The Sand Bar Island (ang iloilo trip finale)

march 20, 2011/sunday 

 

the conception town

the boat ride to sandbar island: hapon na ng marating namin ang sand bar island. mga 30mins yata ang boat ride from concepcion to the island.

ang kanilang welcoming committee, mga askals (not the football team but literal na kamag-anak ni hatchiko)

a long stretch of fine sand na nawawala pag high tide na

lowtide tuwing hapon, hightide sa gabi, lowtide sa umaga, hightide sa tanghali at balik lowtide sa hapon

a refreshing view of the beach and its fine sand :)

wala munang activities sa araw na yon kaya relax mode at swimming muna

sky turns red during sunset (ito na lang naabutan kong piktyuran dahil iniwan sa cottage ang camera habang nagsiswimming at todo takbo kami para ma-capture ang red sky)

wala nga palang electricity sa island and it is powered by solar generator only kaya naman tuwing 5pm-10pm lang me kuryente sa island and that is the only time na pwede kang magparecharge ng battery ng inyong mga gadgets kila kuya sonny. lights out at 10pm pero naiwan nakasindi ang ilaw sa cottage nmin dahil kami lang naman ang guest sa island on that day.

madilim na sa paligid pero nagliwanag dahil sa picasa. hehe..

night falls and diner was server, adobong manok and itlog ng maalat with kamatis (bought from concepcion market bago kami pumunta ng island) which is cooked for by ate remilyn (200php bayad sa paluto) na sobrang sarap magluto ng adobo kaya naman nakalimang plato si mapanuri, takaw! hahaha. wala na kaming magawa kundi magrelax, tumunganga sa super moon (dahil super moon day nung gabing un) at mag-night shoot (magsawa sa kakagawa ng pangalan ala long-exposure). puro parenthesis, magsawa kayo :D
 

march 21, 2011/monday

 

wake up a bit late but was able to capture the sunrise

habang hinihintay maluto ang breakfast, nagpiktyuran muna dahil low tide nanaman at nagsilabasan na ang mga corals sa isang part ng island

pagbalik sa cottage, handa na ang breakfast : scrambled egg, sunny side up, at ang natirang ulam kagabi, itlog na maalat with kamatis at ang chicken adobo

picture ulet habang hinihintay ang bangka para sa island hopping

island hopping starts at trivia mula kay kuya sonny na pinatay talaga ang makina ng kanyang bangka para lang sabihin na ang mala-bahay kubo na yan ay binabahayan ng dugong

1st stop: tambaliza island kung saan nandoon yung bundok sa left na tila may inaalay daw sabi ni jan dahil laging may ulap un tuktok

close up view nung bundok na may nag-aalay sa tutok, ang pan de asukar. nawala na un ulap nang marating namin ito, 30mins yata ang layo nito mula sa sandbar.

magtatanghali na nang marating namin ang tambaliza pero kailangang makabalik sa concepcion ng 1pm dahil 7pm ang flight namin pabalik ng manila kaya naman nagikot na lang kami sa island at nalaman ni kuya sonny na mayroon bundok na pwedeng akyatin, ang hampangan rocks

napakatarik! first time lang din kasing akyatin ni kuya sonny itong bundok na to kaya ang daan namin paakyat ay un pinaka mahirap pa. by the way, hindi si kuya sonny ang kasama ni mapanuri sa pic na yan, si kuya ____, forgot the name, na isa sa aming boatman.

a view from the top. hampangan means laruan dahil according to the locals, noong bata pa sila, trip nilang akyatin ang hampangan rocks at mayroon daw sunga doon na kanilang nilalaruan pagnagccutting classes sila (joke lang un cutting classes)

[pictures end here dahil low batt ang aking phone which im using to take pictues]

matapos ang matarik na pag-akyat, may daan naman palang mas safe kaya doon na lang kami bumaba at nagdali-daling bumalik sa beach dahil kulang na ang oras. at dahil sa nagmamadali nga kami nakapag-swimming muna kami sa beach nitong tambaliza, hehe.. pagbalik sa sandbar island, magmamadaling magayos ng gamit para makabalik agad ng city. sa kamamadali namin, nagswimming muna kami sa beach for the the last time :D

our total expense on the sandbar island only cost 3300php, kasama na dito ang cottage fee, paluto ng food, boat rides, island hopping na hindi natapos, tubig pampaligo dahil seawater ang laman ng kanilang gripo at service charge. not bad for a 2-day/1-night stay.

 

after beach bumming and packing up our things, we headed back to conception then transfer to a bus going to the terminal then rode a jeep to jaro. quick stop at the famous biscocho house (tama ba spell?) for pasalubong then hire a cab going to the airport, just in time for our flight back to manila.

 nakakabitin na iloilo trip ito and i hope i'll be able to come back again :)

riverside, la paz batchoy at city proper (ang iloilo trip part 2)

after magkape, nagpatuloy na sa iikot ng iloilo ang grupo.

riverside boardwalk

just a few blocks away from smallville is the riverside boardwalk kung saan may bars and resto din na pwedeng pang-hang out or you may just walk (or run kung trip mo) on the riverside na according to jan ay jogging area din tuwing umaga at hapon. its a kilometer long, parang 1.1km yata (forgot the exact digit) sabi ni nick, ang isinamang tourguide ni jan. saktong exercise venue din ito sa mga health buff dahil makaround trip jog ka lang sa haba nito ay tiyak na tagaktak na ang langis mo sa katawan.

