DAY 4- Hop-hop-hopping around Guimaras' Islands! (The Bacolod-Guimaras-Iloilo Trip)

The 4th day and final day of our Bacolod-Guimaras-Iloilo trip. This morning of island-hopping is definitely not the last because it is the 2nd to the last in our itinerary set. It's not the end yet. Our flight was at 7:30pm later this day. But that is still a long way to go and still so many hours to spend enjoying what's left of our Visayas trip.

But in actuality, what I said was not the truth. We just have like 3hrs to do the island hopping. I have planned a quickie itinerary in Iloilo that reaches far in the province. This trip of ours is really fast-paced! Action-packed! We woke up early, it rained hard during the night and when we looked outside our room, it was so serene. After having coffee, we immediately started the boat trip.

So here's what happened, see photos below:

From this distance, I thought this was just one island. And it resembles a turtle or lizard so I initially thought, this was already Turtle Island. 

But it's not. That whole length was 3 islands all in all, with some small inlets  sprinkling at the sides. Amazing!

This is TURTLE ISLAND! Look at that water! And the sand! So inviting. 

See these gentle sea creatures? Let's help protect them so they could still be appreciated by more generations to come.  If I remember correctly, we paid an 'entrance' fee here of P5 or P10. A very low price in return for the experience of being close to them and to actually touch them.

Don't be deceived. He/She was heavy and it kept on wagging its head and legs. I'm not going to hurt you, just wanted to have my photo taken with you. =) My best picture with him/her. 

Next stop: AVE MARIA ISLAND. Since we arrived very early, we were the first visitors, I think. We had the island to ourselves. We tested the waters and it was a bit rocky but still the water was so clear. I just sat in the water near the shore and small fishes were taking a bite of my legs. It actually hurts, those very small bites. But it was okay, the experience is branded in my mind. =)

No one taking our pic so we just propped the camera on top of a small boulder and voila! Best effort! 

Still in the vicinity of Ave Maria Island. My friends wanted to snorkle, which they did.  I did not  join them as  I was feeling a bit under the weather so not to spoil the day for us if I got sick, I just volunteered to man the boat and be their photog. 

I'm actually envious of their experience. Haha! 

Not a lot of fishes that day but there were still some Nemos around, they said. Our  bangkero  informed us that we have to  move on to the next destination and leave Ave Maria as the tides are lowering down fast which will make it difficult for them to manoeuvre the boat. 

At this point, we were on to our next destination. There are lots of small islands in this province. 

A shallow part. See the sea plants?

Next stop: SEAFDEC (Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center). 

The skies got darker the moment we arrived at SEAFDEC and we knew that rain was  fast approaching so we have to make the most out of this place. There was Kuya Ramil who gave us quick lessons on what SEAFDEC's purpose is which is to study aquaculture in this region. He gave us a tour of the fish pens here. He is so knowledgeable that it was hard to believe that he does not have a degree on this study. But since he spends most of his time here, he got very well-acquainted with the matters-at-hand. 

The first and most marvelous study..this very large Lapu-Lapu! It was said to be so heavy, around more than a hundred kilos and this fish is already a carnivore. When you see this in personal, it's really huge! Kuya Ramil said that this fish can still be eaten , however, it's not that tasty compared to its more normal-sized kin. 

Penned together with the giant Lapu-Lapu but the huge fish does not touch this one because it is poisonous so he is very safe from the jaws of the Lapu-Lapu. 

Watching the Lapu-Lapu. It was hard to veer away from this fish as he is the most magnificent in the whole area. 

Other fishes that were abundant in their pens. I remember that there was a turtle here but he was deep in hiding below. We just caught a glimpse of him about once or twice. 

Very attentive students! That's us. =)

Feeding time! Takaw! 

Fishes here, there and everywhere! Hope it stays that way forever! =)

Kuya was so tireless in explaining the basics to us. For sure he does this to all visitors. Kudos to you for having the kind patience to answer all our queries. 

Before conclusion of the lessons for the day, Kuya informed us about this strange  sea creature that fetches a high price in the market. I find it yucky-looking but I couldn't pass up on the opportunity to touch it so I had it placed in my palm. It was soft and squishy and slimy. Kuya said we can taste it. Now that is something I could not do, yet. But for 2 of my companions, they did it! They popped it in their mouths and ate it. Eeew but so cool of them for having the guts to do it. 

