Subject: U.P. Sigma Rho Fraternity POTIPOT GATEWAY RESORT



I just arrived from the Potipot Gateway Resort in Candelaria, Zambales. Quezon City to Candelaria took me about 6 hours of leisurely driving passing thru NLEX and SCTEX , Subic and towns named after saints including San Felipe, the town of Sonia/Ramon Pellicer. You will not get bored driving thru the well-maintained highway of the province of Zambales, dotted on the side by rice fields and dissected by plenty of rivers . On one side are the majestic mountains of Zambales and the other side is the blue West Philippine sea.

Potipot Gateway Resort is a hobby/dream/paradise of Vic Borra'68 and his lovely wife Mary Jean. Nestled in a prime land facing the sea under a canopy of agoho, eucalyptus and coconut trees complimented by a well-maintained garden of tropical flowers and Pinoy fruit trees, the place is ideal for romance, for a family retreat and business functions. It is ideal for a garden/beach/seaside wedding.

During my 3 days and 2 night stay, I observed a honeymooning couple, a backpacking korean , a family from Buena Park, California and a group from Los Angeles (they said that they found the place in the Internet. ( you may google Potipot). The Zambal Room is geared for Business conferences complete with projector for a power point presentation. The restaurant can accommodate more than a hundred seated guests with several tables customized for hotpots (we call them shabu-shabu in LA, not the local shabu).
For the kids, they have swings, slides, gocarts, seesaw. For the mentally challenged adults like myself, they have billiard and pingpong tables including sungca and a karaoke bar. Each airconditioned guesthouse has hot and cold running water, TV in every room has more channels available than my own TV at home.

While Marilyn and her siblings, their children and grandchildren (there were 11 of us) spent their afternoons frolicking in the soft powdery sand and swimming by the sea (the waves are gentle as it is in a cove and there are several islands acting as barriers) I spent the afternoons dosing in a hammock lulled by the balmy breeze and the constant lapping of the gentle waves dreaming of the SOCAL brods and wishing " I wish they were here'.

NIGHT LIFE ? - not the kind of night life preferred by Paeng dela Torre, Subic is 2 hours away. I spent long night hours lying on my back on the beach, with the stars so bright and low, that I could almost touch them. I spent the night running after frogs and small crabs as they scamper away as you approach. Yes, it is communing with nature at its best.

I FOUND A SECRET : While sipping my morning coffee by the beach, I saw a fisherman's banca coming to shore. As the fisherman landed he showed me his morning catch. Being an Ilocano, I had the urge to haggle for the price, but for a few hundred pesos, it is a bargain and it beats all the tapsilog in the world. I asked the Chef of the restaurant to cook it for us. We had inihaw, prito and sinigang na preskong isda for breakfast, walang sinabi yung Dampa sa Roxas Blvd.

My wife and I have been almost practically all over the globe savoring the beaches of Barcelona, Spain, the pacific side of Mexico (not Mexico, Pampanga) and the atlantic side of South America from Cancun, to Belize, Costa Rica, Panama and the CopaCabana of Rio Dejinero, I can assure you that Potipot Gateway Resort can compare in terms of its amenities, facilities and service of the staff.

To Vic and Mary Jean, thank you for sharing not the picture, but your real PARADISE.

Leo Beligan '65 & Marilyn
From: Yahoo! Mail