iba talaga ang hangin sa iloilo, sarap tumambay sa riverside

salamat kay picasa at lumiwanag ng konti ang madidilim kong pics

ted's la paz batchoy

after the almost-two-kilometer-walk, kain ulet ang ginawa namin and this time we tried the famous la paz batchoy kung saan sa iloilo daw talaga nag-originate. ted's la paz batchoy is open 24 hours at malapit lang ito sa smallville at riverside, so perfect place para magrelax at magpaalis ng amats after gimik. this is the best tasting la paz batchoy na natikman ko sa buong buhay ko. exaggeration ba? kailangang mong masubukan to find out what i'm saying about. plus, pedeng magpa-refill ng sabaw and additional chicharon for free.

here's what i ordered: a batchoy and a can of coke zero

it was  at almost 2am when we then head back to our hotel to wrap up the day dahil kinabukasan ay iikutin pa muna namin ang iloilo city proper then head to concepcion to go to the sandbar island.

march 20, 2011/sunday

9:00am nang kami'y nagising and when out for a quick breakfast, ligo, packed up para handa na to go to the next destination after going outside to explore the iloilo city proper. here are few of the pictures i took using my camera phone.

syempre, hindi mawawala ang city hall

katabi ng city hall ang kanilang museum which is closed on sunday

12:30pm when we head off to concepcion. mula sa city, took a jeepney ride to the bus terminal and hire a van going to sara for 100php. the van looks like its not going to make it through the night, 50/50 ang lagay niya pero kung humarurot sa highway ay daig pa ang patok na jeep ng cubao. matatag sa rough road na kokonti lang naman (naimpress ako dahil concrete na lahat ng daanan sa iloilo) at umo-overtake pa ito. sayang lang at hindi ko napiktyuran para makita nyo kung gaano hindi na aabutin ng sikat ng araw ang van na ito, hehehe..
3:25pm when we arrived at sara then took a jeepney ride to concepcion which cost 15php. sa concepcion kami makikipag meet kay kuya sonny (ang contact ni mapanuri sa sandabar) para ihatid kami sa island. continued on the next post..

ANG ILOILO TRIP

another promo fare was booked and this time we're off to ILOILO!

march 19, 2011/saturday

a day before our scheduled flight sa zest air, nasabihan na kami na delayed for 20mins which was supposed to be at 4:50pm. since galing pang-shift si mapanuri, napagkasunduan sa office na lang ang meeting place namin nila khanto ng 2pm. we then arrived at domestic airport at around 4pm. after checked in and waiting for the 5:10pm flight, it was announced na delayed nanaman for an hour due to blah blah blah (hindi ko na inintindi ang reason na sinabi nila over the speaker dahil isang oras nanamang hintayan un). dahil sa gutom, we went outside the airport to grab a quick snack sa jabee dahil tipid mode muna.

5:30pm when we get back to airport at kaming tatlo na lang ang hinihintay ng plane, napa-aga daw ang delayed flight. it was almost an hour plane ride to iloilo at gabi na ng makarating kami dun. taxis were the only available way to get to the city proper from the airport which will took about 20mins. natest nanaman ang bargaining skills ni mapanuri at from 500php fare, nakahanap siya ng 400php to get us to our hotel.

century 21 hotel

8:30pm when we check in at our hotel and sulit ang bayad dito. for 1,400php overnight stay, you get an air-conditioned room with 3 beds, a bathroom with hot and cold shower, and cable TV. plus its located within the city proper making it easily accessible to tourist/travelers. it is also near to a mall so pedeng kumain na lang sa isang fastfood chain tulad ng ginawa namin for breakfast the following day dahil namahalan kami sa food nila.

after magsettle ng gamit, nahiga at nakatulog ng kaunti habang hinintay si Jan, dating kaofficemate na taga-iloilo din. siya dapat ang magtotour sa'min pero tourista din pala ito kaya nagpasama sa kanyang katropa upang maikot namin ang iloilo. first stop, smallville.

smallville

pasensya na madilim, camera phone lang kasi gamit ko :)

isang night-life district ng iloilo which is 10mins away from the city. ang favorite hangout ng mga mahilig gumimik. ito yata ang katumbas ng metrowalk o eastwood ng manila night-life pero masasabi kong mas masarap gumimik dito. i'm not sure if its the ambiance, the people or the atmosphere which is basically the same scenario sa mga bar at gimikan sa manila. iba lang yata talaga ang hangin sa iloilo, hehehe.. also, i do not know why its called smallville, hinahanap ko nga ang kent farm pero wala naman akong nakita :D

some of the bars at smallville - thanks to khanto for this pic

coffee break

since hindi naman kami manginginom, naisipang magkape na lang at sa coffee break kami dinala. wala pa daw kasing starbucks sa iloilo at coffee break na yata ang sikat na coffee shop dito dahil may nakita kaming ibang branch nito dito sa iloilo. nakakatakam ang display of breads and cakes nila at very affordable ang mga prices. an 80 pesos will get you a frapp or a cheesecake na.

i would recommend that you try this coffee break if ever you're in iloilo :)

continuation on the next post...