Category Archives: Sightseeing

Iloilo City Tour: On Foot

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After breakfast at the hotel, I made a walking tour of the city’s downtown area, with a dependable EZ map on hand.  From Delgado St., I walked along J.M. Basa St., the city’s busiest main thoroughfare which is lined with shops, handicraft stores, moviehouses and restaurants. 

Ker & Co. Building
Nineteenth century structures are located along this street and along Iznart St. (formerly Calle Real).  They include the Commission on Audit (COA) Bldg. and the Ker & Co. (K & C) Bldg..  The latter, with its West Indies ambiance, has a marvelous iron staircase cast in Scotland.

Return to Guimaras

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After breakfast at the Fine Rock Hotel, Charlie and I again boarded our Ford Explorer and drove to Muelle Loney (Iloilo River Wharf).  Here,  we loaded the car on the MV Felipe, another ancient RORO (Roll On Roll Off) ferry of F.F. Cruz Shipping Corp., bound for  Jordan, the provincial capital of Guimaras, where we plan to do GPS mapping.  This would be my second visit to this island province, having been there 10 years ago with my family.

RO-RO Port at Jordan

Our ship left Muelle Loney by 9:30 AM and the smooth crossing to the RO-RO port in Brgy. Hoskyn took just 30 mins..  Once docked, we drove off, with Charlie on the wheel, for Jordan town proper where we made a short stopover at the municipal hall and the town plaza, said to be the smallest in the country.

Jordan municipal hall
The town plaza, the country’s smallest

From thereon, we proceeded on our GPS mapping around the island.  At Nueva Valencia, we again made a short stopover at Raymen Beach Resort which was situated in a cove.  The narrow, beige sand beach was clean and the left side of the cove was a marine reserve with beautiful corals.

Raymen Beach

The resort itself, considered the most popular win the province, is about an hour’s drive away from Jordan Wharf.  It has a mix of airconditioned rooms with bath and TV and fan-cooled cottages with bath.  They also have a canteen, billiards and videoke. 

Raymen Beach Resort

Past Nueva Valencia, the road to Sibunag and San Lorenzo turned bad and I replaced Charlie at the wheel of the Ford Explorer for the second time in our 3-week GPS mapping expedition (the first time was from Kalibo to Iloilo City).  Once done with our mapping, we returned to Jordan port and left on the 5:30 PM ferry.  We were back in Fine Rock Hotel in time for dinner.
  
F.F. Cruz Shipping Corp.: Lapuz, Iloilo City, Iloilo.  Tel: (033) 337-1046, 336-9329 and 336-4195.  
F.F. Cruz Shipping Corp.: Jordan, Guimaras.  Tel: (033) 581-1701.
Raymen Beach Resort: Sitio Alubijod, Poblacion, Nueva Valencia, Guimaras.  Tel: (033) 396-0252.

On the Road From Caticlan to Iloilo City

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From our R&R stop at Caticlan and Boracay, Charlie Kemplin and I were slated to begin our first Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) mapping at Iloilo City.  Joining us was Charlie’s friend Ron Connell and his son Steve (owner of Frendz Resort in Boracay), both married to Filipinas.   We left Boracay, early in the morning, for Caticlan’s Ferry Port, got the 1994 Ford Explorer at my father-in-law’s house in Malay town proper and were soon on our way by 9 AM.

Passi City Hall

The non-stop 212-km. trip to Iloilo City normally takes just 6 hrs. but, in our case, took more than that.  Charlie drove the first 65 kms. to Kalibo where we stopped for lunch at Greenwich in Gaisano Mall.   From Kalibo, I took over the wheel of the Explorer and drove the remaining 147 kms. to Iloilo City, making a short stopover at Passi City Hall for some maps.  It was just about dusk and raining hard when we reached Iloilo City.  Here, we checked in at 3 airconditioned rooms with bath and cable TV at the Fine Rock Hotel.

