Glorious Days in Gloria

Once upon a time, there lived a family on on a quaint village in Gloria, Oriental Mindoro. They had a very simple yet happy life. When the family started to grow and can barely provide the needs of the children, they decided to migrate to Pangasinan.

That’s the short story of my hubby’s family. His two siblings were born and raised in Mindoro but haven’t visited back since the day they left. My hubby was lucky enough to visit them once when he was in high school. And so the Apiado siblings planned for a reunion with their relatives in Mindoro and I’m so excited for it.

It was a very long and tiring journey. It took us almost 10 hrs to get to Gloria. We left Pangasinan as early as 2am for a bus to Jam Liner station in Cubao. Then from Cubao we got off to Batangas Pier where we took a ferry (Cat Liner) to Calapan. Upon reaching Calapan, we hired a van that would take us to Gloria.

waiting for boarding..

 

on board at SuperCat Ferry

Calapan to Gloria

 

 

We finally reached our destination at 2pm. We stopped by the house of hubby’s uncle to have lunch. And so we met the Mabuti Clan which are not only Mabuti by family name but also in deeds. Mabuti is a Filipino word meaning “kind”. My mother-in-law couldn’t contain her happiness to be reunited with her siblings after such a long time. It was a very touching scene!

After lunch, we went to the resort to have some rest. We booked for 2 chalet rooms for a night at Bali Beach Resort. The resort has a massive area, peaceful, relaxing, and so provincelike. The rooms are just enough for us, they offered four-foster bed which is cute, spacious bathroom with a small tv. They also have a billiard’s hall and a swimming pool. The only drawback is that the amenities and interior decorations are outdated and needed an upgrade. And I must say, wifi connection is another thing because most of the hotels nowadays offer free wifi and this hotel doesn’t have.

2 bungalows we rented out during our stay

our four-foster bed

 

the beach resort

billiards hall

one of the houses at the beach property

 

 

 

 

We returned to the Mabuti Residence in the evening to be acquainted and reunited with them. Everyone helped in preparing the food and everyone is joyous.

We got back to the hotel to rest and sleep. The following day was even merrier when we woke up to a beautiful sunrise. And what’s more to having a breakfast on a seaside with the most captivating view and sharing it with your loved ones. I feel so blessed. Thank God for this wonderful experience.

After that blissful morning, we packed our things for our next adventure in Puerto Galera. It’s a sad thing though to leave and bid farewell to these wonderful people. We had the most glorious days in Gloria and we enjoyed every moment here. We look forward to visiting them again in the near future.

contemplating

relaxing

breakfast with a view

having some freshly brewed coffee with an awesome view

fishermen in action

doggie’s selfie

 

the happy “Mabuti Family”