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Friday, March 29, 2024

Club Punta Fuego is more than just an exclusive resort

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Almost 20 years ago, Club Punta Fuego opened its doors as a premiere membership resort club offering modern amenities in the midst of Peninsula de Punta Fuego’s natural beauty.

Winners of the third leg of Swim.ph and SwimBikeRun.ph’s Open Water Challenge at Terrazas de Punta Fuego

Its promised exclusivity and conveniences have attracted many members to take a slice of this private enclave. And while the age of the Club is slowly showing in some of its facilities (which is understandable), the resort obviously has a lot more potential.

 

Whatever you throw comes back to you

In celebration of the International Coastal Cleanup Day on September 19, Club Punta Fuego initiated, on the 20th, its very own cleanup activity to engage members and guests to preserve the beach and spark awareness about the importance of taking care of the coast and the sea.

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Before the coastal cleanup, the Club’s Long Beach was littered with rubbish, some of which, according to General Manager Mikel Arriet Arruiz in an interview with The Standard, came from the village and were brought by the waves to the beach. And sadly, come rainy season, “we have the biggest amount of garbage,” he says.

The Club initiates its own Coastal Cleanup Day in participation of the International Coastal Cleanup Day on Sept. 19

After the one-day cleanup, where the Club invited students from Balaytigue Elementary School, guests and members, the coast yielded sacks of dead leaves, stems and plastic garbage.

“It means that with these trash in the sea, we’re doing something wrong, and it should be a call of attention to all of us,” avers Arruiz. He added that if it were only left to him, he wouldn’t  want to have coastal cleanups “because if we didn’t have to do it, that means the beaches are clean.”

But with the current state of the beach, Arruiz said the clean-up event should be done not only for one day but three to four times a year “to really educate the public.”

“For me, the most basic measure is to start from the bottom: teach kids in schools to protect and preserve the environment. Tell them that whatever you throw, it’s gonna come back to you,” shared Arruiz.

Sacks of garbage are collected from the resort’s beach

He adds, “The next step is segregation and simplifying everything – reduce the use of plastic packaging” – something that Arruiz, who’s been general manager of Club Punta Fuego for four years, is pushing for the resort.

“For our packed lunch, we stopped using Styrofoam and now we’re using biodegradable paper packaging. Then we’re gonna have reusable plastic glasses,” he shared. The GM is also looking into doing away with bathroom amenities in small plastic bottles and instead putting them in dispensers “because with dispensers, you’re not throwing plastics, you’re not creating garbage.”

With these measures and the resort’s commitment to conserve the environment – beach and beyond – Club Punta Fuego is optimistic that it could further unveil the beauty of the Club. In fact, Arruiz revealed he is planning to put lounge chairs and umbrellas by the beach come summer next year.

 

Action in the sea

Not only for leisure, Club Punta Fuego is also home to many water sports and activities such as sailing, boating, yachting, fishing, diving and more. Every year, the resort hosts cliff diving and regatta competitions, aside from non-water sports like golf tournaments. This year, the resort welcomed participants to the third leg of Swimfit.ph and SwimBikeRun.ph’s Open Water Competition at the beach of Terrazas de Punta Fuego.

Participants run to the beach

“Punta Fuego has been on our radar since day one and there’s no question why. The venue is first class, the staff is very accommodating and the view is simply spectacular,” enthused SwimBikeRun.ph founder and Open Water Challenge organizer Carlos de Guzman.

Larger and more conducive to swimming competition than the Club’s beach, Terrazas played host to over 115 seasoned swimmers, triathletes and first-timers who joined the third installment of the action-packed race whose categories are: Kids (300 meters for those aged six to nine; and 600 meters for 10 to 15 year olds), Adult Relay (600 meters for three persons per team), Adult Buddy (1.5 kilometers), and Adult Individual (1.5 kilometer, two kilometers or three kilometers).

Seasoned and first-time swimmers join the Open Water Challenge

Joining the Adult Buddy competition were blind triathlete twins Jerome and Joshua Nelmida who, each aided by a guide, finished a 1.5-kilometer swimming distance for the first time.

The competition recorded a 100 percent finisher turnout and awarded the three fastest swimmers for each category. The first placers include 1.5km Female: Heather Sanguyo; 1.5km Male: Miller Arzen Wisco; 2km Female: Bea Grabador; 2km Male: MJ Jamisola; 3km Female: Christine Levi Gaspar; 3km Male: Jasper Neo Gaspar; Buddy: Fatima Nempha and Mary Roxan Maestro; Team Relay: Aleta Yao and Charissa Gueverra; Kids 300m Female: Jasmin Faye Dela Cruz; Kids 300m Male: Ken Aeron Dela Cruz; Kids 600m Female: Heather Sanguyo; and Kids 600m Male: Richardson Navo.

Children dive in to the open sea

Are the organizers open into eventually partnering with Club Punta Fuego to host the Open Water Challenge? De Guzman said, “Why not?”

He disclosed that based on the feedback they got after the race, all the participants had a blast, and enjoyed the venue as well as the facilities.

Blind twins Jerome Nelmida Bautista and Joshua Nelmida Bautista finish the Fuego Open Water Challenge with their guides Teacher Sabrina Salinda and OJ Tizon

“We’re very proud to consider Punta Fuego as our official venue for our third leg and we would be more than happy to call it as the home of the Open Water Challenge,” concluded De Guzman.

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