Mangenguey Journeys 2010

“I go to hear the silence and see myself.”

Mangenguey is an exquisite and remote 13-hectare virgin island located in the southern waters of The Philippine Archipelago in The Calamianes, Northern Palawan (119* 52’ 9.75”E and 12* 00’ 36.05”N). Comparable in natural beauty to the best in the world, the island is located at the center of the Coral Triangle, one of the world’s richest but unfortunately most endangered marine biodiversity zones.It is blessed with over 43 bird species, monitor lizards, hawksbill turtles, dugongs, dolphins and an abundance of other natural wonders: magnificent century- old limestone cliffs, caves, ancient dwarf hardwood forests, wild orchids and pristine white sand beaches. Mangenguey is a perfect location to create a new vision of Utopian living.



Our VISION is to build a unique, exclusive, and self-contained international destination for people looking for an exciting journey where they can be intrigued, entertained, as well as enlightened. Mangenguey is where they can experience nature and the arts, engage in the exchange of ideas, and contribute to a higher cause while enjoying the luxuries of a first class destination. We call it “The Renaissance in the Jungle”.





You are the affirmation we needed to know that our Dream of Utopia is not futile !!!!!! Thank you !!!!!


- Helena and Richard



"Here it is in your own words!!!!"
- Helena and Richard

"A fabulous place, fantastic company, and a trip I will never forget! I enjoy every meal but more importantly the wonderful stories you share! I can’t wait to return to the future Mangenguey!"
- Coro/Philippines

"Thank you for these few dream days! Our stay was perfect to the last small details…food was delicious, towels soft and fluffy...romantique diner at the beach fabulous! All the caring of the staff...this journey will remain in our memory forever."
- Alice/France

"Wow! Mind-blowing and inspiring! What a trip!"
- Antonio/Spain

"Your beautiful island, excellent food and fantastic personality combined to make this an epic trip! We hope to return and see your vision of Utopia grow and flourish!"
- David/ US

"Words fail to describe our wonderful experience as your guests. Thank you for sharing with us your island, your animal family, your treasures from the kitchen and your generous hospitality. We will be seeing you again!"
- Greg/US



"Serendipity is a word that need to be use more…..this journey with you, around you gave me that chance…..I was empowered and enlightened!"
- Mateo/France

"Thank you very much for inspiring and sharing your Utopia with us! I look forward to its completion and to you lighting more stars in the sky."
- Anne-Marie/Singapore

"Elegant, natural, private this is all we love about your island (unique and full of Panache!) great food and Gin & Tonic! And we love the other guests you attract too!!!!! Thank you for this beautiful experience."
- Stephanie & Christophe /France

"Fabulous Place! Fabulous people!"
- John/Australia

"Our stay with you has been an amazing end to our Philippine trip! Just sorry could not stay longer! Your vision of Mangenguey is so exiting and we would return to see how far you come!"
- Christian & Mia/ Denmark

"There is no doubt that our experience here has been amazing! A feast for the senses! One that will never forget and keep returning too!"
- Paolo & Honey/ US

"Hard to leave this island!" - Coco/France



"Love is a place and this place of love moves with the brightness of peace! And with the spirit of passionate enchanting Helena!"
- Yola/ Philippines

"Marvelous Island must be preserved and recognized! What a Privilege to share….thank you! Our stay was “magnifique” and our hosts “sympatique.” A dream! Don’t change anything!"
- Jean Francois/France

"We salute your visionary mission of protecting not just the environment, but the artisan sensibility as well. Thank you for the wonderful time, for the lovely spirited company on this most beautiful and enchanted island!"
- Jal/Philippines



"We had our doubts at the beginning…..but were all gone after the first dinner and sunrise! Mangenguey is beautiful! Will tell everyone about it! Thank you for having us, will treasure the experience forever."
- Pio/ Philippines

"Thank you for Paradise!"
- Ago & Jieh/Poland

"Mangenguey is definitely one of the best islands I’ve been to….. great place, great food and great ideas. Can’t wait to see it all happen!"
- Mia/Philippines

"With your help I achieved what I came out to do……relax, eat well, tan, swim, explore and finally most important…..partake in wonderful inspiring evocative conversations! Thank you for the memories I will cherish and recall for as long as I can! Your vision works! I will be back to see it flourish!"
- Paul/US

"Dreams turn into reality is things we all aspire for! Thank you for sharing Mangenguey! It is truly a vision of genius!"
- Debbie/ Philippines



Journey to Mangenguey 2010
Package Rates for 4 days/3 nights


Azur/Crimson Cottage $500.00/PHP 25,000.00
Mimosa Cottage $600.00/PHP 30,000.00
Pink/Blue Suite $750.00/PHP 37,500.00

Prices are per person based on double occupancy.
Prices include full room and board, three (3) full gourmet meals per day day, and roundtrip airport transfers.
Please note: rates are exclusive of taxes and service charge.

