The Island Explorer

I guess you all know by now that most of my travels are actually side trips from work. I extend my stay for a couple of days, especially on weekends. As a result, I get to explore a lot of places. One of my most recent extended stays was in Guimaras, one of my favorite islands in the Philippines.

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 ...

Idyllic Guimaras Island is a 15 minute ferry ride from the port of Ortiz in Iloilo. And with flights to Iloilo being one of the cheapest in the country, a trip to Guimaras is your best bet for a budget escape. I already featured Alibuhod Beach in a previous entry. Now, let me take you further to the eastern coast, facing Negros Island. It takes a grueling hour and a half via tricycle to get to Nagarao Island Resort. From its jump off point on the mainland of Guimaras, it takes around 20 minutes to get to this island escape. The resort arranges the boat for you, so you just have to worry how to get to their port. For first time Guimaras visitors, once you dock at the Jordan port, just hire a multicab or a tricycle or even a single motorbike to get around Guimaras. It will cost you P200 for a motorbike (habal-habal), P400 for a tricycle and P800 for a multicab. So it really depends on how big your group is. If you're alone, the habal-habal would be best. Now, back to Nagarao. We app...

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 Be...