La Traviesa: Beautiful and Romantic Even with a Signal 3 Typhoon

La Traviesa: Pools and Clubhouse

We went to La Traviesa early December in 2014 for an overnight trip. My sister and niece had booked earlier so there was no way we could cancel the trip even if Metro Manila was then threatened by a super typhoon. Weathermen could not pinpoint where exactly landfall was going to be--the Visayas or Metro Manila.

So that got me extra prayerful--not for the trip but for countless Manilans who'd suffer much if the super typhoon hit the metropolis directly. But later, the weathermen said landfall was in the Visayas, Samar in particular, but whether it'd veer off later and still hit Metro Manila was still unknown. So we left for Cavite with dark heavy clouds in the sky and some people starting to panic about a possible direct hit.

When we were in Dasma, Cavite, the skies were really threatening and people in the streets seemed wary about the coming typhoon which was supposed to hit southern Luzon that night or early the next morning. And it seemed we were the only ones vacationing on a stormy day. People at SM Dasma were lining up early to withdraw money from ATM machines and panic buy. We had difficulty finding an ATM that was online.

Finally, after some shopping and after buying our packed lunch from Chooks-To-Go (people in the grocery store and mall were wondering why we seemed to be heading for some resort fun while they were preparing for the worse), we reached the destination--La Traviesa. Entering the compound was impressive enough. Wait till we checked out the rooms!

My  sisters, nieces, and nephew occupied two rooms on the ground floor of what looked like a posh townhouse while I, my wife and kid had the room upstairs. Everything was first class and fit for foreign tourists. A room had two queen beds, a cute dining set and kitchenette, plus a wonderful toilet and bath with shower enclosure. The furnishings were great. I especially was excited about the wide-screen flat TV on the wall opposite our 2 romantic, fluffy beds. They could swim all they wanted but I was going to do a marathon TV viewing. My wife joined me. We watched movies while munching on super snacks--among my favorite pastimes.

The pools were superb--but due to the coming typhoon and the December climate, the water was freezing. They tried it anyway and soon came back complaining of the freezing water, "I told you so," I nagged. Lunch was grilled liempo from Chooks (which tasted awesome!) plus the special Sinigang na Baboy, pride of the resort. Team those up with steamed rice and you have a swell lunch! Burp!

That night, it was extremely cold, but thank God there was not a hint of a super typhoon. Later, the weathermen said the typhoon might hit Metro Manila tomorrow late morning or afternoon. So the next day, we left early for Manila, but decided to lunch at the Tagaytay Royale Club, among our favorite vacation places. At Tagaytay Royale, it was unbelievably cold! No wonder the sinigang and pinakbet orders--as well as the rest of the orders--were wiped clean.

Well, we encountered some engine trouble and stayed in an area of Dasma for a while (the cold wind got even worse) and finally was on our way home--but only after we stormed the Robinsons mall nearby to use the rest room for extremely emergency purposes. And thank God for the "success" and relief!

We reached Quezon City without any bother from the typhoon which we learned melted into a minor weather disturbance and later just disappeared altogether. I really thank God for the protection and answered prayer!