For inquiries or bookings, please send us an e-mail at carratala@mangenguey.com or mangenguey@gmail.com. You can also call or text us at +63908 896 8488. Please visit us at www.mangenguey.com.

Mangenguey Holidays 09

A Festive Day on Mangenguey!

December is a month of Celebrations and Traditions. This is our very first real Holiday Season in Mangenguey as a Family so is time to create new rituals and feasts to celebrate Utopia and our new way of life!

Dear Friends, old and new, come and experience with us this festive time in MANGENGUEY!

Mangenguey is truly like no other place in the world. It is intimate and private, a true unique experience that blends the incredible beauty of untouched Nature with the refinements of culture and the sensitivity of an artist.

Gold and pink, the sun rises every morning above the blue ocean. Every bedroom on the island is designed to let you contemplate this spectacle as you wake every morning from your bed, while sipping a delicious café con leche. If you are lucky you might see the dugongs grassing near the beach! What a way to start the day! This is true luxury.

Food is a major part of Mangenguey. I grew up in a family where food was always at the center of our life. I was a very little child when my mother started my culinary training… I was so little that a small stool was made for me so I could reach the kitchen counters! My mother took this very seriously and it was not to be taken as a game. All the skill were included: from choosing the right produce at the market, to butchering, cleaning and prepping fish, proper handling of knives, exact temperatures, etc. It was years and years of training! Not to forget the “front of house”: table setting, serving, and entertaining. To the amazement of everyone, I gave my first fabulous diner party for eight a few months short of my seventeenth birthday and my wedding to Wahoo Guerrero.

So I was a cook much before I was a designer…but to me is all about the CREATIVE FORCE, whatever it is: a gown, a chair, or a salad! An because my training is quite classic but my spirit is quite free, I have allowed those recipes to evolve and change, to adopt new ingredients and ideas, to become lighter, to become mine!

We serve breakfast late at 9AM: newly picked buko (young coco

nut) from our trees, exotic fruit platter, fresh pastries

from L’Artizan flown in from Manila, butter and jams,

café con leche or tea. On especial days I may surprise you with delicious toasted bagels with cream cheese and my very famous Salmon Gravlax, or Huevos con Chorizo, or even the classic Eggs Benedict.

The morning is your time to explore our Natural wonders: swim in our incredible beach, snorkel the coral reef just a few steps from the sand, or worship the sun on our bamboo dock. If you feel sportive you may walk at low tide around the island and reach some of our amazing caves and rock formations, or trek through our jungle and see our many exotic birds, wild orchids, dwarf hard wood trees, and magnificent vistas!!!!!!

Lunch is served at 2PM Spanish time! We all sit together at our long beautiful table overlooking the gardens and the sea! It is time to share a feast: maybe a Tapas Lunch of garlic shrimps, spicy fried potatoes, octopus with paprika, croquetas de jamon, tortilla de patata, mejillones al vino all served with good bread and Helena’s Sangria. It is also time to share ideas, experiences and make new friendships… and at the end of lunch is a refreshing home made buko ice-cream which is to die for.

Or we could send you exploring with our banka through the neighboring solitary islands, wild river estuaries, or quaint historical towns with a fabulous picnic of Salade Mangenguey (Helena’s native version of Salade Nicoise) with an assortment of cooked and raw native vegetables, salted eggs, and fresh grilled local tuna in a mustard lemon dressing all packed in individual bento boxes with real cutlery, cloth napkins, crusty bread, cold drinks, cookies and butler service. How does that sound?

After such a feast you may want to have a siesta and recharge! Or maybe you may want to sit by your lanai and read a book watching the waves come and go or maybe have a massage. We do not have a spa but we will send our banka to fetch one of the local healers to come and do the traditional Hilot, an art passed down through generations to heal body and spirit!

As you wake up the sun is not as hot and it is a perfect time for a second dip in the sea! After a shower and fresh new attire, you are ready for cocktails in the game room!