Mindoro Trail: Puerto Galera (Mindoro Oriental)

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White Beach

After breakfast at Calapan Bay Resort, we left the city by 11 AM, April 10, for Puerto Galera.  Part of the 49-km. drive entailed negotiating dusty, Kennon-like zigzag roads (Puerta Galera is considered as the “Little Baguio” of Mindoro) and steep ravines.  We made a short photo op stop over at the Waterfalls Bridge at Brgy. Villaflor where we can view the 131-m. high, roadside Tamaraw Falls, the highest waterfall in the province.  Its pool is a popular swimming spot for weekenders. The enchanting view of Varadero Bay heralded our arrival at the beach town of Puerto Galera which spreads out 10 kms. along the coast.  

Tamaraw Falls
Located on a Y-shaped peninsula on the northwestern tip of Mindoro Island, the popular tourist destination of Puerto Galera has numerous fine beaches with sheltered coves beneath the green mountainous backdrop of the 1,086-m. high Mt. Alinyaban, 1,185-m. high Mt. Talipanan and 1,228-m.  high Mt. Malasimbo, all of which are rich in mineral deposits of marble, gold, lime and silica.
 
Muelle Pier
We arrived at the town proper and its ferry dock at Muelle by 1:30 PM  and had a late lunch at one of the restaurants.  Muelle has an excellent natural yacht harbor, effectively protected by Medio Island, at the mouth of picture-perfect Muelle Bay.  From here, we can view the mooring area of Puerto Galera Yacht Club.  From the pier, Sabang Beach and White Beach are both 6 kms. away.

Puerto Galera town proper

A marble cross, located beside Cocopoint Hotel, commemorates the sinking of the Spanish warship El Canonero Mariveles, on November 18, 1879, during a storm off Soguicay Bay.   The cross was originally erected in wood on March 18, 1897 but was renovated in 1938 by Spaniard Luis Gomez y Sotto.   Its inscription reads Ultima tierra que pesarou los tripolantes del Canoneros Mariveles el 18 de Noviembre de 1879.

El Canonero Mariveles Cross

After lunch, we made an ocular inspection of Sabang Beach, Small La Laguna Beach, Big La Laguna and White Beach, 4 of the at least 13 superb connected beaches that have been developed for tourism within 7 kms. or so of the town.  The somewhat gray sand Sabang Beach has the most developed resorts and offers a good choice of restaurants, discos and watersports facilities. Small La Laguna Beach, sometimes called Coral Beach, has whiter sand and is fairly quiet and cozy.  It attracts a lot of foreign backpackers and other budget travelers who like to stay a long time at Puerto Galera.  The broad, 1-km. long White Beach, on the other hand, is immensely popular with local tourists.  Our last stop, we had our dinner here.

Ponderosa Golf & Country Club

After our beach tour, we drove all the way back to Muelle where we decided to check in at fan-cooled rooms with toilet at bath at Coco Point Resort.  Breakfast at its restaurant, come morning, was a pleasure as I had a beautiful view of the natural yacht harbor.  We checked out right after breakfast and drove 5 kms. (half of it unpaved) all the way up to the 9-hole, 20-hectare Ponderosa Golf and Country Club, located 600 m. above sea level, midway up Mt. Malasimbo in Brgy. Minolo.  From this cool and windy vantage point, located southwest of Puerto Galera, we had a tremendous bird’s eye view of Puerto Galera Cove and Batangas’ Verde Island, Maricaban Island and Sombrero Island.  Facilities here include a restaurant and bar.

Balatero Pier

After about 30 mins., we left Ponderosa by 9 AM, driving back down the mountain and, once back on level ground, made a long stopover at White Beach.  It was time to go and we drove to Balatero Pier, 15 mins. from White Beach and near the town proper, arriving there by 11 AM.  RO-RO ships dock here and, after paying the necessary fees and fare, we loaded the Ford Explorer on the MV Starlite Odyssey.  Our ship left Puerto Galera by 12 noon and we arrived at Batangas Port by 1:40 PM.  I arrived in Manila by 4:30 PM.

