A salt farm at the entrance to Lido Beach Resort today.

CAVITE CITY Ever wonder what used to be one of the hippest beaches of the Philippines when life was much simpler?

Just a quick drive or ride from Metro Manila is Lido Beach in Cavite City, whose popularity in the '50s and '60s can be likened to that of Boracay today.

The Lido Beach resort, started and owned by Celedonio Santamaria, became a popular destination when Manila Bay was still relatively safe and clean to swim in.

Families and friends would flock to Lido Beach, stay a few hours to enjoy the gray-sand beach, and travel back to Metro Manila the same day. It's a quick 30- to 40-minute ride or drive from Roxas Blvd.

Back then, most Filipinos still couldn't afford to travel to white-sand beaches in the Visayas and Mindanao. Air transport was generally still a Philippine Airlines (PAL) monopoly, and budget airlines and piso fares were unheard of.

Many got to Lido Beach by taking a mini-bus from Roxas Blvd. or via the family's first car, the Beetle or Combi.

Benedicta Laurente, a resort staff since 1976, shared that guests would come even on weekdays, and that the beach would be full of people on Sundays. Guests would have picnics in huts or on the beach or buy food at the resort.

Noong kasikatan nito, talagang maraming tao. Masaya, lalo na pag Linggo. Makikita mo mga tao naliligo dyan at ang makikita mo lang ay mga ulo nila. Ganoon karami...Kahit ganitong ordinary days, maraming customers, she recalled.

She said people who visited the resort declined over time after Manila Bay's pollution reached Cavite's beaches and as tourists chose to go by air to explore the country's white-sand beaches in the Visayas (Cebu and Aklan), Palawan, and even hard-to-reach places in northern Luzon.

Read more from the original source:

Throwback summer destination: Lido Beach