When the Kids Asked to Swim: Our Unplanned Escape

Sometimes, the best getaways are the ones we never planned.

Last night, we gave in to the kids’ persistent request for a swimming night—and off we went to Liban's Farm and Nature Park in Sta. Clara, Gonzaga, Cagayan.

As I arrived home from work, my kids complained about the hot weather. They requested a night swim, so I told them to tell their Papa and Mamang (my mom). They quickly went to pack their swimming clothes and their towels.
We still haven’t figured out where to go, but as we are going out the gate, my husband suggested that we go to a nature park in a certain barangay nearby. Everyone was excited since we have not been there yet, though it has long been established.

As soon as we arrived, the excitement went bubbling. At first, we didn’t know where to enter since we couldn’t see a gate until we figured out that there was no parking space. Since the place is located in the remote areas of Sta. Clara, and it is nestled in the foothills; it is understood that there is no flat area for parking.

The kids jumped out of the car and ran towards the entrance. We were welcomed by the narrow pathway-around half a meter wide—going downhill surrounded by shrubs and flowering plants. Good thing there is a railing you can hold onto. We went down effortlessly, following the kids running with excitement.

When we reached the bottom, we were greeted by the newly opened restaurant. We went in and took some pictures as we went to order our food. Since they had a full house earlier, we were left with few choices: crispy buttered pork chop, chicken inasal, and buffalo wings. We ordered all three. I wasn’t able to take a picture of the food. (Hungry kids first, Instagram later.).

We went to the pool as we waited for our food. Walking toward it, we passed by the villas. (I wasn’t able to take a picture again since the guests occupying these were there outside.) These villas have a native design, like the tiki hut style.

The pool area is divided into two-the adult and the kiddie pool, though the kiddie pool is, in my opinion, still too deep for kids. The taller kids dived in, and the short ones just stayed on the stair part since the water was too deep for them and they weren’t able to bring their floaters.
As the night deepened, the air became cooler, which made the kids jump out and change clothes.

We went back to the restaurant and waited for our food. We had a short chat with the owner since we are acquaintances, though we are not considered friends. He said they also have a small lake where we can fish and boat, but they prohibit guests from going near it from 6pm onwards as part of their safety protocols. He encouraged us to go back some other time to experience it.

We had our hearty food and had some chat before deciding to leave, since we still had work the next day. When we headed out, we had a hard time going up. We realized that we had gone far down earlier. Perhaps we didn’t just notice since we were all excited to see what’s inside, plus, the fact that we were all full (haha!) and the kids were sleepy too. We were all laughing when we got out of the farm, which added to the memories we had that night.