Bye Iloilo/Guimaras!

Day 3 na ng Iloilo-Guimaras Trip! Last sequel na ng super past due post ko, hehe..

Though sobrang takot ako the night before, bongga at mahimbing ang naging tulog ko.. Sinilip ko agad kung umaraw na, sadly medyo cloudy pa din, at mas nag-high tide pa, so lost na ang chance na makapag-island hopping kami.. (Well, let Kulapitot take you na lang, see his post here.)

Instead of magmukmok at lungkot-lungkutan, we savored the beach one last time..

More kulitan portion!

While nag-pictorial kami, may di ako malimutan na eksena.. Rowie was taking shots malapit dun sa batuhan, biglang umalon ng malakas, at kitang kita ko na parang kinain siya ng alon.. Super napa-nganga talaga ako at nanlaki mata sa gulat! What's weird is, I was just about two meters away from him, at same distance kami from the beach, legs lang yun nabasa saken, pero siya kahit tinaas nya yun DSLR way above his head, nabasa pa din, kahit tuloy siya parang natigilan at nataranta kung pano pupunasan yun cam, ka-haggard!

Anyways, we had breakfast na and prepared to check-out..

The usual breakfast - corned beef/tocino/ham silog at coffee!

Pictorial sa "singles" room

And we said goodbye to Guisi Clearwater Resort..

Dumaan kami sa Trappist Monastery at isa pang store para bumili ng mga pasalubong. Supposedly, may daanan pa kami Museum pero closed naman for renovation, at lumakas pa yun ulan, so derecho port na kami after.

We were so surprised nun pagdating sa Iloilo.. baha! Kala ko sa Manila lang uso ang baha, hehe.. 

From Parola, sumakay kami ng jeep papuntang SM City. May naka-chika kami na local at naging instant bestfriend ni Sophie yun kasama nyang bata. 

I thought ako ang partner ni Rowie sa trip na to, pero sino tong kaakbay nya sa jeep? hmp! hehe..

May Traveller's Lounge sa SM City at dun namin ni-deposit yun mga bags namin for only PhP30. Lunch time na, so we rented a taxi and nagpunta kami sa Breakthrough to satisfy our seafood cravings.

While waiting for food to be served, siyempre pictorial ulet, dyan kami hindi magsasawa!

These were what we had for lunch! Dami namin nakain lahat, laki ng tiyan ko after, hehe..

We went back to SM, bought ref magnets for my collection and similar shirts for the gang, got our bags back from Traveller's Lounge, rode the rented van, passed by Biscocho House to buy more pasalubong, and then off we went to Iloilo Airport.

Flight back to Manila is at 8:35. Nagcheck-in na kami, nag-pictorial (ulet) at nag-dinner.

Delayed ang flight ng mga 20mins pero keri lang. Medyo naguluhan kami kung pano kami uuwi kasi madami kami dala-dalahan. Good thing, na-discover namin yun fixed rate taxis sa airport. Only Php960 yun hanggang Taytay, six kaming naghati (sina Joana at Julius kasi pa-Cavite) kaya sulit talaga. Sa airport pa lang mag-bayad na tas bibigyan kayo ng receipt agad. Mas recommended to for groups na iisa lang yun destination pauwi.. hassle free at mas mura!

Di siksikan dahil Grandia yun sinakyan namin - sosyal lungs!

So there.. tapos na ang three-part Iloilo-Guimaras trip namin, thanks for staying tuned (radyo?!).

:D

Lost in Iloilo!

"Nong, Sa lugar.."

Yan ang first Ilonggo term na natutunan ko when ELF went to Iloilo. "Nong" or "Manong" and "Manang" ang general na tawag sa mga elderly. "Lugar" means "para" or "stop" naman sa sasakyan. "Kaon" means "kain" at "namit" means "sarap". Yan lang naalala ko, hehe. Pero gusto ko accent nila dun.. calm, parang bawal magalit.

Oops .. backtrack tayo ng slight. So yes, last Thursday flight ng ELF to Iloilo ng 8:35am. Excited much kaya 5:30am pa lang, nasa Terminal 3 na kami.

And then kinulit namin yun Ate sa check-in counter. Ansama ng loob ni Nic ng siya lang ang tinanong kung preggy, hehe!

Thank you Piso Fare!

We then had breakfast in Burger King while waiting. May pictorial pa kami with photographer Sophie, ang three year old baby ni Lori.

Perfect shot ni Sophie di ba?

On time naman ang flight namin and in less than an hour, touchdown na kami sa Iloilo Airport.