My facial expression says what I think about this creature (too bad I forgot its name). =)

Overall take: Even if we just had a few hours to do this island-hopping trip, it was so fun and worth it. It's always like this when you're having fun, time flies so fast. Tempus Fugit! It was very hard to say we had to go back to the resort to prep ourselves in going back to Iloilo but well, we still had so many places to go to in Iloilo so that is still something to look forward to. I really did my research well in this trip and Iloilo is the conclusion. Love it! =)


For more posts on this trip, check these out: 
Day 1-Jomabo Island (Escalante City)
Day 1-Silay's Ancestral houses & San Diego Pro-Cathedral Church 
Day 1-Silay's El Ideal Bakery 
Day 1-The Ruins..Talisay's pride 
Day1-Bacolod's food feasts 
Day2-Mambukal Mountain Resort 
Day 2-Bacolod's famous Chicken Inasal 
Day 2-Iloilo's nightlife at Smallville 
Day 3-Guimaras Day Tour 
Day 3-Ziplining at Camp Alfredo 
Day 3-Guimaras' Villa Igang Resort at Alubihod Beach 
Day 4-Iloilo's Heritage Churches 

DAY 3: Villa Igang Beach Resort's Hidden Wonders (The Bacolod-Guimaras-Iloilo Trip)

We had a very eventful day at Guimaras and it was finally time to go to our resort to do some relaxing. We had a reservation at Villa Igang and it was a place that is not yet spoiled. I've done some 'extensive' research for this trip and I stumbled upon this place in one of the blogs that I have read. I gave several other choices a call but I liked Villa Igang. It is not a big place, I can say this is pretty rustic and intimate. It's just a piece of paradise in the midst of little islands surrounding the province.

Let me share what Villa Igang has along the way down here:

That's more than a handful of starfishes! We picked each one, some are near the shore and some submerged in the water. But after this photo op, we carefully returned them in the water. That's what we call respect. Hehe =)

These starfishes are rough and big. We observed them when they move and how the minute tentacles, or legs, come out from underneath so they could wiggle or move around. Creepy yet awesome! 

A cave that is open on both ends. The other side faces Villa Igang's beach while the other end has an  entrance that lets the water in from the open ocean. 

So nice to just sit in the water and have a tete-a-tete with a friend or two. In our case, all four of us. There was also a starfish in the water with us and 'he/she/it' allowed us to play with him. =)

The water was not that cold and it was such a nice feeling because the water was crystal clear as well. My initial fear was of sea snakes but fortunately, there was none, I think. Well, what you don't know won't hurt you. right? =)

Low tide. I love it when its low tide as I'm not a good swimmer. Actually, I just stay  near the shore. Chicken! Better safe than sorry. 

So peaceful around here. 

Villa Igang has a dock that caught our interest for photo ops. What's so special with this was that, when dusk came, we just sat at the edge of the wooden dock, just listening to the soft crashing of the waves at the shore. With that as our background, we swapped stories while also lying down at this dock and staring at the starlit skies. Beautiful! 

A failed jump shot that was not captured by the camera. Haha! 

There it is. A piece of paradise. There's also a beach, but its a bit rocky, at the other side of that stairs. Choose your spot! There was just a couple of foreign tourists relaxing at the beach and our group. Simply relaxing, that's all I can say. 

I wondered what was the name of the beaches at my back.. never got to ask it from  the resort people though.

Our room with all our mess.  Tee-hee! We got 5 beds in this room.  =)

Our simple dinner. Sinigang and fish and shrimps. 

Our companion by night who crept near our table while the others were having a short drinking session.  Gotcha!

The view at Villa Igang early the next day:

The entrance to Villa Igang

Overall take: Even if Villa Igang is a much smaller place, you will definitely feel at home and at peace here. If that is what you are after, then this is the place.Not to forget to mention that their rate is very affordable as well. We just paid for P2,300 for the room, for all 6 of us. Winner! =)

Villa Igang Beach Resort
Poblacion Nueva Valencia, Guimaras
0926-3753634


For more posts on this trip, check these out: 
Day 1-Jomabo Island (Escalante City)
Day 1-Silay's Ancestral houses & San Diego Pro-Cathedral Church 
Day 1-Silay's El Ideal Bakery 
Day 1-The Ruins..Talisay's pride 
Day1-Bacolod's food feasts 
Day2-Mambukal Mountain Resort 
Day 2-Bacolod's famous Chicken Inasal 
Day 2-Iloilo's nightlife at Smallville 
Day 3-Guimaras Day Tour 
Day 3-Ziplining at Camp Alfredo 
Day 4-Guimaras Island Hopping
Day 4-Iloilo's Heritage Churches 

DAY 3- Nature fun & adventure at Camp Alfredo (The Bacolod-Guimaras-Iloilo Trip)

Guimaras is an oasis of nature-ly things to do. Drive around the countryside, taste the best mangoes in the whole wide world, laze around the beach, go snorkeling, meet face-to-face with sea creatures such as tortoises and such big fishes and a whole lot more! That's Guimaras. Just a stone's throw away from Iloilo. Specifically, 15-20 minutes boat ride away.

