Once settled in at Carlito’s Inn, I got a call in the evening from Sen. Edgardo J. Angara’s secretary approving my request, made at the Provincial Tourism Office booth at Ermita Hill, for us to visit his resthouse at Dicasalarin Cove in nearby San Luis town. Come morning and after breakfast at the inn, we proceeded to the Fish Port at Brgy. Cemento, our pickup point, and parked the Toyota Revo there. From hereon, it was all sea travel as the road to the cove, previously attempted by us the previous day, was still unpassable. Normally, scheduled boats (available up to 2 PM only) transport visitors to Dicasalarin Cove from Sabang in about 45 mins. and we were expecting to be picked up by an outrigger boat. You can only imagine our surprise when the senator’s speedboat was, instead, waiting for us at the pier. Thus, we got there in style and in less than half the time, all of us thoroughly enjoying this welcome and unexpected treat.
 |
| Traveling in style and speed |
Upon nearing the cove, the boat slowly inched its way to a delta where a river met the sea. The cove lies where the foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains meet the Pacific Ocean. Upon alighting, it was just a short hike from the secluded white sand beach to the resthouse’s simple log gateway. Picnic huts and wooden tables, ideal for al fresco dining and all shaded from the hot sun by trees, plus interconnected log cottages, all covered with thatched roofing, are found all over the compound. We were billeted in one of the cottages where we freshened up for our meeting with the senator.
 |
| The Ifugao Village |
Our gracious host, fresh from his working tour around his property, soon arrived and joined us all at an open-air cabana where a delicious seafood lunch was prepared. The senator, who also happened to be U.P. president during my college days in the late 1970’s and early 1980s, narrated his plans for the place, providing a land route by clearing and paving the road we previously attempted, creating an Artists Village and also building a lighthouse atop the hill.
 |
| With Sen. Edgardo Angara |