Mindoro Trail: San Jose (Mindoro Occidental) to Calapan City (Mindoro Oriental)

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The dreaded Day 3 soon dawned upon us, the long (210 kms.) haul, with Charlie again at the wheel, from San Jose down south the previously mentioned horrendous stretch, then up north to the Mindoro Oriental border and on to Calapan City, the provincial capitol and the island’s only city.  We hoped to make it in time to meet with city officials.  After a short, early morning visit to San Jose’s Caminawit Port and 6 kms. of concrete road out of the town, the road soon returned to gravel up to Magsaysay town.

Bulalacao Bay

This was heaven to what awaited us: a “short” 35-km. uphill/downhill stretch along one of the worst “roads” I have ever seen, still tossing about, even in a car with good suspensions.  We never encountered any car, only motorbikes and an occasional bus.  The bad road condition was tempered by beautiful mountain scenery untouched by “progress” (brought about by good roads).  Upon entering Bulalacao, the road soon hugged the coast opening, before us, a panoramic, offshore scenery of beautiful islands along Bulalacao Bay.   Upon reaching a gas station, we had our dusty car washed, thinking that the road ahead would be better.  How wrong we were!  Although the worst was behind us, it was still gravel all the way to Mansalay and Roxas, again coating our newly-washed car with dust.  

Danggay Port

We arrived at Roxas town’s Danggay Port by noon, taking our lunch at a small eatery, part of the time watching people and cars unloading from  a slow ferry at the RORO pier, the gateway to the white sand beaches of Boracay Island (a 5 to 6-hr. boat ride away), the country’s No. 1 tourist destination.  The road from hereon to Calapan City was paved, partly concrete and mostly new and ancient asphalt (with occasional potholes).  It was still a long, nearly 100-km. drive to the city but, from now on, it was all smooth sailing.   Still, we were in a rush.   

Lake Naujan

However, old habits die hard and the tourist in us egged us to veer into a narrow dirt road, hoping to get a better view of the 79-sq. km. freshwater Lake Naujan, the largest (covering the towns of Naujan, Pola and Victoria) in the province and fifth largest in the country.  Ideal for birdwatching (it supports a large number of ducks and other waterfowl), the lake’s rich fauna also includes the country’s two crocodile species: the highly endangered Mindoro freshwater crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) and the estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus).  However, no matter how far we went, no good vantage point was in sight so I decided to leave the car, go by foot up a hill and there, get a good shot. 

Calapan City Hall

We finally reached Calapan City by 4 PM and got to meet with city officials at their stunningly new, white-painted and 2-storey high City Hall, built in the Neo-Classical style of architecture.  Calapan has changed much since my last visit and the city is now booming, with new hotels sprouting up.  One such, the Calapan Bay Hotel, where we stayed overnight, is worthy of note.  Aside from its 12 beautiful airconditioned rooms with bath and cable TV (standard and superior), its appeal lies in its porch-like, multi-cuisine coffee shop (Café Angela) facing the sea.  Here, one savors not only the good food but also the all-embracing whiff of the cool sea breeze.  Too bad it was just an overnight stay.  I would have enjoyed a longer stay.  Just the same, we still had to proceed to Puerto Galera, our final destination and debarkation point back to Manila.

Mindoro Trail: Batangas City to Mamburao (Mindoro Occidental)

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The 10,245-sq. km. Mindoro Island, the country’s fifth largest island, remains relatively unknown in the tourism highway.  Outside of Puerto Galera and what little we know of the traditionally animist, polytheistic and semi-nomadic Mangyan tribe and the rare, severely endangered and elusive Mindoro dwarf water buffalo or tamaraw (the country’s largest wild animal), very few have even heard of it.  More so with Mindoro Occidental, its western part.

