Guisi Light House and Camp Alfredo, Guimaras

After Island hopping, we fed our hungry tummies. We had sumptuous lunch at Raymen's resto. It's where I've tasted the superbly delicious mango shake I've ever tried, it slowly melts in your mouth. The mango shake I had was by far the sweetest that I have had in my entire existence.

It's obvious I can't get enough of  Guimaras' sweet mangoes.  I even bought some fresh mangoes and brought it home.

So much of these mango mania. Join me as we had our land tour all over Guimaras.  Land tour package cost us P2,500, it's for the multicab that we used to explore the landmarks of the island. We spent the afternoon of Mar 17 and morning of March 18, 2012 for the tour and our last stop was at  Jordan port.

Inside the yellow multicab.

Group picture before entering the premise of the lighthouse.

This Government owned vehicle is so cute and  unique. We just saw this parked near the lighthouse.

That's  an 18th century Spanish-colonial lighthouse. It's a sad sight for me coz it's covered with rust.  We loved to go upstairs but it's strictly prohibited coz it's dangerous.

 On our way to the Guisi Light House, that amazing view welcomed us.

They built a replica of the lighthouse, hence the presence of the white one.

Along the way to our next destination, we stop at this beautiful spot and goofed around with our camera.

Aside from the usual island hopping and all the sweet-mango-madness, there’s something and exciting adventure in the Island - it's at  Camp Alfredo at Barangay Ravina, Sibunag.

Their tagline is to commune with nature at their place . They really live with it, the place is surrounded by the beauty of nature.

That's me being assisted by their staff to make sure I have the safety gears before trying their zipline, hanging bridge and rappel.

With Yay, we're ready to try the adventure.

All smile before "flying".  This is my second time to zip so you can see the confidence in my smile.

 After the zip line, a hanging bridge awaits and it's like a canopy walk as the place is covered with forest - tall mahogany trees are everywhere.

This hanging bridge is one of the reasons why I tried this adventure. I was scared at first but when I get used of  the sway the confidence was back and my smile in that picture is the proof.

My picture when I was halfway to the finish line.

A precious smile it is. I will surely try this again if there's a chance.

To you guys reading this, I suggest that you try once in a while to go for a slightly extreme adventure. It's fun and exciting.

I finally survived walking in that hanging bridge with a smile from start to finish.

The last league of the adventure is to go down via rappeling. I'm not ashamed to admit that it scares the hell out of me. I really don't know if I could make it. When I was instructed how to execute it, the smile in my face was gone. I was scared, really scared in every sense of the word.

I was given the choice to either go down via rappel or zipline.  The choice is mine....

and I did go for rappeling. It waaaaaaaaaaas so scary the moment  I stretched my legs and held on to that red rope. But after a few seconds, the smile was back because I sooooo  like it. It's beyond description.

To descend from the tree using a rope no experience is necessary. Gloves, hard-hat, and  rappelling equipment are provided.

ZIPLINE,  HANGING BRIDGE walk, and  RAPPELING are P420 worth of adventure that spells PRICELESS experience.

So to you adventurous people from all walks of life visit Camp Alfredo and be  thrilled by this unique and exciting opportunity to try something new!

Island Hopping, Guimaras Island (Mar 17, 2012)

I've have no idea what to expect in this place.The only thing that I was aware of is that Guimaras is known of their sweet mangoes and I must say, their mangoes are indeed the sweetest.

We've seen these mangoes on our way to the resort. We didn't miss any chance to buy some.  I simply love how they meticulously file and arrange it.

Let me make you drool on this picture. The sweetness of these mangoes is beyond compare.

So much of this mango sweetness,  go with me as I bring you to our Island hopping  at Guimaras Island.

Cam whoring while waiting for our "bangka"

We rented this ride and the rates vary on how many passengers on board. In our case we paid  P400 for the first hour and then add P150 every additional hour consumed.

On our way to the islands, big waves came our way. Look at that water, it will really get you wet.

Our first stop is at the SEAFDEC ( (Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center)) at Barangay Igang.  We got  the chance to see their fish cages that contains milk fish, groupers, and pompano among others.

I've seen here the biggest Grouper (also known as Lapu-lapu fish) I've ever laid eyes on.   There's one as huge as the 6o kilos pig. No kidding.

The huge Lapu lapu fish cause  that big splash that scares the hell outta me. LOL

That's Allen, Maddie, Yay and Shiloy looking at the Groupers.

That's the cage of the red snappers we're looking at.  Haven't you noticed how I held on to that bamboo? Hehehe I'm just scared to fall into the cage.

Walking on the plank along the fish cages took
a bit of getting used to as it sways a bit. Once used to it, striking a pose would be the next thing to do.

Our next stop is the Baras cave.

I

I'm actually scared of caves, but this one is just so hard to resist.

This pic was taken at the entrance of the cave.

This water inside the cave is beyond description - clean, clear, cold. There, I just noticed I described it with adjectives starting in C. hehehe

This one is at Ave Maria Island. So fascinated with this crystal clear water.

Part of the island hopping is to see this Marine turtle also known as Pawikan. We paid P5 each just to see and took picture of it.

Our group picture with the Pawikan. I actually named it PAWEE. hehehe I tried to carry it but it's too heavy.

That clear water plus that Island in the background plus my presence equals PERFECT. hahahaha

This is another poster worthy shot.

And this  is one fantastic view. Oh how I love to wake up every morning in this place.

We consumed 2 and a half hour hopping the islands. It was fun and a different kind of experience. The weather is just so perfect to explore the place.

