Guimaras

Mango is the Philippine's National Fruit and where else could the sweetest variety be found but in the Province of Guimaras. When I had my first stay in Iloilo, I never missed the chance to visit the island. It's only few minutes away.

I was supposedly accompanied by a local friend. Unfortunately, she woke up sick that morning so I had no choice but to travel alone. Not a problem, I was all set and no one could stop me.

From downtown Iloilo, I went to Ortiz Wharf---the ferry terminal to Jordan, the island's capital. At first, there was a confusion because everytime I ask for direction from the locals, I said "jor-dan", like how we pronounce it in English. I forgot that they are Spanish-influenced and it has to be "hor-dan". OK then.

It was about half an hour crossing the strait. When I finally arrived, I went directly to the jeepney terminal. I noticed people are speaking another language. It's more familiar and understandable. I never thought majority of the people there speak Kinaray-a instead of Hiligaynon. It's so surprising how language has changed within a very short distance.

In comparison to Hiligaynon, Kinaray-a is somewhat similar but completely different. For example, "dog" in Hiligaynon is "ido", close to Cebuano's "iro". But in Kinaray-a, it's "ayam", totally different. Another one, "foot" is "tiil" both in Cebuano and Hiligaynon. But in Kinaray-a, it's "kahig". But this didn't bother me. Like I said, it's more understandable because it's my father's native tongue.

Anyway, going back to my solo journey, from Jordan Port, I rode a jeepney to Nueva Valencia, the southern part of the island famous of its beautiful beaches. It took more than an hour before I arrived. I was riding a public transportation so it's expected to stop from time to time receiving and discharging passengers.

As I was travelling, I noticed how mango is widely-cultivated in the whole island. Anywhere, they are abundant. No wonder, they got their nickname Mango Capital of the country. They even have a festival for it. Also, it is strictly prohibited to bring mango of different variety when entering the island. All bags are checked at the port. They're doing it to avoid cross-pollination with their own variety.

Finally, I arrived at my destination---the white-sand stretch of Alubihod. There are several resorts to choose and Rico Beach was my pick. Some of their cottages were set on a rock giving a picturesque view. Strikingly attractive!

I brought nothing with me that day but my wallet because I didn't have any plan of swimming. I realized it was a big mistake when I saw how clear and tempting the water was.

So I decided to take the island hopping instead. It was quite expensive because the price is per boat and not per passenger. Well, that's the downside of travelling alone, you have to shoulder everything. I tried to haggle until we dropped to P800 for 1.5-hour tour.

The first site that we went to was Igang Marine Station, a project of Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center / Aquaculture Department. There were many fish cages around connected by wooden footbridge set on top of plastic barrels. A number of aquatic species were cultivated in this area. It was my first time to see a lapu-lapu as big as human!

www.seafdec.org.ph

Then we went to Lawi Marine Turtle Rescue Center. There, I had a chance to hold a sea turtle or pawikan for the first time. It's obviously heavy, haha.

And we continued with the tour. Among other attractions were the Fairy Castle, Ave Maria Island, Isla Pulang Pasayan and Buho Ramirez.

In one of the rocks I climbed, I found a dried cowfish. I hardly recognized it because of the color. Maybe some children were making fun of this poor little fish and left him there lifeless.

I was so glad that the boatmen were so nice to me. Aside from being operators, they also served as my photographers, yipey! It was also funny to see myself as the only passenger of a big boat while a group of 10 to 12 occupy the others. They were looking at me but I didn't care. I'm having an exclusive tour, haha.

After the island hopping, I went inside the beach's canteen to have some snack. Of course, part of my meal was mango, sweet mango! I also went to the souvenir shop to buy some pasalubong.

It was truly a wonderful day sweet enough to remember. Madamo gid nga salamat!