May 1, 2020 To: Balesin Members and Friends I am writing this from Balesin at the start of May, in the midst of the worldwide coronavirus crisis. I have been in Balesin for a month and a half now, since the beginning of the lockdown in the middle of March. I am on the island …
March 14, 2020 To: Balesin Members and Friends I am in Balesin as I write this. I have just heard about the imposition of a curfew from 8 pm to 5 am. Wow! Worse than martial law, when the curfew was from midnight to 5 am. What will happen to all the little people who …
February 21, 2020 To: Balesin Members and Friends We have been busy with a number of projects in Balesin since the end of the holidays, and I am pleased to update you about them herewith. Dennis O. Valdes – President Earlier this month, on February 1, Dennis O. Valdes “returned to the fold” as President …
December 6, 2019 To: Balesin Members and Friends Just a quick update on the typhoon. Like many of you, I waited with bated breath for the onslaught of typhoon “Tisoy” last Tuesday. Initially, the typhoon seemed to be headed directly for Balesin, with its 185 kph winds. When it did make landfall, it was in …
November 17, 2019 To: Balesin Members and Friends Rejuvenated Balesin Coral A few weeks ago, our Balesin friend, Jay Server, who has been helping us operate our sea sports facilities at Balesin, emailed me some photos of the coral around Balesin that he had taken recently, and wow, was I amazed! The coral reef had rejuvenated! …
October 14, 2019 To: Balesin Members and Friends This will be short and sweet! Over the last weekend, we decided to extend, for 3 more months, the “Amazing Airfare” deal. For members and their immediate family, the round-trip airfare will remain at Php 2,000 + VAT per person. For non-members, the round-trip airfare will be …
August 19, 2019 To: Balesin Members and Friends Dear Members and Friends: Yesterday, I received a text from one of our members who deplored that I had not written my “update” for several months now. I replied “Mea culpa,” but I was really swamped with work the last few months. In an effort to make amends, …
March 15, 2019 To: Balesin Members and Friends Suddenly, it is March! Whatever happened to January and February? For us, we have been very busy with new Balesin projects and several other matters. The Balesin Marquee For some years now, we have felt the need for a dedicated events facility in Balesin. As you may …
October 24, 2018 To: Balesin Members and Friends “Green” Balesin I am happy to report to you that Balesin Island Club continues with its steady march as a “green” island. A few months ago, we replaced all our plastic straws with biodegradable paper straws. This week, our order for refillable glass bottles finally arrived at …
August 2, 2018 To: Balesin Members and Friends After almost three weeks of suffering through a sweltering European summer, I returned to Manila on Monday last week, and was greeted with rainy weather. After two days in Manila, I flew to Balesin and I have been here since—that is a week now. Unlike Manila, beautiful …
