Revisiting Guimaras

The first time I came to Guimaras was for a shoot. I was stayng in Iloilo, and we just went to Guimaras for about 3 hours. I was feeling sick, so I really didn't wander around much. In fact, after the shoot, I asked to be brought home because I was starting to have fever.





Last year, I was able to go back again to Iloilo for a shoot, and so made our way for a lunch in Guimaras. For those who don't know, Guimaras is just a 15 minute boat ride from Iloilo, making it a must to visit when in the area. You arrive at Jordan in the island and either take jeepney to your destination or hire a multicab to go around. This was also my first time to go back to Guimaras since the oil spill so I was curious to see how the island has recovered.







As I've said, we were only to eat lunch in Guimaras by a beach, so headed off straight to Raymen Beach Resort, one of the most popular resorts in Guimaras. It was your typical resort, with a building for accommodations and some beach huts. Raymen Beach is actually small, and the resort is the only one there. That's how small it is. But Guimaras offers so many beaches and island getaways. I saw some islands nearby Raymen and saw a foreigner couple board a small boat to those islands.





Going back, if you never heard of the oil spill, you wouldn't think there was one. The water was super clear, like one of the clearest I have ever seen. I held the water in my hands, and it was so tempting to drink. No sign of a disaster. The beach was not white, but more of crushed fine coral giving it a mixture of colors. We didn't have any swimwear, so I wasn't able to swim. We had lunch for an hour and made our way out of the resort. We made a quick stop at the Trappist Monastery, and bought some goodies. I managed to stay behind Iloilo and stay in Westown Hotel in Smallville, a entertainment compound filled with bars and restaurants. Westown was a new hotel and for P2,000 a night, it was a steal, having a good location and neat rooms.



I hope to come back to Guimaras to explore the islands that I saw from a distance. For any recommendations of other beaches in Iloilo or nearby Capiz, please do inform me. I know I'll be back there soon.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Us-Usan Island: Guimaras

Image
After having a pleasant lunch in Nagarao, we decided to hire a boat to explore the surrounding islands of Nagarao. There was this one island that the staff recommended, Us-usan Island. As soon as I saw a strip of sand glistening from a distance, I knew we were in for a treat. Us-usan Island. The water wasn't as clear though as in Nagarao and in most of Guimaras. The sand bar jutting out of the island seemed like a catwalk on the sea. This provided a nice swimming area for the island's visitors as well. We began to explore the island, hoping to circle it in less than an hour. The island has a narrow shoreline, probably because it was high tide. There were also foliage all around, so it was quite a struggle going around. We were treated though with amazing views of the sea. This tree was alone and offshore for around 100 meters. It was quite strange to see a single tree in full bloom in the middle of the sea. After 15 minutes of walking, we arrived at a mangrove area. There were
Explore...

JCO Donuts and Coffee

Image
Its logo looks like Starbucks and the look of the place is like Krispy Kreme in orange. I guess the owners of JCO really thought of merging coffee and donuts, which are of course, perfect for each other. I stumbled upon JCO when it opened in Jakarta 2 years ago. The lines were unbelievably long, and that reminded me of our Gonuts Donuts craze back then. After 2 years, JCO in Jakarta has established itself as a donut shop serving great coffee and blended drinks. They also serve ice cream (gelato). JCO is a franchise that began in Singapore, spread in Malaysia, and hit Indonesia. The donuts craze came about the same time across all countries in Asia. JCO for me is different. When I tasted it the first time, I just had the glazed donut served by my clients. MY initial reaction was, it tasted like Dunkin' Donuts. And that held my interest. While Go Nuts and Krispy Kreme tasted the same, Dunkin Donuts was still different. In the Philippines, Dunkin' is targets the mass market, makin
Explore...

Legaspi Suites Hotel: Davao

Image
Legaspi Suites is the only boutique hotel in Davao. What makes it boutique is its size and attention to design and ambience. Legaspi Suites is located in a complex that was once an ancestral home. The landmark still remains in tact at the middle of the complex and a 4 story apartment building was built around it to house the hotel. Once you enter the lobby, you would feel that the hotel thought about its design, which is uncommon in Davao. I would think this would be normal in Cebu already, but in Davao, good design is still scarce. I got the cheapest room, a standard room for P1,600 since I was only staying for one night. The room was huge and very bare. I'm assuming this room was made simple because of the class. The rooms have different colors, as seen from their brochures. I passed by a suite room which was open, and I thought it looked charming. My room was located on the second floor beside the spa, so I had a view of the courtyard downstairs. I love this place because it had
Explore...