Guimaras Island is truly a gem of the Ilonggos.  Famous for its mangoes, it also has boundless coastal beauty:
an assortment of coves, coastal caves, and beaches -  a perfect place to relax.

 

First time in Ilo-ilo City and Guimaras Island

Traveling brought me happiness. It will relieve me from any stress plus I''ll get to learn something new from the experience I've had in every place that I visited.

When one of my closest friends booked us a promo flight to Ilo-ilo City back in August 2011, excitement was my initial reaction. Who wouldn't? There are many reasons why I'm excited and I'll just say some of it; one, it's my first time to be in that place;  two, I don't know what to expect and what experience will I have; three, there's also that feeling of getting lost because all of us in the group are first timers in that place.

So now, travel with me by reading this blog post (and my next posts)  as I lead you to our adventure in Iloilo City and Guimaras Island last March 16-19, 2012.

At around 2:20 pm Mar 16, 2012 from Lumbia airport (CDO),  we boarded the Ilo-ilo City bound aircraft. (Thank you so much  Cebu Pacific Air for your promo flights, those travelers on a tight budget can afford to fly with you).

At Lumbia airport.

About to board the aircraft. Those smiles in our face were so priceless.

Cagayan de Oro is just 40 minutes away from Ilo-ilo city by plane. At around 3pm we landed Ilo-ilo airport.

Welcome to Ilo-ilo city. Their airport is  nice, it's like a mini NAIA 3.

For first time travelers in this place, set aside your worries of getting lost in the city. Their tourism personnel at the airport's arrival area is so friendly, giving you ideas and printed guides where to go, where to dine and what's the cheapest ride you can choose from the airport to your destination. In our case we rented a van to bring us to Ortiz wharf for P600.  From airport to Ortiz wharf is more or less a 40 minute ride.

Ortiz wharf is where to ride a small boat to get to Jordan wharf in Guimaras Island for P14 only. The island is just 20 minutes away from the wharf.

The boat was about to depart and we were just in time to catch it,   saving us from that long wait  for other passengers.

Upon arriving Jordan wharf, tourism personnel was there too to give you suggestions what type of vehicle to ride including the fare in  going to your destination. We opted for the multicab for P450 going to Raymen's beach Resort (going to the resort from Jordan wharf  took us 40 minutes).

I actually don't have any idea what places to visit in this Island. So I trusted the ever reliable GOOGLE to search for places  and resorts. We stayed at Raymen's beach resort,  for travelers with tight budget like us the resort is just the right choice.  It's a nice place and it's affordable. Room rates started from P700/night.

They have resto that serves typical Pinoy foods. It has  free wifi but will allow only one device per room to connect to their wifi. That's bad news right? We are 5 in the group with wifi ready devices,  all wanted to have web access. For us, that's not a problem coz we found a way to know their wireless password using a windows 7 laptop. Oh man,  how I love the perks of being a technical support representative. hehehe ssssshhhh

After dinner, we rest for a while and then we had our first dip at the beach.

After the air, water and land travel we've been through to get to this place, you would say it's a long and tiring day for us. But believe me, it's not. You just simply fell in love the moment you can see the beach.

Night swimming is always lovely.  This picture simply spells H A P P I N E S S.

Even with little  shade of light you could see how clear the water is.

More on this trip in my next blog. Can't wait to share our trip with you guys.

Day 2: Dahilayan Adventure Park, Bukidnon

Day 2 is another fun day. Some of us woke up early to jog, to cook for  breakfast, to watch tv and in my case I went to the balcony to see the sunrise.

The place was slightly foggy, the presence of the sunrise made it more amazing. A very wonderful place indeed.

The house has it's own gazebo too, we all decided to eat our breakfast there. It's a perfect place to feast our meals. Eating while surrounded with nature is truly a rare kind of experience.

After breakfast we went to Dahilayan Adventure Park, it's just several steps away from the place we're at. You can test your endurance on the adventures this park has to offer. Bring with you enough cash or even credit card (yes, they will accept credit cards) to enjoy the rides.

Park Rates

Zip Ride (840m) – P600.00/person/ride (40kg – 110kg only)
Zip Ride (320m + 150m) – P250.00/person/ride
Child Tandem – P150.00 (below 5 years old and weighs not over 20kls.)
Zip Zone Package (150m, 320m and 840m) – P600.00/person
ATV Ride (20 minutes) – P400.00
Mini Boat Ski Ride (15 minutes) – P200.00
Zorbit (for 2 persons) – P400.00
Horseback Riding – P100.00
Ropes Course – P 200.00/person
Wall Climbing:     P 100.00/person + P50.00 for additional wall

The road going to the park is not fully developed so expect a dusty and a bit rocky road but need not worry coz along the way you'll be amazed by a vast plantation of pineapple and the scenery of the mountain.

I just love this wacky pic. We didn't agree to show our tongue here, it seems that we almost had the same idea on how to execute a wacky pose. With me is Ching, Dee, Toni, Allene, Hazel and Arah.

We had headgear on just for this pic. Some of us already tried the zipline before, we're just there waiting for those who haven't tried.

Horse riding was fun especially when you're with your friends. It was P100 worth of fun.

All set to go horseback riding. Yehey. Happiness. It's not everyday we'll experience this kind of ride.

One more pose. We're all smiling, I've noticed. Who wouldn't?

After the ride, we still can't stop smiling.

It was indeed a memorable getaway for us. Looking forward to our next stop. We are aiming Surigao or Palawan. Crossing our toes and fingers that our time and money will surely allow us to bring our restless feet there.