I love Catalan champagne, so in Mangenguey we pour Cava indiscriminately as it is a holiday every day! If you want something more fancy, our butler can make one of our newly created house cocktails: a coco-rum-lime drink call the “GENGUEY” or imported from NYC Helena’s famous “HELENITA” or our “MANGTINI”. You may listen to nature’s music or any of our vintage collection of CDs: classical music, lots of jazz, the blues, Motown, soft rock, and Maria Callas. You can play a game of pool in our Brunswick competition table, or cards, chest, Backgammon, and other favorite games. Or you can chat with friends and just relax until dinner.

Dinner is a bit more formal, served by our butler at the long table dressed with an exotic tablecloth, candles, and starched napkins. As the Matriarch I will cook the meal and preside over the table, like captain in the ship. I will cook all my Favorites for you: great Paellas, Catalan bouillavesas, game birds, delicious vegetables, and sinful desserts.

Today is a celebration and the menu reflects old and new traditions.

Seared Scallops with Serrano Ham

Served in a sizzling cazuela

Cream of Chestnut soup

Perfumed with nutmeg

Lamb shanks with mangos

Finished with a casuy nut picada

Butter Croissant Chocolate pudding

Turrones

Cava, Wines, mineral water

Crunchy baguettes and great conversation!

The day is almost over, and now it is a great time for a romantic moonlit stroll on the beach, or star-gazing on the dock, or stay in the Salon enjoying the company of friends.

Good night my friends, it was a great day! Sleep well with the soft sound of the waves!

“Christmas Treat”

4 days/3 nights

December 23-26 2009

“New Year’s Celebration”

4 days /3 nights

December 30/Jan2 2010

Cottages-$500.00/PHP25,000.00

Mimosa- $600.00/PHP 29,000.00

Suites- $750.00/PHP 36,000.00

Prices are per person based on double occupancy.

Prices include full room and board, roundtrip airport transfers, taxes, and service charge.

Three (3) full holiday special meals everyday!

Plus complimentary Champagne toasts and treats!

For inquiries or bookings, please see www.mangenguey.com. Send us an email at carratala@mangenguey.com or mangenguey@gmail.com

In Defense of Utopia

Utopia (Greek) an imaginary island described in Sir Thomas Moore’s book Utopia in 1516, where perfection existed in Society and Government; any concept of an ideal state, any visionary plan.

Before I start, I want to credit the man who made me re-discover the concept of Utopia. Of course I had read Thomas Moore as a young woman in school, but the idea lay dormant in my spirit until many moons later. During a series of trips to Cuba, my husband and I were fortunate to meet Eusebio Leal Splenger. Eusebio is a great man… in the pure and traditional sense of the word….a hero to his people. He is a visionary, poet, orator, entrepreneur, and Historian of the city of Havana. (I don’t want to talk about politics today….in spite of this I know some of you will immediately assume I am endorsing some political ideas by talking about Cuba.)

I want only to talk about Ideals….principles…..living true to them and honoring them until the end. To me, that is the essence of Eusebio Leal. I know, my friends, the “concept” of ideals and honor is so terribly “démodé” but that what I want to talk about today!!!!!!

Okay, let’s go back to Utopia.

Eusebio wrote a book called in Spanish Desafio de Una Utopia translated in English as Challenge of a Utopia. Personally as lover of words and their meaning….and daughter of a Doctor in Philology…..I will had use another word to translate “desafio” which in Spanish has a much more bellicose meaning. The word that I choose is Defiance.

In this book, he writes very technically the many socio-economic challenges of the restoration of the neighborhood of Old Havana. And how the are managing the conversion of the neighborhood into an international tourist destination with out forgetting cultural values and the people who live in it.

“I am constantly reminded of the necessary balance between the material and the spiritual. One would have to opt for the latter in the understanding that without poetry, the sustenance of soul, it would only be possible to accumulate degrading wealth. As a result, we confirm what has already been said: any plans for development that disregards culture, merely generates decline. This and no other, is the undeniable utopia to which we have been called. The gentle brooks that make up the stream….” This is Eusebio Leal’s Utopia and my inspiration.

Of course, I never imagined three years ago when I started to conceive “my Utopia”, it would become controversial!!!!!! Silly of me…..I forgot that I am a “provocateur”…..and that the story of my life is been all about controversy!!!!!!! I have embraced that role with passion because I believe that provoking is necessary to open a conversation and conversing is the necessary tool for universal understanding.

