Travel Footprints

This was one short Guimaras getaway so we were already packing our bags soon after we arrived! Instead of a motorcycle taxi (habal-habal), we opted to use the tricycle (3-wheeler) on our way to Jordan Wharf from Brgy. Alibuhod in Guimaras. This ride would have cost us something like Php250 but we successfully negotiated it down to Php150 including one stopover in Trappist Monastery. The young tricycle driver seemed joyful with the thought of us stopping over at the monastery.

I was interested to drop by because the locals strongly recommend bringing home pasalubong from their store. So off we went and finally got to Trappist Monastery making a beeline for their gift shop. This store is the Guimaras counterpart of Good Shepherd in Baguio. Except for the fact that…wait…the shop was really manned by monks! And monks dressed heavily from head to toe despite the uber-humid summer heat!

Purchasing the products I decided to bring home, mostly mango bars and mango jam, I managed to strike a conversation with the monk behind the counter (I was shy, I didn’t know if they would be accommodating with small chats). Turns out he has been with the monastery for 7 years now. He used to be a civil servant, working for a national government agency, before he decided he wanted the sanctuary a monk’s life provides, devoting his life to prayer and work within the monastery.

Our tricycle driver took us to see the Chapel within the Trappist Monastery and suggested we meet a monk that we can talk to about prayer intentions. We had a long conversation with a monk who gave us an idea what they do within the monastery and the help they extend to communities. I saw boxes and boxes of medicine in one corner of the room available to those who need them. He asked us to write down our prayer intentions and that they welcome donations. All the sob stories I heard over the last hour makes anyone feel generous about giving this humble people more resources for their service to the community. Before we left, the monk gave a bag of rice to our tricycle driver. I felt better about leaving Guimaras at this note.

Accommodations are available within the Trappist Monastery for tourists. Contact Fr. Bruno Mendoza (09184212852 / 033-5813385) for rates and reservations

While staying in Raymen Beach Resort in Brgy. Alibuhod of Guimaras, I soon found out that there are more little islands of Guimaras that are waiting to be explored. So we hopped on a boat and set sail to our first destination – Sea Turtle Sanctuary!

There were about 7 sea turtles in captivity when we visited the site. One is the green sea turtle shown in the picture above and which I attempted to carry by myself but failed! That pawikan must have weighed about 15 kilos! The other species was a Hawksbill turtle which the caretaker opted not to show up close because of its rough back. They were saying they had an endangered Olive Ridley just a few months ago but was already released into the ocean. The caretaker tell stories about these released turtles sometimes being sighted near the sanctuary and about olden times where grilling of turtle meat is a common sight around the guimaras area. The visit to the turtle sanctuary is free but they do welcome donations to pay for the turtles’ medicines and food (they log every donation in their book!).

Next stop is Ave Maria Island, an islet with a pristine white sands beach and an ideal place to go snorkeling because of its low water level and abundant fish schools.

That’s Nemo and Gill! The fishes came from another boat with tourists who said they bought it in one of the islands. I asked where they intend to take it and how far can it be transported. Turns out they were just from Iloilo and they intend to put Nemo and Gill in their aquarium. Poor fishes! I hope they do survive the trip in that bag.

Our next destination from Ave Maria island was Baras Island. Before reaching the island, our boatmen steered us into a cave first –

We did take a dip in the water inside the Baras Cave. The water was deep in some parts of the cave but we stayed close to where the boat was parked in that rocky area of the cave. We would have stayed longer if not for a very close encounter of my travel companion with a 2-feet long banded sea snake who swam past her legs as we were chatting by the rocks which made us scurry to higher ground as fast as we can. I would have loved to get a photo of the harmless creature but we left our camera in the boat and the sea snake went about his business foraging for food out of the cave mindless of the panic it caused in our group

The sea snake sighting was a cue for us to pack up and head on to Baras Island. By this time though, I was really feeling the heat of the sun as we come close to mid-day. So we simply asked our boatman to just sail pass the islands as we contend ourselves with taking photos at sea.

That’s Fairy Castle island (private) and a cottage along Baras Beach. It was the perfect day for an island-hopping activity. The 2-hour boat ride cost us Php 550 (plus tip for the boatmen). Good thing about island-hopping, Guimaras-style, is that they have a boat association with standard rates of Php 300 for 1 hour and an additional Php150 for each succeeding hours. Just make sure to bring your own snacks and water bottles to tide you over during the island-hopping in wonderful Guimaras islands!

I have little idea what to expect island-hopping in Guimaras. Before this trip, I only know Guimaras for two things – export-quality mangoes and the unfortunate oil spill in 2006! I had the chance to go for a very short vacation to the quaint island of Guimaras – lest I miss the famous beach scene of sunny Philippines while Mr. Rono and I take the summer path less travelled in the Himalayan ranges this year. I was firstly surprised how easy it was to get to Guimaras from Iloilo. For only Php13, you can take a boat from mainland Panay to the island of Guimaras. Boat trips for Jordan, Guimaras are readily available at the port area until 7:00pm. No need to worry about schedules because there are always trips available as long as the boat capacity of 46 persons are met.

From the port of Jordan, you can catch any of the public transportation to take you anywhere within the island. The most convenient (and exciting!) would be a taxi motorcycle. We happened to arrive at Jordan around 5:30pm and had no idea that the beach resort where we are staying was about 15km from the port (about an hour’s ride from the Jordan Wharf), we opted to go for a motorcycle taxi to bring us there faster. I can only count the number of times I’ve actually ridden a motorcycle taxi (also called habal-habal in the Philippines) and this one in Guimaras is naturally memorable for me. It doesn’t help that our driver would talk about witchcraft in the Panay area during the ride. The fact that we were riding off with a spectacular view of the Guimaras sunset is especially unforgettable. Here I am trying to document the sunset while on the motorcycle as best as I can!

We stayed in a beachfront resort called Raymen Beach Resort found in Brgy. Alibuhod which was highly recommended by locals in both Iloilo and Guimaras. I am guessing it’s the most famous and reliable (maybe most accessible as well?) resort in the island. One good thing about the resort’s location is that it is not directly in the area of the oil spill and, of course, the fact the beach is just a few steps away from our simple cabana. I was pleasantly surprised to meet a fisherman by the beach on my usual morning beach walks hawking his catch for the day. He was trying to sell to me his harvest of fish and lobster (which looked really big and yummy!) for only Php 1,600.

Since there was no way I could take those home with me to Manila or eat it all during my stay in the resort, I graciously declined (meaning, I had to say NO over 10 times!). But I have to admit that the seafood selection in the beach of Guimaras is much more exciting than what I have witnessed in Ilocos Norte almost 6 months ago. Raymen Beach Resort offers accommodation ranging from Php600-Php2,000 per room, per night. They also have a restaurant that serves good food at decent prices (considering they almost have a monopoly of sorts in this area!). We had to try the world-famous mangoes which was sold a bit expensive at Php80/kilo –

and sampled the available seafood in their menu such as this crabs in garlic and butter for only Php 130 (half-kilo) –

Yum! As far as I know, Raymen is the only place where you can get food this good in this part of Guimaras. We tried looking for other options along the beach but the only other place we saw was a small shack which only served mostly instant noodles and 3-in-1 coffee mix