No Spam, No Virus, No Kiddin'!: Guimaras

Well actually, it's not only in Guimaras where my skin got really burnt. Praise the powerful sunrays in Bacolod and Iloilo, I almost forgot it's not summer time at all.

step into the light
no way w/out my payong ^_^

From Ortiz port in Iloilo, my friend Kat and I looked for the public ferry that will take us to Jordan, Guimaras. The ride only lasted for 15mins, and the fare is only P14 each. True enough, upon arriving in the isolated island, we saw an advisory that it's prohibited to carry a mango (or any part of it) inside Guimaras.

Next, we headed to the Tourism Center. I have nothing but the slightest idea of Guimaras. I came unprepared, without a clear itinerary. Good thing the girl in the front desk assisted us in our queries. I learned that in order to get to the beach area, guests must travel 45mins more, via a tricycle. This costs P250/way. I wanted to haggle but it seems this is the standard rate so I agreed. There are public jeepneys too, but this will surely consume our time.

journey to the beach

We we're assigned to a tricycle driver and our 45-min journey started. The whole province really smells fresh. Ang bango everywhere! It may be because of their precious fruit. and speaking of that, we requested our driver to drop us to the market so we could sample a few of their mangoes.

at P90/kilo
with all due respect, the sweetest mangoes I tasted were still those from Zambales

The market vendors explained that it's not the season to bear fruits but they assured that these mangoes are still one of the bests. We're not really convinced but what the heck, we can't leave Guimaras w/out tasting these. But after we tasted them, Zambales' mangoes were still the sweetest I tried, with all due respect.

We chose Raymen Resort over Villa Igang because according to the lady in the helpdesk, it's much nearer and the shoreline here is longer. Since we dont have plans of staying overnight, anywhere near a good shore is fine with us. After we arrived in Raymen Resort, I immediately talked to the receptionist and asked for their island hopping rates. They quoted me P400 for the 1st hour and P150 for the succeeding hour. This is the same rate that the lady in the port told us.

First glance of Guimaras beach..

alubihod beach

i wasn't really impressed with the white sand and clear waters, but Im more stunned with the rock formations

And off we go island hopping.. There isn't an island in particular which I wanted to see. I just told the boatman that I prefer to see caves, cliffs, and turtles. I would love to check out the snorkeling sites too but too bad I didn't bring my mask with me. Sayang lang. Nevertheless, our 2-hour island hopping brought us satisfaction, specially by these rock formations.

reminds me of Kapurpurawan Rock Formation in Ilocos

water is crystal clear too, very inviting for a swim..
later na, mababasa si Harvey

Pardon me but Im really having a hard time remembering the names of these islands.

i think this is the Bat Cave

stone wall

There's a cliff on the other side but it's too steep. Di ko keri!
Not far from the Bat Cave are the Ave Maria and Turtle Island. Im more excited with the last one, it's going to be my first time to carry a big turtle.

katakot buhatin kasi baka mabagsak ko sya! siguro mali yung paghawak ko kaya pumapalag sya. sorry. perstaymer kasi, na-excite maciado.. haha!

There are 7 turtles in this island which are taken care of. The best thing I learned is that turtles don't like sunlight too. Ayaw nila mainitan. Apir!

Baras Cave was our last destination. We stayed here the longest.

way to Baras Cave

exterior of this enchanting cave

I didn't expect (well I really didn't research about this Guimaras trip) to see a cave with stalagmites and stalactites in Guimaras. Im amazed.

Baras Cave

outer wall

reminds me of Sagada's cave

ceiling with bats

golden floor

The view outside and inside this cave is spectacular. The wall, ceiling, and floor details are all interesting. It's just so hard to take a photograph inside, considering there's only a little source of light. But seize the moment, effort-an na magpicture sa loob!

ISO 3200 - achieve! =)

must see in Guimaras!

There are still lots of interesting caves and cliffs to visit but we dont have enough time to do so. Next time I'll make sure to stay longer in Guimaras and give their mangoes another try.

