WriteBrain

Published: Expat Travel and Lifetyle Magazine 2008
Photos by: Antonni Cuesta

 Building a castle in the sand proved to be a providential move for Australian Greg Hutchinson, who set up Sandcastles Resort in the largely windswept shores of Boracay circa 1989, roughly a decade before commercialization got wind of the island paradise. Soon after completing a law degree, he accepted a job at Reuters and off he went to his first assignment in Asia, never to look back. The rest, as they say, is history.

It was in Boracay that he and his wife Viveca, a Filipina, first set eyes on each other. A year later in 1993, they tied the knot in a solemn ceremony in Sydney, which marked the beginning of a life of love and adventure, truly, the stuff of dreams.

He was a journalist and she was in advertising but they both shared a passion for traveling and the love of tribal life which took them to distant corners of the globe and remote areas in the Philippines.

Viveca took over the reins as the general manager of Sandcastles Resort, while Greg is currently the President and Chairman of their two companies, Tribal Holdings, which owns and manages Sandcastles, and Tribal Adventure Inc., which promotes and arranges exciting expeditions across the country. The charming Sandcastles Resort is also among the places the Hutchinsons call home.

In 2003, the Hutchinsons welcomed fraternal twins Joshua and Jenet (pronounced as Je-nay) into the world and into their colorful lives. The twins are certain to take after their parents’ adventurous spirit and their globe-trotting ways. Since the five-years-olds started school last June in Sagada, the family has been shuttling back and forth, dividing their time between the island resort and the sprawling tribal house they are renting high up in the Mountain Province of Northern Luzon. The twins also hold fond memories of their Sydney home with its amazing view of the famous Opera House. The Hutchinsons plan to settle in Australia in due course for Joshua and Jenet’s studies.

What parent does not wish to give the world to their children? Without a doubt, dad Greg and mom Viveca is doing a stellar job in opening up, not just one, but a myriad of worlds for their darling twins.

The cool and remote hilltop haven that is Sagada is a far cry from sunny and bustling Boracay in more ways than one. “Boracay is too commercialized,” says mom Viveca, “and (the twins) tend to rely too much on yayas (nannies). Everywhere they look there’s an ate to do favors for them.” She prefers to have the kids in quiet Sagada with its close-knit and family-oriented atmosphere. “We may employ one or two ladies but the kids tend to be more strong and independent. They are respected and taken cared of but they’re not pampered.”

Playtime too, is quite different. “Playing with the kids of resort guests,” explains the devoted mom, “is a different exposure. In Sagada, their play (with the children of the locals) is rough and tumble, but nobody cries. They learn to become really strong.”

All the travelling does entail some physical strain, especially for the kids. For their doting parents, it’s something else. “The kids really are the apple of our eyes,” admits mom Viveca, “we don’t want to be away from them for too long.” Modern technology has certainly made a world of difference as far as carrying out her management duties in Sandcatles is concerned. With the internet and cellular phones most everything can be done from a distance, according her.

While dad Greg can speak a smattering of Tagalog, the twins speak only English and some Kankanay, the little-known tribal dialect spoken in Sagada. Mom Viveca is still trying to teach them Tagalog.

With the odd sundry combination cultures and traditions that this rather unique family lives by, the Hutchinsons prove that it is, apparently, a small world after all!