 

Batangas International Port

Yours truly, together with Mr. Harland “Charlie” Kemplin of United Tourist Promotions (makers of EZ Maps), wanted to correct this sad state of affairs by creating a tourist map of the island (featuring Puerto Galera, Calapan City, Mamburao, Sablayan, Pandan Island Resort, etc.), probably the first of its kind to be so conceived.  To do this, we had to experience the island, first-hand, by circumnavigating.  For this purpose, we will be using the latest Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology plus a rugged, 4-wheel drive, circa 1994 but newly refurbished Ford Explorer.  We intend to complete this island circuit in 5 days.  We left early in the morning of 6 April, Charlie driving all the way to Batangas City’s International Port in a little over 2 hrs..  There are 3 entry points to Mindoro from Batangas City: Abra de Ilog in Mindoro Occidental and Puerto Galera and Calapan City, both in Mindoro Oriental.  We opted for Abra de Ilog, the least traveled of the three.   

A RO-RO Ship

We estimated that the ancient RORO (Roll-On-Roll-Off) ferry boat we loaded the car on had a capacity for 9 vehicles but we were told it would carry 13.  How this came about was soon revealed to us when 3 cars were fitted in a space ideally suited for only 2, forcing the driver to stay inside (unless he could exit via a sunroof) for the duration of the 2.5-hr. cruise with no toilet breaks.  We entered last, parking where the ship narrowed at the bow, thus allowing us to get out of the car.  We also had the added advantage of being the first out the ship upon landing at Abra de Ilog.

Tayamaan Beach

One thing was revealed to us before the trip: there is no road (erroneously indicated in other maps) connecting Abra de Ilog with neighboring Puerto Galera.   The only way to proceed was south.  A portent of things to come was revealed as soon as we left Abra de Ilog’s Wawa Port by 2:30 PM for the 35 km. drive to Mamburao, the provincial capital.  A road less traveled is probably a road unpaved and the road south was mostly such.  The only comfortable drive we encountered was an 18-km. stretch past San Isidro.

The Provincial Capitol

Upon reaching Mamburao, we made brief stopover at the town’s beautiful but short Tayamaan Beach.  Next, we proceeded to the Provincial Capitol where we met up with provincial officials.  We were given advanced warning of the horrendous road conditions from San Jose to Bulalacao (the first town on the Oriental side).  Charlie, who did all of the driving, was having second thoughts of pushing on but, with our pioneering spirit egging us on, insanity finally prevailed.  But first, we had to rest and we checked in at 2 airconditioned rooms with bath and cable TV at the upscale La Gensol Plaza Hotel, the best in town.  Later that night, we sang our hearts out at a videoke, together with Provincial Tourism Officer, Ricky Martin-wannabe and namesake Mr. Benjie Datinguinoo.   

On the Road to Alaminos City

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Come Holy Week, I decided to bring Jandy to the Hundred Islands in Alaminos City as well as Bolinao, both in Pangasinan, a first for both of us.  For companions, I invited friends Lourdes “Lulu” Siguenza and Rosevie “Vi” Sevilla, also both first-timers to these destinations.  Bringing along my 2003 Toyota Revo as well as camping equipment (tent, portable stove, sleeping bags, portable lamps, etc.), we departed Manila by 6 PM and, somehow, avoided heavy traffic, it being the holiday rush, and being stopped for number coding violations (we weren’t  sure if this was suspended). 

Vi and Lulu at Texas Inn

At the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), we made a short stopover for dinner at a Chowking outlet in Petron Marilao (Bulacan) then continued on our way.   It seems I took the wrong exit at NLEX as I found out, much later, that I was headed for Zambales instead.  As a result, we lost valuable time, and gasoline, as we backtracked and entered the proper NLEX exit at Dau.  From there, we passed through Tarlac City and Camiling, then entered Pangasinan, way past midnight, at Mangatarem.  We then passed through the towns of Bugallon, Labrador and Sual before entering Alaminos City, arriving there by 1:30 PM.  Being very late, we decided to get some sleep at the first inn we could find – Texas Inn which, I found out soon enough, was a drive-in motel.  I was too tired to care.  

