It started with the story of the secret lovers, Romeo and Juliet, then came the tear-jerking romance of the star-crossed Titanic passengers, Rose and Jack, and not long after, Brad and Angelina made their debut as the “It” couple of the decade. All of the famous romantic pairings are nice and all, but they’re nothing compared to Boyet and Teresa’s island love story.
Meet Boyet and Teresa, the travelers-turned-lovers-turned-locals of San Vicente. From being friends to partners—and then business partners—they’ve certainly kept themselves busy with life, love, and their new leisure venture. But it wasn’t always that way for them.
Source: Bai Bai Beach Resort – Long Beach Facebook Page
Chapter 1: Love at First Flight
The girl-meets-boy story starts at the airport, the one place where crossroads intersect and coincidences happen on a daily basis. And with Teresa being a flight attendant back then, it only took her smile for Boyet to know that she was the one. After some time in the relationship, when the two decided to make it official, the couple pooled both their savings and planned to move out of the city in favor of the island life. But with the 7,641 islands in the Philippines, the question remains: which island?
It wasn’t an easy choice to make. After all, they were going to spend the rest of their lives on this island, they wouldn’t take anything close to mediocre for their home. And so, with the image of the perfect island home in mind, among their options that fit this imagery was a remote paradise in Palawan called San Vicente, made known as the home to the longest white-sand beach in the country.
Source: Bai Bai Beach Resort – Long Beach Facebook Page
Chapter 2: Developing Feelings
It was just meant to be. The fact that San Vic, a still-developing island, already had electricity, an existing water supply, and was even close to a developing airport, were the telltale signs of a relatively good investment made in heaven for Boyet and Teresa. San Vicente had a feel to it that no other island could rival, and that comes mainly from its great potential! That’s why, despite it still being in development, Boyet and Teresa knew they had to take the chance.
And so, on their third visit to San Vicente, the couple finally said yes! Right then and there, in 2011, Boyet and Teresa bought the land where Bai Bai Resort now stands, building their dream island home and their first leisure venture, even before the airport was open to the public. Now that’s a #relationshipgoal I can get behind, for sure!
Source: Bai Bai Beach Resort – Long Beach Facebook Page
Chapter 3: Island Living Together
But after more than 10 years of living on the island of San Vicente, we just had to ask Boyet and Teresa what a normal day on the island looks like. Surprisingly, there is still some paperwork when you choose to live and do business on the island (*cries in corporate*). But after some administrative work, keeping up with the business, and a quick hello to the visitors at Bai Bai Resort, a typical morning living on the island for Boyet and Teresa looks a lot like paradise indeed.
Because when they’re not tending to their resort, Boyet and Teresa enjoy their days working out by the beach and even share that, coming from the pandemic, they’ve really gotten into fishing and have become attuned to their inner Plantito and Plantita. Since they’ve become accustomed to living in nature, food and resources are the last of their problems. Just imagine fresh and delectable produce, straight from the earth.
But, quite frankly, the highlight of Boyet and Teresa’s everyday island stay is their turtle-hatching activities, getting to see the little sea turtles hatch and flop their way onto the sea. A simple yet paradisal life that certainly beats a 9-5 desk job, if you ask me!
Source: Bai Bai Beach Resort – Long Beach Facebook Page
Chapter 4: Leave the Door Open
Starting a life on an island is a feat in itself, but managing a business while doing it? That’s an entirely different scenario. That’s why we couldn’t help but also ask Boyet and Teresa the best parts about doing business on the island, and both of them instantly answered that one of its highlights was the quiet and serene island ambiance that just soothes your peace of mind. How peaceful, you ask? Well, in over 10 years since they set up shop, Boyet and Teresa kept their doors open—literally—unlocked, unguarded, and unattended, and all their belongings were never out of place and were left untouched. I’d feel secure, too, if I knew of San Vicente’s very low to almost no crime rate.
But as Bai Bai Resort finally puts itself on the map, especially now that more and more people are seeing the potential of San Vicente, Boyet and Teresa can’t wait to expand and make some improvements and renovations on the property. That way, they can make room for more visitors to experience the signature Bai Bai welcome.
Source: Baby Arci Facebook Page
Chapter 5: The Untold Stories…Soon
Meet Boyet and Teresa, the travelers-turned-lovers-turned-locals of San Vicente. From being friends to partners, then business partners, they’ve certainly kept themselves busy—in life, love, and their decade-and-counting leisure venture. It wasn’t always that way for Boyet and Teresa, but it sure was a journey getting where they are now.
There’s a lot more to Boyet and Teresa’s story, but we’ll leave that out for you to ask them yourselves when you meet them in person. Unfortunately, this may be the end of the article but certainly not of Boyet and Teresa’s love story! Come to San Vicente and say hello to Bai Bai Resort soon.