Many years ago in my early twenties, went I was starting my fashion label AZABACHE, many people were surprised by my entrepreneurship and my eagerness to work hard to succeed. They used to tell me “Why you don’t relax and enjoy your husband money?” The reason: a fire that burns in my guts…..a fire that today 34 years later still burns in my guts! A fire for self realization, as well as a desire for a better world……..a desire to defy mediocrity……and inspire others to believe in the huge possibilities of the future, if we have the courage to fight for it. I have always followed my path in spite of all the many voices telling me that my dreams are IMPOSSIBLE……and I have more then once shown them wrong!!!!!!

Today I have felt vindicated …..For all the disbelievers and skeptics that have sarcastically smiled at my dream of Utopia. And all the people in doubt on the immense possibilities of THE POWER OF THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE that dare to dream FOR SOMETHING BETTER. The United States of America has shown the world that THE IMPOSSIBLE is possible by nominating the first black man for the candidacy of a major political party and hopefully President……..and today is a victory for me and my dream of Utopia.

So here I am defending Utopia….my Utopia which I have envisioned, carefully designed, and lovingly nurtured for the past few years and hope to share with the world soon!!!!!!

What does UTOPIA mean to me? UTOPIA IS THE UNRELENTING HUMAN PURSUIT OF A PERFECT WORLD……..

Is that so reprehensible? Well, yes it may be too idealistic (is that possible?) or a bit “romantic”….sure. Maybe unattainable… but can you reproach me for trying?

An honorable pursuit nevertheless!

It is curious that my pursuit of Utopia has been confused by some as some kind of “cult” or “sect” which both connotes “religion”. I am agnostic. It is really quite unbelievable….but true. Let me be perfectly clear on that point: I do not believe in organized religion of any kind and I have never been affiliated with any…..but in the spirit of tolerance I do respect them ALL ! As a Community Organizer concerned for the rights of the immigrants in New York, I have worked with many churches of many denominations, and they have all allowed me to talk in their pulpits and we have worked together for a common cause.

I have described myself as a nineteenth century revolutionary in the twenty-first century……yes a Romantic. Some times “satirically” as a demi-goddess… The goddess part because of my defiance of the impossible….and the “demi” part……alas, my human limitations!

But always true to the transforming power of my dreams and the importance of listening to my heart.

The have been times my friends that I have felt loneliness and despair…yes and during those moments I have questioned my reasons and motivations……and in those moments I hear those questioning voices that tries to put fear and doubt in my soul…..But I cannot surrender…..

And so alone I pursue my destiny….by risking failure, disappointment, and disillusion, but never ceasing in the search for Utopia. As long as I keep searching I will succeed in the end.

My Vision of UTOPIA

Through the ARTS and the HUMANITIES we will create a self-sustaining, vibrant, and active society that puts a premium on respect for self and people of different races, cultures and classes by building on our similarities while celebrating our differences. Our aim is to prove that it is possible to achieve the proper distribution of wealth and sustain a self-sufficient society, without abusing nature, while honoring the human spirit, the creative force, and human dignity.

Mangenguey will be a unique self-contained international destination for people looking for an exciting journey where they can be intrigued, entertained, as well as enlightened. There they can experience nature and the arts, engage in exchange of ideas, and contribute to a higher cause while enjoying the luxuries of a first class destination.

So it is clear that MY UTOPIA is NON-SECTARIAN nor AFFILIATED WITH ANY PARTICULAR POLITICAL DOCTRINE……our spirit will be of tolerance and of inclusiveness….we will gather people from all walks of society to exchange ideas and converse on art, sciences, design, philosophy, culture and all the important social and environmental issues affecting our world. We will aim to nurture ideas that will foster leadership and bring about positive social change.

I used to called it Social Capitalism until Mr. Bill Gates renamed it Creative Capitalism…..I have to admit, a much better name! Well, of course, he is Bill Gates…..and when he speaks people listen! And of course there is Bono and other “celebrity activists”…..and there is OBAMA and a Democratic Party wanting to go back to their original roots of pursuing Social Justice. So maybe we can see a trend…..I truly look forward to not being alone for much longer!

This whole adventure started because my husband and I were searching for a paradisical place for “retirement” where we could use our many talents as well as contributing to the betterment of the world. Then, Mangenguey appeared in our lives and she was big enough to share……and then my vision of Utopia took over!

Friends, come and join me on the great adventure of the PURSUE OF THE SPIRIT OF UTOPIA and a better world!!!!!

Photo of Eusebio Leal Splenger from Cuaderno de Cuba.