Kux Stop: Kawit, Cavite -- Island Cove + Emilio Aguinaldo Shrine

Island Cove is a small island resort located at Kawit, Cavite. It's a leisure park and a hotel. They also offer halls for corporate conventions and other events.

Pool area at Island Cove's Oceania Water Park.

It is relatively near Metro Manila if you take the Manila-Cavite Expressway or more commonly known as the CAVITEx. Our travel time from Quezon City to Island cove only took 30-40 minutes (minus the traffic).



Here are some shots of the area:

A sort-of "plaza", i think.

patio?

Fishing Village. ore something like that.
Guests are allowed to go fishing in this area, of course for an additional fee.

Parking area outside the Oceania Water Park.


The road to everlasting. WHUT??

May 18, 2013.

Island Cove Resort and Hotel

My family and I went there to celebrate my Mom's 66th birthday.

Haberday Mame!

We just took a day pass at the place. PhP350 per head for the use of the pool and other facilities PLUS entrance to their, uhm, mini safari...I think. Hahaha.

Cottages have a separate rental fee. Picnic tables and chairs cost about PhP500. We opted for the bungalow type which cost PhP800.

They also honor the senior citizen's discount.

You are not allowed to bring outside food to the area. You can buy food from their restaurants. Beware, food there may be a bit pricey.

Bungalow floor. Ugh, I forgot to take a long shot of the cottage. T_T

When my sister suggested that we go here, I was hesitant at first. I have read in reviews that the place isn't, well, well. Office mates also told me that the place was old.

Well, sometimes, you gotta experience things by yourself. I could finally say our stay there was, hmmm, pretty much okay. Not really superb but also not that bad as what I saw on the reviews online. We still enjoyed the place. Though it was a bit noisy because there was a company event that same day, but hey, on the plus side, we (meaning my family and other families there) had free music for entertainment. HAHA.

Another notable thing about this day was that this was Kent's (my underwater camera) christening. Like srsly, lublob sa tubig christening. WEE!

Abbie, Mom, Me

Kuya.

Ate and Abbie.

Adelle. O ye. Underwater Shot.

HAHA, somehow I find this shot soooo funny.

Adelle enjoying the inflatable slides.

 After swimming, we went on to go to another attraction in the resort.

Island Cove's mini zoo.

Cutie patootie little tiger cub.

Ostriches.

Monkeys!

There were still many animals found in the mini island, mostly birds. Did not get to take photos of them as the battery life of my camera was running out.

Here's a panoramic view of the shoreline.
You can see Metro Manila on the other side of the sea. :)

Emilio Aguinaldo Shrine

After swimming, we decided to do a quick stop at the Emilio Aguinaldo Shrine.

The place is considered as one of the historical landmarks in the Philippines.

(Oh God, here comes history. Hahaha. Please bear with me.)

Emilio Aguinaldo was the first president of the Republic of the Philippines. This was his house where the first official Philippine flag was waved. I thank you. LOL.

Currently, I think this historical place is being maintained by the local government of Kawit. When we went there, there were OJT tour guides from a nearby university who helped explain to us stuff about the place.

Aguinaldo's House. Materials in this house are mostly original.



Garden area.

Can't really remenber what these kiosks or whatever you call them are for.

Not really much of a history buff right here. Meh.

Defense mechanism: This cannon is facing the nearby river where most Spaniard enemies are coming from.

Mom posing near Aguinaldo's car.

It has been said that this same car was used in the MMFF movie El Presidente. The car still looked like it was brand (new though the machine of this car does not function anymore)!!

This is what you'll see when you enter Aguinaldo's house from its side entrance.

Though I was not able to photograph it, to the right of this photo is a bowling alley. Yes, a bowling alley inside Aguinaldo's house. Apparently, Bowling is one of his favorite sports.

The house also holds a mini museum that showcases interesting facts and items during Aguinaldo's time. It is also to note that most artifacts in this museum are also the original items Aguinaldo (and others) used, wore, etc.

Dayorama? Is this what you call these miniature replicas? Anywhoo...

This is a replica of the war that took place somewhere near the place.

This is Aguinaldo's ORIGINAL sword.

According to the tour guide, a Spaniard (forgot his name) dropped the sword while fighting with someone then Aguinaldo picked it up and claimed it as his own. (I'm not sure of the "fighting with someone thing" but the point is that napulot lang talaga ni Aguinaldo 'tong espadang ito.) HAHAHA. I guess the saying "Finders keepers." dates a looooong way back. :))

Aguinaldo's briefcase that can also be turned into a table.

Yes. See those tubes right there in the upper part of the briefcase? The corners of the briefcase has special sockets where the tubes fit right in. He just has to flip it over and *tadaaaaa* instant working table!

The next few photos show the interior of Aguinaldo's house.

Sorry for the bad lighting.

This is where the Aguinaldo's entertain their guests. One of Emilio's children (forgot who) sings and plays the piano for the guests. This is located at the second floor of the house. The house holds a number of dining tables (mostly on the second floor) to accomodate guests. According to the guide, this is one sign that the Aguinaldos belonged to the upper class in the society during their time. Having many tables (and chairs) in your home meant that you could accomodate a lot of people coming to your home. (LOL, does my statement even make sense?)

Another room in the house. See that photo right there? That's Aguinaldo's life-sized photo. Apparently, he only stood 5'3" (which was the average height of a Filipino male during their time).

What's amazing about this house is that there are a lot of secret passageways from one room to another. It even has a tunnel leading to the town's church! the tunnel also serves as a bomb shelter. It also holds a lot of secret compartments to hide guns, knives and important documents. One would never know of its existence unless you were told about it. How cool is that! Haha.

The house also has a swimming pool. From the master's bedroom, there is a secret passageway that directly leads to the pool. Hmmm, going for some late night skinny dipping eh, Mr. and Mrs. Aguinaldo? Hohoho

The house's facade. See that balcony right there? That is actually the same exact spot the first Philippine flag was waved to signify the country's freedom against Spaniard opression. Actually, (also according to the tour guide) it was just a plain window, not a balcony. The balcony was just added for drama (in my way of speaking). LOL.

All in all, the house has seven floors. Third and fourth floor held more rooms. Fifth and sixth, I don't know. Seventh floor served as lookout tower for Katipuneros on the lookout for enemies.



Aguinaldo's body is buried in his house's backyard.

He is the only president whose remains aren't buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

So, I guess that caps off my Kawit, Cavite experience. I hope you somehow learned something from my very lousy recollection of Emilio Aguinaldo history. Haha.

Srsly, HISTORY is NOT for me.

P.S.



Some magazine or Photographer org was having a photoshoot that day.

I just had to sneak in one shot. I. Just. Had. To. :))