To give details on our earlier itinerary (whole story here http://luvleegurl.blogspot.com/2012/01/day-3-guimaras-day-tour-bacolod.html), we were able to visit:
1) the Smallest Plaza
2) Pasalubong shopping (mangoes! mangoes! mangoes!)
3) Museo de Guimaras (it was closed, bummer! but had photo ops)
4) saw some great OL (overlooking) hotspots
5) Trappist Monastery
6) Guisi Lighthouse

Whew! For this new place, I wanted to give this place its own blog as we really had a great time here. It's Guimaras' nature fun and adventure..Camp Alfredo! It' a camp site and they have a zip line too! Of course, we have got to try it. Good thing someone has mentioned this place to me a month before our trip so I was able to research about this.

It was such as exercise for me to go around Camp Alfredo as everything is located uphill and downhill so my legs were taut with strain afterwards but it was all worth it. If I remember correctly, we paid like P500 each to experience the zipline and the hanging bridge. But I think they have different rates now, much lower I think.

So anyway, here goes the Camp Alfredo experience:

the downhill trip first going to the bar/resto and the admin office

Scaredy-cat Melvin. Shame on you, big guy! haha! Kidding! =)

Ryan the photographer/videographer who chronicled the entire trip. Thanks  mucho again! 

We are so ready. At this point, we walked uphill again. Cardio exercises here!

Ryan first who gave it a try

Then yours truly. Zip lining while wearing a skirt =D

Then Mayen's turn. I could hear her shrieking even from the other end. Haha!

Melvin's was a bit of a slow ride. I guess it was  nice coz he really  took in the moment

300 meters of zip line. Not that impressive but it was worth a try. Anyway, the feeling was exhilarating as you speed by. It was nice to give it a shot again and again until you get tired and the adrenaline leaves your body. =)

Then after the zip line, you have to go back to base through the hanging bridge. Loved it! But was scared at the same time. Just the smallest of moves created a reaction from the bridge. The fear of falling is exciting! It was such a rush to actually finish it after a few, yet, long minutes at the bridge. See the expression of fear on my face?! Funny! =)

Will try more hanging bridges in the near future! Face thy fear!  =)

Getting nearer..Almost there at the next stopover which is a big and tall tree

After the hanging bridge, you have the option to come down either by zip line again or by rappelling. I chose zip line, no way am I gonna rappel wearing my skirt. Though even if I was not wearing a skirt, I would still choose zip line. Haha! 

Melvin did rappel going down. He was happy. He did the zip line, the hanging bridge then rappel his way  down. Nice!

We were all famished afterwards so we had our lunch here at Camp Alfredo. This was my order. I thought it was like a rice meal but I was so wrong. But well, I liked it. 

All my other companions had the chicken inasal as they took an instant liking to  the inasal from Bacolod. For this order, it was not the same like in the Manokan Country stalls but it did served its purpose. It was just a-ok. 

Fun! Fun! Fun!

Overall take on this side trip..a THUMBS UP! We can really say that we experienced the best that Guimaras has to offer to its visitors aside from their great beaches.


For details on Camp Alfredo, check out:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Camp-Alfredo-in-Guimaras/194925340538279?sk=info


For more posts on this trip, check these out: 
Day 1-Jomabo Island (Escalante City)
Day 1-Silay's Ancestral houses & San Diego Pro-Cathedral Church 
Day 1-Silay's El Ideal Bakery 
Day 1-The Ruins..Talisay's pride 
Day1-Bacolod's food feasts 
Day2-Mambukal Mountain Resort 
Day 2-Bacolod's famous Chicken Inasal 
Day 2-Iloilo's nightlife at Smallville 
Day 3-Guimaras Day Tour 
Day 3-Guimaras' Villa Igang Resort at Alubihod Beach 
Day 4-Guimaras Island Hopping
Day 4-Iloilo's Heritage Churches