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| Nathan of Traveling and in Between with fellow travelers Gracey and Romel in the Ruins of Guisi Lighthouse |
Flashback:
The last time I set foot on Guimaras and Iloilo was in June 2009.That
was 4 years ago so I needed to review what happened during that time. That trip
was 3 days all in all so we were able to sleep for a night in Guimaras and another
night in Iloilo. I remember that the highlight of the tour was island hopping by outrigger boat. We visited several islands, a floating fisheries research center,
and a turtle sanctuary (I know I lifted one giant turtle then and oh boy I've
never felt so guilty in my life.) We stayed at a mountain resort because most
of the resorts then were fully booked. Good thing the mountain resort was remarkable so we had so much fun up in the breezy
resort (Valle Verde Mountain Resort) the only downside was we could not enjoy
the beach because it was so far from our chosen overnight abode. We also checked
out the Trappist monastery, the Mango plantation, the(eternally) closed and under
renovation museum, and of course tasted their sweet mangoes.
So let me now recall what we did in Iloilo. Oh well, we ate
the sumptuous Batchoy (Ba Chui) which is a kind of gourmet noodle soup with
slivers of liver and crisped pork skin, explored streets of rotting buildings full
of colonial character, and photographed historic churches of the different towns
in and near the city.
By browsing pictures I took during my first visit there, I
was reminded that we have not really and thoroughly explored the city and the
nearby island so this new trip highlighted the fact that there is truly something
more in Iloilo and Guimaras.
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| The itinerary and budget I made that worked! Although with some tweaks here and there. |
This Time Around...
Since this new trip is just a weekender one,I have to be
meticulous in choosing the spots that I would like to see in my checklist. I
came up with an itinerary that included the 18th century Guisi lighthouse of
Guimaras and Nadsadjan Falls of Igbaras Iloilo.
We are all three in the group, and one companion is flying-in
a day earlier. Gracey, that's my friend, flew from Manila to Iloilo Friday afternoon
to make herself well-rested in the heart of the city before the action packed schedule commence the next day. We arrived at One Lourdes Dormitel at 6 in the morning the next day
to leave our bags and pick up Gracey. ( Review of One Lourdes Dormitory on the
next post amigo!) We took a jeepney (more on Iloilo Jeepneys later) that goes
to Ortiz wharf, then took a passenger outrigger boat to Jordan ( pronounced as
Hordan) and immediately look for someone who can tour us around the island using
a tricycle. So off we boarded Kuya Sauro's super tricycle on a speedy trip of
the places we have not been to in Guimaras. Kuya Sauro took us to the smallest Plaza
which he said is not a valid claim anymore because (also according to him) the record was broken by another
town somewhere. ( If you know which plaza gained the title please comment :))
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| This used to be the Smallest Plaza in the Philippines. I wonder where you can find the new record holder? |
Next
stop was a small eatery where we had our breakfast, then the Trappist Monastery, only because we needed to get our hands on snacks prepared by the monks ( More on Trappist
monks later.). I bought Mango otap (crispy and crumbly biscuits), guava jelly, and mango biscocho (toasted bread).
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| The Trappist Monastery of Guimaras. The monks here surely make sinful deserts. |
The next one was a secluded waterfall called Sadsad. Sadsad is a Filipino word which is roughly translated as
cascade or to crash and that definitely explains not just how the waterfall
looks like but also the method of reaching it. It is a steep climb but not to
the extreme.
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| The surprise which is "Sadsad falls" |
Next on our list was the historic Guisi Lighthouse which delighted
us non-stop. It is already in ruins but there is this sense of mystery and
wonder when you see it. Nearby is a nice white beach with a remarkable view.
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| The mighty but worn out (what a contrast!) Guisi Lighthouse |
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| With a view of a beach in Guisi |
Our Guisi trip ended with coconut water gulping... Refreshing!
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| This quenched our thirst. Yum! |
We're done with Guisi but we are still far from
ending this trip. Afte our brief respite we boarded our super tricycle again to
Raymen beach resort in Alubihod beach. This is where we had our lunch of Fish
sinigang (fish sour soup), fried calamari rings, and Chopsuey. We wanted to see
the gigantic groupers of Guimaras so we rented a boat that would take us to SEAFDEC
or Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center located offshore. Yes, it is a
floating research facility. The 15 minute boat ride back to the shore was
scary. The waves were turbulent and the boat felt unsafe. We could finally
breathe easily when the boat touched the shore (Whew!). At 4 o'clock in the afternoon we were already
at Pit-Stop restaurant where wehad our first taste of the unique Mango Pizza.
It was followed by a brief stop at a Mango store where Gracey bought 5 kilos of
delicious green mangoes. and boy that was heavy. We were already at the port
come 5:30PM and back to our Iloilo accomadion at 6pm. We rested a bit and at
7:00 PM we were already out on the street hailing a jeepney to Iloilo's prime
party place ccallled "Smallville. We strolled around the compound while deciding
where to have dinner. After a brief of thinking we decided to have our fill at Afrique's.
Afrique’s is a well-lit Italian restaurant with a cozy ambiance. We had Carbonara,
Spahetti Italiana with meatballs, and a big slab of baby back ribs barbecue. After
dinner we headed to MO2 to listen to a show band perform. We were there al
fresco and the temperature is chilly at 12 degrees. At 10:30 We were already
back to our room and ready to snore.
(To be continued...)
snapshots:
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| In Guisi. I could have swam but it was cold.... brrrr.... |
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| Guisi Beach |
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| Another view of the beach in Guisi |
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| Guisi Lighthouse with the ruins |
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| You can find seas of Cogon grass in many spots in Guimaras |
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