Damires Hills, Janiuay, Iloilo

My 6-year old son loved his trip to Damires Hills with his cousins a few weeks back that he could't stop talking about it. "It's easy going there," he says. "You pass by Cabatuan and when you reach the plaza, you turn right. Then you pass by Bridge Bolo and Bride Damires. The entrance fee is P50.00 and you pay P55.00 for a swim in the pool. There huts available for rent but I don't know the rates. Construction is on-going for more picnic huts. There aren't any other recreational activities available but it's okay by me; I'm more than happy to dip in the pool. The pool is small. Uncle Wilson scolded me when I hopped my way to the middle portion of the pool; I just wanted to if I can manage a swim in the deeper par

t of the pool. So I just stayed in the shallow part together with my cousins and played with out water guns. Uncle Wilson brought Jollibee spaghetti and chicken meals for everyone so that's what we ate for lunch. I wish we can go there too."

Boz's vivid description of Damires Hills enticed the weekend getawayers in Miki and me that we decided to give the place a try last Sunday. Despite the gloomy weather with Typhoon Bebeng inching upward to Luzon, we heeded to Boz's request.

True to Boz's instruction, we made it to Cabatuan. He skipped the part the we had to reach Janiuay plaza and turn right when we see the Janiuay District Hospital. We wasn't quite accurate with the two bridges too, bridge Bolo turned out to be the Jibolo Bridge and bridge Damires was the bridge leading to Brgy. Damires. Nonetheless, we give him credit for remembering landmarks even at his very your age.

The resort was packed during our visit. It's a good thing I called the resort a day prior to the trip to reserve a picnic hut. They placed us near the pool with an umbrella-type cogon hut which seats around four people. We weren't so happy about it as we were expecting one of the bigger cottage with bench-type seats and a hammock. We asked if we could transfer if one of their reservations didn't come through, but our request never got served (even with the Gumamela cottage remaining empty for the whole duration of our trip, hmp!).

Boz, like any other kid, spent most of his time in the pool. The rest of us, roamed around to take pictures and inspected the place. There were plants growing everywhere: short and stout papayas, bananas and tropical plants that reminded me of my childhood. There's a canteen that served short orders and snacks. For lunch, they have a selection of lutong bahay dishes. Set meals were impressively delightful and reasonably priced. One can get a set lunch (rice, viand and drinks) for as low as P80.00. For entertainment, they have videoke for those who want to just belt it out and long strolls to other parts of the resort which were yet under construction.

After the photo ops and the mandatory dip in the pool for Boz's sake, there's nothing much left to do but doze off and just enjoy some peace and quiet before heading back to the city.

All in all, Boz enjoyed the trip. And I'm glad we went there too. I hope though that they will have more outdoor activities to do in the resort to make the trip more fun and exciting. I'm thinking zipline, horseback riding and rock climbing perhaps?

Check out some snapshots I took during our trip here.