Upon arrival, sakay naman kami ng van papunta sa One Lourdes Dormitel. Super cheap yun accomodation dito pero clean and comfy yun place kaya perfect sa budget conscious like us.

Family Room for PhP1048

Since lunch time na, we went to Roberto's to eat. Well known ang place for their Queen Siopao na hindi ko natikman, hehe!
 

Meatballs, Shanghai, Fried Chicken at Chopsuey

Queen Siopao - special dahil may bacon!

Clockwise from left: Me, Nic, Mic, Joel, Lori, Sophie Joana & Julius

After lunch, derecho na kami sa first destination namin, ang San Joaquin Church. It helped na marunong mag-Hiligaynon sina Joel at Julius kaya may taga-tanong kami ng directions. From Iloilo City, it took us an hour and a half (and PhP60 each) to reach San Joaquin (walang traffic!) so imagine kung gano siya kalayo, hehe.

San Joaquin Church
Declared National Historical Treasure in 1977

Year Built: 1859 By: Fr. Thomas Santaren Year Completed: 1869

Materials: Coral Stones and Lime Stones

Facade (stone carvings) depicts the celebrated victory of Spanish cavalry 

against Moors in the battle of Tetuan*

Next stop naman ang Miagao Church. From San Joaquin, sumakay kami ng Ceres Bus to Miagao. Napa-meow este wow ako sa ganda ng Miag-ao (rhyme?) Church, hehe..

Church of Santo Thomas de Villanueva

Miagao, Iloilo

World Heritage Site

One of the four Baroque Churches of the Philippines inscribed in 1993 

of the World Heritage List pursuant to the 1972 UNESCO Convention concerning 

the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage*

We were supposed to visit two other churches pa kaya lang di na trip nun iba. So we decided to visit Racso's Woodland in Guimbal instead. Dahil pagod at inaantok na si Mic, umuna na siya umuwi kasama ang kanyang wifey na si Nic at ang tour guide/translator namin na si Joel.

Php50 lang ang entrance fee na consumable pa at pwede mong ipambili ng food or other stuff like souvenirs sa loob, sulit di ba? Dahil medyo gutom na kami, snacks and drinks ang binili namin.

Mostly, birds lang nakita namin. Madami pa pwede puntahan kaya lang parang biglang dumilim at naging creepy yun place. Kaya nagyaya na rin ako na umuwi, may chismis kasi na may aswang daw sa Iloilo e siyempre natakot ako, hehe.

Around 6pm kami nun umalis sa Racso's, ipinagsiksikan ang mga sarili sa masikip na jeep  dahil mukhang pahirapan ang sumakay. Medyo confused kami kung san kami bababa, sabi ni Manong driver hanggang City daw siya pero binaba nya kami somewhere na malayo pa. Then sakay ulet kami ng jeep pa-Rob na malapit sa dormitel. 

Medyo magulo yun mga daan sa Iloilo, maraming one way so hindi kami familiar sa mga dinadaanan pabalik. Dahil feelingera kami, naisip namin na sa SM kami bumaba para mag-dinner na din. Akala namin same SM to na nadaanan namin from airport earlier, hindi pala. Dalawa pala SM sa Iloilo - isang SM City at isang SM Delgado.

Ayun, tanong tanong ulet kung pano makauwi, sabi ng friendly peeps na malapit na lang daw at kaya na lakarin pabalik sa dormitel.

We had a taste of the street foods dun habang naglalakad. Tempura tawag nila dyan, sabi nila iba daw lasa, pero para samin ni Rowie, normal na kikiam lang siya talaga.

Three blocks lang daw lakarin, tas kaliwa at makita na namin ang street na hinahanap namin. Well, three blocks nga lang at naliligaw na kami, hehe. Nadaanan namin ang Deco's at nagyaya na ko kumain pero ayaw pa nila kasi baka hindi pa kumain yun mga kasama namin sa hotel na hindi sumasagot sa texts at tawag. 

At biglang bumuhos ang malakas na ulan. Basang sisiw lang ang peg namin, nowhere to be found pa din ang hotel, hehe.

Haggard na, nakuha ko pa mag-picture, hehe!

Nun tumila ang ulan, nag-decide na kami na kumain na nga muna sa Deco's. Famous naman sila for their La Paz Batchoy.

Silog plus La Paz Batchoy

After kumain, nakuha na rin namin ang accurate info pabalik sa hotel. At kaya pala hindi sumasagot yun tatlo, himbing na himbing sila sa pag tulog. Quick shower lang at snooze na din kami.

:)

Ang haba lang ng kwento ko, to follow ang day 2&3 ng trip namin! ♥


*copied from printed info found on churches