Day 7: (Guimaras) Hammock to (Iloilo City) Private Room

This is Day 7 of the 14-Day Backpacking Challenge I did last July 6-20, 2011 in West Visayas.

Last night my back was full of insect bites and I wasn’t able to sleep properly. But I have no regrets, the journey will not be complete without the insect bites. But sometime along the way you still want some comfort. Let’s see if I will find that tonight. And since I’m in Guimaras already, I should not leave without satisfying my sweet tooth of the famous Guimaras mango.

Waking up on this beautiful secret cove is surreal- the sea breeze, blue skies,golden sand, and the view of the 19th century lighthouse with I explored for a good 1 hour before taking a quick dip to the sea.

Now I’m ready to go to the next destination! I think I would visit the Trappist Monastery then go to Rene (the province historian/researcher I met last night) at the Provincial Capitol. Hopefully, I can have some taste of the mango before I head my way to Iloilo City.

After about 10 minutes of boat ride (Jordan-Iloilo City), transition from beach life to city life in less than an hour, I’m excited for the new adventure. I want to tell you a secret to go cheap while traveling- COUCHSURFING.ORG.

CouchSurfing (CS) is an online community of travelers/backpackers who offers their place/couch/bed/room/sala to strangers for free. It transforms our way of travel– just imagine going to places and staying overnight for free- and you get to make friends in the process too! For more information about CS, please check the website: www.couchsurfing.org

Here in Iloilo I used CS, someone offered their place for me to stay- for free. I just told her that I want something near the beach so I can easily set up my hammock. Thanks Radi for the offer- she not only gave me a place near the beach, she offered me a private room in their beach resort at Villa, Iloilo City- that is for FREE! Thanks Radi, Rudy and Couchsurfing!

PEOPLE I MET

1. Rene, historian/researcher at Guimaras Capitol

2. Radi and Rudy (siblings). They hosted me for 2 days in their nice beach resort at Villa. Thanks Bosing Rudy for the rock n roll nights!

FOODS I ATE

1. The sweetest mango in the world. Nanay Eden, whose won 1st place on the Best Boat Display last Manggahan Festival gave me her one and only ripe mango when she learned that I came all the way from Manila just to taste the Guimaras mango. Thank you Nay Eden!

2. Eel for lunch. I enetered Judavel’s eatery and ordered eel boiled in coconut oil (“ginataang palos”). A little bit slimy at first but yummy at best!

3. Mango piaya. If I’m not on a budget, I think I will buy more of this. Must-buy for pasalubong. Available at Tourism Office of Guimaras, near the Capitol, Alubhod.

4. Ted’s Batchoy. The first thing I bought in Lapaz, Iloilo City is my personal favorite- the batchoy.

Thanks to CouchSurfing, I got a Private Room, bye for now my beloved Hammock.

Expenses for Day 7 (in Philippine peso):

P10 Entrance Fee (Guisi Lighthouse)
P20 Motorcycle aka Habal-habal (Guisi-Dolores)
P20 Jeepney (Dolores-Trappist)
P7 Jeepney (Trappist-Alubhod)
P40 Lunch (Eel + 1 1/2 cups of rice)
P20 Mango (1pc.)
P35 Mango Piaya
P20 Internet usage (for FB/Twitter updates)
P10 Jeepney (Capitol-Rizal,Jordan)
P13 Pumpboat (Jordan, Guimaras-Iloilo City)
P7 Jeepney to Lapaz
P60 Ted’s Batchoy
P7 Lapaz-Jaro
P14 Jaro-Valencia

——————-

PhP 283.00 (US$6.42) – Again excess of my P250/day budget. Its okay, I still have extra from my savings from Days 1-5.

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