Granular

Mactan, Cebu 2012

"Whoever designed this resort must have been obsessive-compulsive." D. says. It's as though they clean the sand to the last granule. Everywhere you looked, it was manicured and landscaped to perfection. It was as if all that you thought of doing or needing was thought-of for you. You can golfcar your way from the lobby to your villa. There are scheduled rides going to the city. There's a playground and day-care center for children. There's a fully-equipped gym. We kept asking if the tasteful furningshings were by Kenneth Cobunpue. You can have a massage by the beachfront, or at the quiet-zone zen-inspired spa. You can have them call a cab, or fetch you the paper. There are four restaurants within the resort. Like most of the places here, it had it's own private beach. The staff greeted you at every opportunity. The long infinity pool got our little I. to a repeated chant, pleading in his tiny voice: swim, swim, swim!

I. on the outdoor playground in front of the day care

Where our feet were at their best

On the redundance of listening to Urbandub while on a treadmill in Cebu.

Some of it came sincerely, and all of it of course, for the fee. There is a certain unnatural element in tailored places. It is not what it really is, but what it wants to become, or how it imagines itself. Well, we were no longer backpacking on unhinhabited islands. Once in a while we didn't want to worry about chores or have any cares for the day except to immerse into more of the pleasure.

Beer was at a golden 120 per bottle. Wine and cocktails ranged from 300-400 per glass. So we got drunk during happy hour, when you buy one and get one. It was right on time for the sunet. The outdoor bar called Azure played the classic chillout music that warped me into exactly what I needed to hear. I figured someone else still has a copy of the Salinas Sessions. We lounged under huge white sunbrellas, our three bodies splayed and spread out on plush daybeds that fit two 2 or more. The baybeds came with a view of the changing colors of sunset transforming into a skyful of stars. The side table had our beers, and his sippy cup.




Pizza always tastes better by the beach. We had vegetables and feta cheese with more beer. Tipsy enough before the prices go back up to regular hours, we head back to the garden villa. The little one swims some more in the bath tub. There's a already a 40-inch TV in the room, and another flat TV in the bathroom.




Lights out at 8pm. We talk a little bit about our adevntures in tents, sleeping bags, or the time we actually slept in the sand, by the beach from a few summers before. Tonight, the three of us sleep on what feels like 1,000-thread fabric against our burnt skin.