We didn’t eat anything there but indulged in some alcoholic beverages later in the day.
The open space in front of the rooms
And the hills in the background
The Love Shack is a very comfortable open-air bar.

Okay, that’s the Hidaway.Once we got settled in, we were ready for a late lunch. One of the reasons I wanted to stay at Hidaway is that it is right next door to one of my favorite places in the Philippines—the CMC Bar and Grill (aka The Car Wash).

Let’s go in and have a look around. And a beer. And some food.
A roomy open-air bar with nice music played at a reasonable volume
I thought there would be a band last night, but that is only on Saturday. Oh, well.
That is by far the largest American flag I’ve ever seen. Yep, the owner is a Yank, but he was back in the USA dealing with some medical issues.
My lunch date

So, what makes CMC/Car Wash my favorite? Well, it is a great bar, and I do enjoy that aspect. But what separates it from all the other bars I enjoy is its consistently outstanding food. That kitchen is top-notch fine dining quality serving up great meals for a frickin’ bar crowd in a tiny burg like Pundaquit. I’m glad I found it!

I had the pork ribs, and they did not disappoint. The baked potato was oh-so-good drowning in all that melting butter. And the meal was only 360 pesos. It’s hard to eat that cheap in Barretto.

After lunch, we went back to Hidaway and chilled for a bit. I quaffed some brews at the Love Shack when beer o’clock rolled around. Earlier, I had messaged my friend who lives in San Antonio that I was in town, and we planned a meet-up at CMC/Car Wash.

Nice to see you again, Gary.

Gary is a retired Navy man who spent a lot of time at the Subic Navy base back in the day. That’s where he met his Filipina wife all those years ago. Cathy came along as his designated driver, so Swan had someone to chat with while Gary and I caught up. Gary also introduced me to Stacy, the owner of a deli about a kilometer up the road. I promised I’d come by and give it a try for breakfast.

And how could I resist the CMC/Car Wash dinner special of the day–a pulled pork sandwich? Damn, it was massively good. In my defense, I did cut it in half and shared it with Swan.

When it was time for Gary to leave, we paid up and headed back to our Hidaway. Swan went for a swim while I continued my imbibing at the Love Shack.

That’s Hidaway owner Greg on the left.

Greg and his wife Ava (who runs the place) used to live on Baloy fifteen years ago. In the small world department, Greg knew Swan’s love, Alan, back in the day. It’s so strange when that happens. Another thing about Greg is he knew the punchline to all my old jokes. Damn it, usually when I’m at a venue for the first time, all my jokes are new again. Oh well.

I had a lot of it last night, but fortunately, I didn’t do anything stupid between the bar and my nipa.

And a promise being a promise, when it was breakfast time, we strolled up the road for some coffee and food.

I’d seen this place before and smiled at having it named after me, but I’d never ventured in. Stacy wasn’t there, but our waitress took excellent care of us.
Swan had a grilled ham and cheese sandwich
And I had pancakes. I blame Kevin Kim for all his postings of American breakfasts on his blog lately.
We dined outside on the patio, but the inside of the “deli” looked like this.

On our way back to Hidaway after breakfast, I saw this on a sign, and it gave me a chuckle:

Sadly, there was litter along the road, but not as bad as it is here in Barretto.

There’s no point in going to Pundaquit if you ain’t gonna visit the beach, right? So, we set out on a short walk to the ocean.

The road we walked
A mountain view along the way
Me marching ahead
And Swan bringing up the rear
I’m not sure I’d want a Nimrod for a doctor.
Swan says that is her favorite flower
On the beach at last!
And an ocean view instead of the bay. That’s the South China Sea and the Copones islands.
Next time we are going to stay on the beach. We checked out a couple of resorts while here. I think I would enjoy quaffing some beers in that upstairs restobar.
Another beach view before heading back to the Hidaway.
There and back again
Swan chillin’ in the nipa while we wait for our driver to arrive.
On the way home, I had my driver stop so I could get a photo of these oddly colored hills.
Here’s another view. It looks like God poured some chocolate syrup on them.
On the road back home.

We arrived safe and sound and have vowed to take similar excursions once a month or so. It was nice to get away for a bit.

Today’s Quora Q&A:

Q: What is the best beach town to live in for an expat in the Philippines?

A: “Best” is pretty much dependent on your personal wants and preferences. I live in the beach town of Barrio Barretto (Olongapo City), and it works for me. A nice expat community of mostly retired folks like myself. Things to do like a Hash club, dart and pool leagues, and a variety of bars and places to hang out. Some top-notch restaurants as well. Good grocery shopping with western goods on the old Navy base and malls are just 20 minutes away.

The beach itself is on Subic Bay and is not all that pristine. Still, I enjoy my morning walks on the water. It’s a comfortable life here for me.

During this trip, I speculated about what life would be like if I lived in Pundaquit. It would be less convenient and a little more boring, but it is good to have options.

And I’ve got some humor to share as well:

Maybe give it a taste and see…
Okay, well I did just get back from PUNdaquit…

Back to the other Hideaway today for a feeding. I’ve got other plans for Sunday this week. I’ll be back tomorrow, the good lord willing. In the meantime:

As always, thanks for stopping by.

4 thoughts on “A day away”

  1. Shalom!

    Great to see everyone’s spirits (and bruises) have healed nicely!

    Or is makeup involved?

  2. Looks to have been an awesome experience. I hope the ambiance facilitated the relationship therapy.

  3. Kamusta ka, Sir John!

    And Blessed Sunday for you, dear.

    We also have beautiful beaches named Boracay and Palawan, so maybe you can have a try to going there next time!

    Pagpalain ka ng Diyos, my best friend!

    Koko

  4. Koko, I’ve been to both Boracay and Palawan. They are indeed very beautiful. Pundaquit is close and accessible by car, so I visit there more often.

    Thanks for the comment and your kind words.

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