The Sound of Silence

Silence speaks in this secluded and scenic tropical resort in the northern tip of Cebu province.

Like a creamy mango shake, the silence is so thick you can poke a straw into it; so rich you can stir your dreams around it.

Here, even the waves rush to the shore with politeness. It is music, as is the melodious chirping of the birds. There are no cars crisscrossing this luxurious enclave, so the only motor you hear during your stay is that of your hair dryer. That is, if you prefer it to the wind.

Kandaya Resort in Daanbantayan, Cebu, about three hours from the city, is thus a respite, a re-boot, an ode to the god of stillness.  You check your guilt at the gate, and indulge in the pleasure of pampering yourself away from the madding crowd.

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“I just want to sleep, eat, stay in my room and relax,” declared Ann Puno the minute she beheld her Garden Villa, which had a private pool in the secluded back lawn. Nursing a cold, she and husband lawyer Rene Puno emerged from their two-day hiatus inside the villa (broken only by walks on the beach and dinner at the resort’s world-class Kusina restaurant), recharged and rested.

Mayenne Carmona wanted to burn the extra calories from a weekend of indulgence, so she spent Saturday afternoon at the dance studio at the Daya Spa, also within the sprawling complex — she looked like Jennifer Beals in Flashdance. She was joined by her friend, former Miss Cebu Nora Sol, now a furniture exporter and supplier to top resorts.

My colleague Büm Tenorio Jr. wanted to explore the treasures of the deep, so he went snorkeling at nearby Malapascua Island. A Kandaya boat ferried him and other guests to Malapascua, which is described as “basically a heap of sand” in the blue Visayan sea. It’s best known for diving, and only a 25-minute boat ride from Kandaya.

My husband Ed and I, who both have stressful jobs that we love, yearn occasionally to be lazy.

Yes, you read it right. We yearn for the pleasure of doing nothing, a place where deadlines are just a memory, and where watching the ocean beats watching a DVD. We yearn for trips without an itinerary (which you don’t get during a package tour), where mealtimes aren’t fixed — only the sunrise and sunset are.

We had all these in Kandaya, and then some. One afternoon, I decided to have a margarita before sundown (yes, no rules) and called room service. The bartender arrived with a folding table, a bottle of tequila and Grand Marnier, some lemon wedges and salt. Voila! He mixed my margarita en suite, and serving it to me frozen and frothy. I leaned back at my lounge chair facing the sapphire sea and let all my senses revel in the pleasure of solitude and a rocking ‘rita.

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Kandaya Resort was born out of the vestiges of the original beach home of the Salimbangon family.

Philanthropist Mariquita Salimbangon-Yeung says her grown-up children one day told their father Carlos, “Dad, we can’t always come to this beautiful beach because of our work abroad, so why don’t we open it up to others?”

The decision to give others a view of their paradise led to the establishment of the 22-villa, 18-room resort. A cluster of buildings with modern Asian design, the tallest of which is only two stories, rose in this sandy stretch of heaven.

The family established the Kandaya name as a brand that represented the values for their business pursuits, based on a local chief and hero of their ancestral community of Daanbantayan, that being Datu Daya.

Datu Daya was known as a great leader, supporter and protector of the local Daanbatayan community.

So Kandaya literally means “Home of Daya” and this project espouses this sentiment in creating a home away from home for travellers to the community, while also providing a place to retreat, recharge and rejuvenate with healthy living options. The Daya Spa also has several massage package, and I recommend the local hilot, where they put heated banana leaves on your back.

Provincial charm and solicitousness, coupled with rigorous training in the best hotels and cruise ships, characterize the service at Kandaya. The GM Michael Di Lonardo and sous chef Jose Magsino used to be with another five-star beach resort.

You want Chicago-style pizza, it’s yours (the GM is Italian, after all). You want Cebu lechon kawali (with crisp chicharon squares atop the lechon kawali itself), it’s yours. You ask for mango and the staff gives you four cheeks of the luscious fruit. It reminded me of my summers in the province of Oriental Mindoro, where my grandmother never scrimped on servings, and the bounty of the land and the seas, plentiful.

Chef Jose and the European-trained butler Paul de la Rama told us that the fish served at the restaurant is from the day’s freshest catch, brought to Kandaya by fishermen nearby.

“I like it that the resort is not only five-star in amenities and ambience, its service is also topnotch. It is staffed by people who serve with that warm, sincere and cordial smile,” observed Büm.

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About seven minutes away from the resort is a 19th-century church named after St. Rose of Lima. Of limestone and coral, it faces the sea and boasts of a long aisle. Ann, Rene, Ed and I heard Mass, and though it was in Cebuano, we heard God’s voice loud and clear. In the homily of the parish priest (“Use your head when dealing with yourself, but use your heart when dealing with others.”), in the beauty of friendships, and yes, even in the sound of silence.

(For more information about Kandaya Resort, call 32-2606006 or visit www.kandayaresort.com.) (You may e-mail me at [email protected].)