So much of the photoshoot, it's now time to swim!

obviously, i prefer swimming in the shaded part ^_^

Not as grand compared to some holidays to benidorm, but I had a quick getaway to the city of smiles Bacolod, plus a side trip to neighboring provinces Iloilo and Guimaras.

Sharing some lessons and realizations thru these snapshots.

The Tale of Masskara

There was a time when Bacolod was badly hit by different crisis and economic problems. Everyone was feeling down. So to hide the despair, the people thought of wearing colorful and lively masks and costumes. They danced in the streets with happy smiles and high spirits. And so Masskara Festival is born.

Lord Byron's BBQ Ribs for only P150!

In Bacolod, we tried this excellent plus-sized meat slabs pork bbq ribs that is fall of the bones and super tender-tasty, for an unbelievable price of P150 only! This is the best ribs Ive tried for its price. Thanks Ayi and Melvin for recommending this to us.

Must-Buy-Umbrella

The sun is unforgiving in Bacolod. At 8am, it's already striking hot. Ansakit sa balat. But still, it's up to you if you can endure the sunburn. Obviously I cant. May tinatawag namang payong, P78 lang!

Masskara Street Dancing

Due to the irresistible food tripping in Bacolod, I arrived late in the plaza and missed the 1st day of street dancing competition. I cant go home to Manila without achieving my goal. So on the 2nd day, I arrived in the plaza 3 hours before the show and saved a 1st row seat. The striking sun and the rain didn't make anyone moved from their seats. The experience to witness the festival upclose, feel the vibes, and cheer with the crowd was all worth it.

Congressman without Bodyguards, with Peng, Jaz, and Verns

All of a sudden, two people asked our group if there's still a sitting space. We moved a little of course and made a seat for them. Few seconds later, I noticed everyone was smiling and handshaking the man. We found out in a little while that he is the congressman. Malay ko ba, sa Manila kasi ang congressman merong mga bodyguards na naka-barong! Hehe

Bacolod Inasal

The default way to eat Inasal is eating it with bare hands. Spoons and forks aren't served at all. Manokan Country is a strip in downtown Bacolod where every restaurant serves Inasal. Lance, Lex, Ram, Kat, and I feasted the authentic inasal. Deadma muna sa carcinogens!

Swish saves the day

The day was just very exhausting. And after everything that I ate, I badly needed to freshen up my mouth. It was really a life saver to see the Swish Booth in the streets. The promodizers invited us to use Swish mouthwash. It was sooo refreshing to gargle! Not only that, the promodizers gave us free Swish bottles each! Thank goodness, now we're ready to celebrate all day and all night.

Ambot sa "Kambing" na may bangs

All this time I thought I was hearing "Ambot sa "Kambing" na may bangs!" Haha Okaayy, so it's Kanding not Kambing. Can anyone translate this phrase please?

Sweetest Mangoes

..at P90/kilo! Prices become steep when this precious fruit of Guimaras is not in season. And by the way, it's prohibited to bring seeds or any part of a mango when entering Guimaras. This way, the locals can maintain the pure breed of their mangoes.

Half Day Tour in Guimaras

Lesson learned the hard way. For a change, I didn't read blogs or forums in preparation for this trip. I thought sometimes knowing-it-all spoils the excitement in a trip. Well, it could be true. But most of the time, it's best to know the directions and normal rates about a foreign place. It saves time and money, and headache in negotiating with the very few opportunist people.

La Paz Batchoy

Okaaay. So La Paz is a place in Iloilo pala. I thought it was a brand.

Coffee Break, anyone?

The Iloilo airport is one of the few decent ones in the Philippines. The design reminds me of NAIA Terminal2. I appreciate the efficiency of getting in and out of the airport. Vans are available to take you to the city or the port. Convenient and cheap. Talking about cheap, this Iloilo's signature Coffee Break sells their coffee for only P90!

Salonpas plasters, Katinko, and Omega pain killer

Aside from the umbrella, here are my new travel essentials. Cant handle a fully packed itinerary anymore as Im beginning to feel back and muscle pain. Welcome to old age it is! ^_^

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