Mena Crisologo Street (Vigan City, Ilocos Sur)

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After lunch at Laoag City (Ilocos Norte), we continued on our way to Bauang (La Union) but decided to make a stopover at Vigan City and do some sightseeing and souvenir shopping along Mena Crisologo Street.  This cobblestoned street  is lined with a number of shops selling antiques and more recent novelties such as abel handicrafts, miniature furniture, fans and white and colored T-shirts.  Aside from some abel wall hangings and some T-shirts, we bought some decorative burnay pots.  


Mena Crisologo Street


The street also has a number of Spanish-era structures.  Vigan, recently included in the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage List, has 220 Spanish-era structures, 156 of which are old houses.  Many of the old homes of Vigan’s elite, documented by the Vigan Historical Society, were built in the 1850s by Chinese taipans during the profitable indigo trade.   Built in various styles (Spanish, Mexican or Chinese), all have thick brick and stone lower walls with imposing wide arch doorways, piedra china, grand staircases, wooden upper floors with massive, polished narra floors, high ceilings and sliding capiz windows with ventanillas, red tile roofs, balconies with ornate metal grillework overlooking the street and cool azoteas (tiled patio) in the rear. 


Stopover: Cape Bojeador Lighhouse (Burgos, Ilocos Norte)

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Cape Bojeador Lighthouse

About 25 kms. out of Pagudpud, past Bangui, on our way to Bauang (La Union), we made a short stopover at Cape Bojeador Lighthouse, Burgos town’s famous landmark.   Designed by Magin Pers and Pers in 1887, first lit on March 30, 1892 and still in use, this 19-m. (57-ft.) high lighthouse, also known as the Burgos Lighhouse, is one of the highest in the country.  It is perched on 160-m. high Vigia de Nagpartian Hill, between the low shrub Ilocos Mountains and squat coral cliffs facing the northern portion of the South China Sea.  A 45-km. (1-hr. ) drive from Laoag City, it could be reached by steps from the Maharlika Highway at Km. 536.  The octagonal lighthouse, topped by a bronze cupola, was made of lime, sand and water reinforced by a mixture of molasses and a sticky by-product of the rubber tree known locally as ablut.   

The rocky Cape Bojeador coastline

Too bad we couldn’t climb its narrow iron spiral staircase to the lantern room (now a modern electric lamp powered by solar panels) and its viewing gallery surrounded with decorative iron grille work as the lighthouse was then undergoing a much-needed rehabilitation and we could only admire it from outside. Just the same, we still had a breathtaking view, from the hill, of the surrounding expanse of the rough and rocky coastline of Cape Bojeador and the whitecaps of the South China Sea.  

Patapat Viaduct (Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte)

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It was already very late in the afternoon when we proceeded, for some photo ops, at the 1.3-km. (0.81 mile) long Patapat Causeway Bridge near the border of Cagayan, a must-see for first time visitors to Pagudpud.  Here, the Cordillera Mountains ends, edging out the coastal plains and plunging into Pasaleng Bay.  

Patapat Viaduct

As there is no narrow coastal plain along this area to build a road, this bridge, instead hugs the mountainside nearest to the cliff and extends toward the sea.  This concrete coastal viaduct, connecting the Maharlika Highway, from Laoag City to the Cagayan Valley Region, is the 4th longest bridge in the country.  It rises 31 m. (102 ft.) above sea level and is located 16 kms. from the town proper.   

The dramatic landscape and seascape

Our drive here gave us a 360-degree view of the most magnificent and dramatic land and seascapes along the Philippine highway system.  Visitors sometimes toss coins into the coves and surf below to ensure safe travel. Along the cliff sides, cascades and mini-falls descend directly to the road side.

Pasaleng Bay

Upon our return to Saud Beach Resort, we went restaurant hopping along the beach, for a change of pace and cuisine, and settled for dinner at the restaurant of Terra Rika Beach & Dive Resort.  Come morning,  our last day at Pagudpud, I decided to burn some of my extra calories with an early morning stroll, prior to breakfast, at the beach to see its true length.  I hiked as far as Jalao Point and its small, modern lighthouse before turning back.  After breakfast, we all checked out of the resort and left Pagudpud by 11 AM.

Jalao Point