Summer in the Raintime

Since it's been feeling a lot like summer this monsoon month, we ran off to the beach last weekend, slapped on some sunblock and made like Easter was just around the corner.

The place: La Luz Beach Resort in San Juan, Batangas, about 80 minutes from Lipa City. Good roads except for the unpaved couple of kilometers at the end where the Laiya beach resorts such as Coco Grove, Sabangan, Kabayan, Blue Coral and Balai are lined up one next to the other. La Luz is at the very end of the row so we got pretty acquainted with that moon surface.

One building, four doors. The second floor units can each house ten persons on two levels.

Beach at the neighboring cove accessible from La Luz at low tide.

Jump right in.

Pavillion for the buffet -- a full day's breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner at P900 per. A good deal if only for the convenience of not having to bring along your own food or think about what or where to eat all day. Kids were free by the way.

The skinny: It wasn't Boracay but the place wasn't bad at all. The food was okay, the facilities worked. The beach at this part of Laiya is more rocky than sandy. But the rocks are small and smooth and won't find their way into places sand usually does when you're sitting on the shore. The sea was clean and teeming with marine life just three yards in. We kayaked and snorkeled and the kids made new friends. All in all a good old summer weekend experience -- at off season rates.