There’s a 75-yard distance from the pitching mound to the putting green with
three sand traps, so the golfers can make sure their strokes aren’t too rusty.
The game room offers billiards, pingpong, table soccer, darts and assorted
board games, and shelves of best-selling books, some in Japanese, German,
French and Russian. A tennis court awaits aficionados of the game. And bikes
can be used for free for the first two hours.
A sunset cruise, subject to weather conditions, is a daily feature. Ihris said the
boat captains are skilled in making the engines emit a particular noise that draws
the dolphins, which then merrily jump in and out of the water while following the
vessel.
The weather wasn’t on my side that Saturday, so at dusk I just dawdled in the
pool and imagined a date with the dolphins at some future excursion.
Alegre also has a helipad on the premises (it’s a 15-minute flight from the
Mactan International Airport). This is just perfect for those who don’t want to
take the one-and-a-half-hour-long car journey that passes through the towns of
Consolacion, Lilo-an (home of Titay’s rosquillos, galletas and other biscuits),
Compostela, Carmen and Catmon and the cities of Mandaue and Danao.
Unknown to most guests is the fact that the resort has an orchid farm, growing
60,000 purple and white orchids. The able orchid raiser is Simeon Celis, and
the flowers harvested are used to decorate Alegre and its sister company, the
Cebu Plaza Hotel on Nivel Hills, Lahug, Cebu City, especially during bridal
month when the demand is high.
Waste in the resort is segregated. Fogging against mosquitoes, misting and
termite control is regularly done. A water treatment facility catches the waste
water and treats it so it can be used to nourish the plants and trees.
And it is the trees and assorted flora that give the place an Edenic
ambience—sheltering talisay trees near the beach, coconut, mango, jackfruit,
and papaya trees to supply the achara sidings. An herb garden is planted with
basil, oregano and dill to meet the kitchen’s requirements.
Back in my room with its transparent walls that look out to the garden and the
beach, I had a choice of switching on the air-conditioner or just allowing the
breeze to filter through the screened sliding doors and windows.
It was a time for taking deep, lung-filling breaths. Secure and content, I drifted
off to sleep and didn’t wake until the sun was high.
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