This Friday is going to be nuts. Valentine’s Day is going to gridlock the roads. Malls will be fuller than usual. Restaurants will be abuzz. For the lurid ones, there will be off-color jokes about the motels making bank. Couples are going for their identical shirts, and red will be the color of the day.
Red may be the color of passion, but it is also the color of rage and stress. Have you considered green? Nature could be a better, more suitable way of expressing your affections.
To combat stress, negativity, and alienation, there is a saying: you should “touch grass.” Much academic research has shown how nature can be quite the salve. San Juan, Batangas, typically known for its beaches, is a few hours away from the congested mess of Metro Manila. Yet, a swathe of green paradise offers an escape from the hubbub. El Jardin de Zaida is where tropical lushness blends well with heritage architecture.
As part of the amenities of El Jardin de Zaida Resort is the beautiful Casa Molave, a reconstruction of a Spanish colonial bahay na bato. While it is not for occupation, visitors can explore the place, which is astounding in its details. You can couple cosplay as the lovers Crisostomo Ibarra and Maria Clara—without the tragedy—in this setting. A leisurely walk around the property allows you to marvel at the redolent flora.
The accommodations are iterations of the beautiful mestizo architecture from history. The resort features a spa where the masseuses are adept and firm, ensuring that the knots in your back melt away. For those looking to unwind together, couples’ rooms are available for joint massage sessions.
This place is not wasted on the forlorn, but for singletons, the food will be a joyous source of company. Sourced from distinguished markets, the cuisine is another reason to be grateful for nature’s bounty.
Heritage amidst such beauty should be an excellent present to show your love to your partner because, let’s face it, malls are a little jarringly usual and sad. Despite our massive cultural wealth and abundance of resources as a nation, we bring our guests and loved ones to the mall. The center for free air-conditioning and blatant consumption is not usually stimulating for the senses. Going through nature would reveal how being urbanites has cost us our sensory delights.
Imagine dipping in one of their pools under a blanket of stars and, if you have a dreary sense of joy, telling ghost stories amidst the soft bristles of the nearby trees. El Jardin de Zaida is aptly named because the Spanish word jardín has a long history in etymology. One of the oldest words in humanity is paradise, and the earliest term to denote this life of peace and fullness is, you guessed it, garden.
El Jardin de Zaida Resort promises paradise within its vast greenery. The gardens serve as a reminder of nature’s resilience, and perhaps this act of nurturing and caring for the fragility of life and nature should also remind us of how we treat each other’s fragile hearts.
Book now over at https://www.eljardindezaida.com.ph/
You may reach Chong Ardivilla at kartunistatonto@gmail.com or chonggo.bsky.social
