Alona Beach - Part 2

Old Goat

 The photo of the old goat above was taken early morning near the beach side  entrance of the Tropical Resort . The paved walkway takes one up the hill through Tropical's lovely setting and across the road to where we were lodging our second night . For those seeking  more upscale lodging at Alona i include some images .

A Divers Paradise 

This area shown above  is at the eastern most portion or beginning of Alona Beach and a bit more tranquil than further down the beach where the daily activities start early . Alona is known to be a hot spot for divers and on  early am walks i counted anywhere from 40 to 60 boats waiting off shore for the divers to load up for the day .

You will run into the divers crowd anywhere along the beach from daybreak jogs to lunch settings . You know they are divers because they tend to be young , white and have great bods . To an old goat that means more muscle and less fat , a whole lot less fat . For certain i have never seen so many males in the 6'1 - 6'5 range .    :-)

The few i spoke with all came from somewhere in Europe , had a partner with them , spoke at least three languages , were polite , well - educated and probably well heeled . They did not appear to be the typical young party goer type though i wasn't out late at night so really can't attest to that .

Start of the Diving Day

Preparation

Why they Dive

The Non Diver Attractions

Some have labeled Panglao as a scaled down version of  Boracay and i suppose there is some truth to that . That would certainly seem to be the case in regards to Alona Beach becoming overdeveloped . At present there is a 5 story resort going up at the tip of Pangalo and another under construction just down from where we stayed . Local business owners say all the funding comes out of Manila with lots of Japanese investment but again i can not attest to that .

Beach View

Shoppping

Didn't have one , but will , next time

Another Stop

Night Scene

Local Scenery

The Place - Lost Horizon

Ok , the beach is loaded with watering holes and food stops but for " old goats " this is the place . Next door to Philippine Fun Divers it is a full scale hotel , restaurant and bar but i had an active interest in the bar part .   :-)

Up Close

At A Distance

They Ain't Kidding

The Shrimp Are Enormous

Evening View

Beach Dining

Consumption of ones favourite beverage while at Alona Beach is a bit of a scavenger hunt as pricing at one pit stop does not seem to have any relevance to pricing at the one next door or on down the line .   :-) The first two pit stops i made ( ok , 3 stops ) the same beer was 40 , 60 and 80 peso ( the last two of which i skipped ) .

Which is one of the primary reasons that Lost Horizon is so popular .From 11am to 7pm a San Miguel Pilsen will run you 25 peso and no , that's not a typo . From 7 to 10pm the price goes up to 50 peso but i presume that's because of the live music . You can , however , purchase a rum and coke from 7pm to 9pm for 25 peso , or was it 20 peso ?   :-)

There is a bit more of Alona Beach past the Lost Horizon but i never made it that far as Horizon pleased my budget and besides where else can you kick back at those prices , view the scenery "and" have back ground rock & roll from the 50's , 60's and 70's playing all day ? They say the owner is an American from Texas and those folks do tend to do things in a big way so i guess it ain't surprising .   :-)

 Alonaland   

Yeah , Alonaland does sound a bit like some fantasy movie title but it is in fact the place we stayed our second night . And , good lord willing and the creeks don't rise there will be more nights in the future . Besides  there ain't no creeks around there .  :-)

Beach Shuttle

 The Green machine above will take you down to the beach free of charge should you not wish to walk . Though there is an hourly schedule the driver has other duties so best to ask . The advantage of going the longer route is it takes you by the market area where you can shop as Alonaland is more home than vacation .

That means the resort does not serve food though there are eateries within walking distance . Which for me was a big plus as there was a Swiss deli two doors down and another one a bit further along the same road .

Much like Toni's place here in CDO with fresh breads baked daily and their dark rye was truly outstanding . They also had some Swiss pastries which i did not sample for fear of being mistaken for a beached whale .   :-)

Alonaland Two Doors From Deli

         http://www.bohol-hotel.com/delicatessen-alona-beach-panglao.html
 

                                         http://www.alonalandresort.com/

The House

While at Alonaland we rented  house 22  as we had a party of 6 . The web site link shows the interior and some amenities for all the buildings so check it out . I was impressed with both the architecture and construction of the house we were in . The fact that there was a hot water shower and waste baskets in every room , including the front porch was indicative of the owners attention to detail . 

The kitchen was well stocked with pots and pans , eating utensils and a damn Swiss can opener , bottle opener , cork screw and knife blade all rolled into one . Wish i could find one of those .  :-) The kids watched some tv and they appeared to have basically the same cable shows we get through you know who here in CDO but with better quality video at less price .

 Wi - Fi was also available as all the kids can attest to but i don't go to the beach to sit around punching buttons as i would rather be doing elbow bending exercises or something . Growing up in the mountains of the southeastern US i found this facility very much to my liking as it was more like a large " Hobbit " house than a resort .  :-)

House 22

Our Autistic Child

I never got into one of the hammocks for fear of dozing my vacation away .   :-)

Stepdaughter Strolling The Beach

No Sharks Here

Tarzan ?

Old Goat Pondering The Possibilities

Different strokes for different folks they say but for me Alona Beach was a delight . Heck , next time i might even try one of them there snorkel things . Just have to remind myself to do it " before " i reach the Lost Horizon .   :-)