Skip to main content

Island hopping in Guimaras

Our two-hour tour of the coves, beaches and islets near Alubihod beach proved to be the highlight of our day trip to Guimaras last Tuesday. Unfortunately for us, it was also the only time last week that the rain poured and we also started late so we were no able to maximize our trip. Yet it was still worth it and we are already planning for more.
Alubihod beach in Guimaras

Our boat tour started/ended at Alubihod beach. The beach is just small that a mere 10 minute walk would cover the entire length - though it is one of the biggest beach in Guimaras and that's why it's popular.
Raymen Beach Resort in Alubihod beach, Guimaras
We headed out to sea around 2pm in small outriggered motorized banca. The sea was calm allthroughout that we fully appreciated the the beaches, coves, cliffs and even the clearness of the sea itself
Our first stop was the PawCaFS - Pawikan caring and Feeding Station. At first we were wondering why we were headed to an area that was full of houses and no beach, but when we saw the sign, we knew why.
PawCaFS - Pawikan caring and Feeding Station
For some minimal donations to keep this farm alive, visitors can hold and have some photo ops with these sea turtles being cared for. They also have some puffer fishes which you can also hold out of the water.
We then continued our boat trip, this time looking for a place where we can dip and enjoy the sands. At last we found it! A small stretch of sand in a small cove between two low cliffs that have caves in it. A picture perfect scene!
This is how it looks like from another angle. It is very small and looks totally isolated. perfect palce for the banca to dock, for us to have a dip in it's perfect water; clear, not so deep and rigth temperature. The boatmen told us that this stretch of sand only appears at this time of the year, during summer, when the winds bring the waves to other directions this small beach is inexistent.
But it is okay since right beside it, past the cliff is a much bigger beach which serves as home to a few families. How lucky there are to have some good beachfront for the rest of their lives.
After dipping the waters of "our own private beach", we continued our island hopping. This time it was something different, as we approached a cave to which we thought we're just going to have a closer look from the outside ...

... yet we went inside as the boatmen expertly maneuvered our banca inside this small cave. It was low tide that time and they had a small difficulty doing it compared during hight tide. There were bats inside and that time a snake with blue and white stripes. Another good place for photo ops.
We just then continued with our boat tour and saw many other beaches, islands and limestone cliffs. We got to see numerous natural attractions Guimaras has to offer. We even passed by some private resorts like Baras beach resort and the famed Isla Naburot. Not to mention a religious retreat for nuns on top of a hill - which we thought they sunbath in two piece bikinis -lol.
It was raining (slightly) that time and we were also running out of time as we decided to go back to back to Raymen's. Still the natural wonders along the way were picture perfect that we felt our two hour island hopping was so short that we already planned on coming back even before we went down at Alubihod beach.
Read more about Isla Tiniguiban aka Isla Pulang Pasayan



Popular posts from this blog

Ready-to-cook Pancit Molo balls

It was only today that I remembered buying a pack of ready-to-cook pancit Molo. Locals are fortunate to buy them at groceries here saving them time, money and effort in the tedious preparation of pancit Molo. Anyway every pack of the RTC pancit Molo has the balls and the lang-lang . Its the balls that entice the buyers and the lang lang that "dictates" the price and weight. For this blog entry, I opted for the AR brand (150 grams for PhP 21) since they had the more photogenic combination at that time though I'm more partial to the Cares brand. Separating the contents makes you realize that what you actually bought but for that price, it's already a bargain, can be cooked in many ways and can serve 2-3 people. It is then up to you what you can make out from a pack or more. For this preparation, I used 2 chicken broth cubes and just estimated the amount of water. Upon taste test I added a pinch of salt, a dash of pepper and few drops of soy sauce. I boiled the lang

Ultimate Ilonggo Favorite: KBL Kadyos, Baboy, Langka

K.B.L. or Kadyos, Baboy, Langka is the ultimate favorite dish of most Ilonggos. It is also one of the most missed native dishes as kadyos and the souring ingredient, batwan , are hard to find when outside of the Ilonggo region.  Basically, it is boiled/stewed pork dish owing its "deliciousness" to the combination of the soft and tender pork, the tamed sourness of  batwan  and the  malinamnam na sabaw .  One of the "secrets" of the malinamnamn na sabaw , is the fact that the pork, whether just the plain meat or pata (hocks) are first grilled or broiled. This gives the broth a rather smoky taste that makes it more appetizing.. Learn how to make the Ilonggo dish KBL (Kadyos, Baboy, at Langka) with the recipe below. Ingredients 1 kilo Pata (pork hocks) or pork cubes, GRILLED and sliced into bite size pieces  1 unripe Jack fruit, cubed 2 cups pigeon pea (kadyos) 6-8 pieces batwan fruit  (or tamarind powder) 1 piece pork broth cube (

A new flavour for the Dinagyang 2011 Food Festival

Aside from the dances, drums and colorful costumes, Dinagyang also means food and Iloilo City has a lot to offer during this 3-day event. The festival brings them to the streets with the much awaited Dinagyang Food Festiva l . For four days, major streets in the city are lined with food stalls and kiosks that everywhere one turns it all about food. As this article states, major streets in Iloilo City will have a food festival there will be plenty of places to indulge in during D inagyang 2011 . ILOILO City's world-famous Dinagyang Festival will turn the spotlight on Ilonggo cuisine this year. Tourists are encouraged to try chicken barbecue the Ilonggo way and other tasty local dishes during the festival. There are also the world-famous Ilonggo delicacies and other concoctions to bring home after enjoying the Dinagyang ati-atihan and Kasadyahan competitions. Not only that. The 1s t Iloilo Convention and Visitors Bureau (ICVB) International Food Festival 2011 will attempt t

Valenciana

A close relative of paella, this dish originated in Valencia, Spain and probably brought by the Spaniards when they colonized the country. Always a staple in family gatherings, this yellow rice is a complete meal in itself, with pork, chicken, liver, chorizo, shrimps, bellpeppers, peas and raisins to name its basic ingredients. RECIPE Saute your choice meats and vegetables. Cook malagkit rice with turmeric and broth cubes then mix sauted meat and vegetables when almost done. Garnish with hardboiled eggs and onion leaves.

SIDRO: Iloilo's very own gourmet doughnuts

Just listening to Isidro Panizales Jr. animatedly talking about his life before and after being a “doughnut-preneur”, is like the different flavors of Sidro Doughnuts . Each variant seems to reflect different aspects of his almost three decades of living in America. From his work in corporate America for more than 10 years to that one little spark of deciding leaving work to pursue his delicious passion – life is like a box of doughnuts! IN A DOUGHNUT HOLE Sidro is an offshoot from the name Isidro but as Sid says, it’s a tribute to his father.  The first Sidro Doughnuts came out of the kitchen and delivered to one lucky doughnut-phile on Dec. 18 last year.  It comes in two sizes – Junior Doughnuts which at 30 grams each are perfect for parties and occasions. But if you can’t enough, there are the Regular Doughnuts which is more than 3x at  100 grams and comes with more toppings and flavours.  Choose among nine specially concocted creations - Bugnay Berry, Calamansi, Dulce