I've blogged about alighting at the Abak Beach Resort and visiting the iconic Faro De Capul but I totally skipped about making a  blog post about where we spent the night. So here it is! For future reference, if you happen to visit Capul and are on the lookout for a place to stay.

This place is called the Acapulco Beach Resort. I may have mentioned in my previous post that the island town's name of Capul was derived from the word Acapulco, as in Acapulco, Mexico because this place was a guidepost at the height of the Acapulco-Manila Galleon Trade (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capul). However, the beach isn't just the main attraction here because there's a two story house that can be rented out for various purposes. A friend of mine (we go way back from our Uni days), her family owns the place and I asked her about the rates and they are as follows:

Php 7, 500.00 per day (rent a home, good for 15 to 20 persons)
Php 1, 000.00 per room (good for 2 persons)
  - Add Php 250.00 per person in excess of

First off, here's a panoramic view of the house and the beach. It's a lovely view to wake up to, isn't it?

Werk it baby girl!

That would be me, having my moment. Though, I am saddened by the crappy quality of this photo. 😔

Here's the grassy lawn, right in front of the house. Some of my companions brought along their own tents and decided to sleep under the stars.
I don't have a photo of the interiors but this place feels like a home away from home. You can cook, grill some barbecue, sing the karaoke at the top of your lungs, or party 'til the break of dawn like we did.

The owners were truly very hospitable. There were about 80 of us from the Northern Samar Police Provincial Office who came to have our Women's Month Celebration last March and we basically took over the house that some of us were running out of bed space. We were offered a private room of the proprietor which is situated at the top floor and it had a great view! Here are some shots taken at the top and the exteriors.

How many times have I wanted to go to Capul Island but never really made it? Countless, I would say. And it's not like its very far from where I live: just an hour's boat ride. Wait up, maybe that's the key word there: BOAT RIDE. I'm not afraid tho, it's just that I don't know how to swim and I easily get seasick. Let's not put two and two together for they are lame excuses, I know. Which is probably why I finally decided to throw 'em away this summer and took the chance since life gave a golden opportunity. 

The island municipality of Capul is located in Northern Samar, about 45 minutes away by boat from the ferry terminal at Allen. There are four island towns in Northern Samar, namely: San Antonio, Capul, Biri, and San Vicente, respectively. I was already able to visit San Antonio in 2016 and since then I have been wanting to reach the other island towns too. Finally it happened this year and I couldn't be happier.

The first spot that we visited was actually where our boat docked. The place is called the Abak Beach and it's breathtaking. You know what I felt when I saw the place? I felt like I made the right decision to get on the boat, waves and seasickness be-damned. Totally worth it. Celestine was with me and I was so sure that she would have a blast. 

A little tidbit from Inquirer.Net: Originally, Capul was called Abak. According to folklore, its present name was derived from “Acapulco.” During the galleon trade between Manila and Acapulco during the Spanish colonization, many boats would drop anchor at Capul, waiting for the current to flow outward to the Pacific Ocean before they start their long voyage to Acapulco in Mexico.

Capul has a unique language called Inabaknon, instead of Waray-waray which is widely used in the Samar area. I tell you guys, Inabaknon is a league of its own. I'd very much like to learn it but it's not like Cebuano, or Bisaya which shares similar words with my Waray-waray. Due to few speakers, the language is highly endangered.

So, now we know where this place got its name. Anyway, on to the exploration.

First on the itinerary is the picking of shells. *cough cough* This must be the reason why our baggage was heavier on our way home. Full of seashells and other knickknacks. 

Yep, the beach. She has told us like a year ago that she would want to celebrate her 7th swimming so here we are.

First of all, the Frozen-themed cake is kinda off since we're surrounded by sand and sea. We should've gunned for The Little Mermaid but she's not hearing it. See? 

But it doesn't matter to her, really. Food doesn't matter because nothing it more important than swimming with the friends. It is your moment, after all, baby girl. So live it!

For brief moments she would get out of the water; the only chance we had to take this family photo. However, what's more important is that she had fun. It's evident in her skin color afterwards. 😉 We had an advanced celebration on the 9th of December. We're lucky that the sun came out that day. Our birthday histories are very much riddled with typhoon and flood stories. Ha ha ha. And there's a lot more to be thankful for than just the weather. So many little things that make up the big things.

Here's to more birthdays and blessings!

And oh, I'll just leave you with the aftermath. :)

XO,

Carissa

The looooong weekend also allowed me and Tin to visit Leyte. We arrived to a stormy weather. Like literally, after crossing the San Juanico Bridge, the weather was really different from Samar's. On Black Saturday, Tacloban's streets were flooded due to the rains brought by Tropical Depression Crising. Thankfully the weather cleared up on Easter Sunday. Hung out at Robinsons Place Tacloban the entire day.

Bunny Love...

Favorite Products...

For my base, of course I reach for something that has a good amount of SPF. The Belo Intensive Whitening BB Cream gives me that plus tons of other skin benefits. For keeping my oily skin and huge pores in check, the Quick FX No-Shine Mattifier has got my back. The Maybelline White Super Fresh Powder Foundation sets my bb cream. Did I mention that it also has SPF 34? I have BYS Contour and Highlighting Kit to thank for my bronzy summer glow. Maybelline's Fashion Brow Palette has been helping me achieve some brows on fleek and I am so in love with it that I'm already thinking of repurchasing it for years and years and years.

For my puckers, I'm also very nude-heavy these days. My favorite is the Maybelline Creamy Matte Color Sensational in Clay Crush. Sometimes I wear it alone or top it with the Burt's Bees 100% Natural Lip Gloss in Sunny Day. Sometimes I wear the gloss alone and it also looks fab. If I want a pinkish hint of color, I go for the Maybelline Baby Lips Love Color Lip Balm in Cherry Kiss. It nourishes my lips really well and doesn't feel heavy.

Click the heavy fonts for reviews of each product.

*Disclaimer: Some of these products were sent to me for review purposes but it doesn't in any way affect my opinions about the them.  This is definitely not a paid post. :)  I'm just sharing honest love for each one of them. *

I've Read...

....Jay Asher's novel called Thirteen Reasons Why. Yes, the Netflix series of the same title is based on this book. I got curious about it when I saw the teaser on Facebook. But then I can't really do Netflix so I decided to just read the book. I'll post a separate review about in the future. It didn't really give me the goosebumps that I expected.

Or that She plays catch with the waves.

I have never used my own wit on waters that took away the sand castles that I build. She does so freely, and in abundance.

***

***