Day 8 of my 14-Day Backpacking Trip where I challenged myself to spend only PhP250/day. Find out how!
Shells on the Resort at Villa
Walking up on a beach resort is the most amazing reward I had for the friendship and being honest in CouchSurfing. I still cannot believe that I have a private room overlooking the sea. My host prepared some coffee while I take the time to take some snapshots of the place. The sand is not white but still clean.
I had a nice sleep, I even wanted to take another hour or two but that means to miss the beauty of South Iloilo.
Since friends adviced me to visit the churches in the South- I wanted to start at the farthest destination- San Joaquin, Iloilo then going back to the Iloilo city proper stopping along the way. San Joaquin, Iloilo is an underrated town, its bordering Panini-y, Antique (another 1.5 hours of land travel) which offers a variety of historical places ready to be explored by the observant traveler.
19th Century Church of San Joaquin
San Joaquin. As I said in my previous post, the church of San Joaquin is so much underrated for Miag-ao always gets all the glory. Travelers like me who want to explore more would definitely dig deeper and go farther- 15minutes away from the famous Miag-ao Church. So if you want to check out Miag-ao go farther and include San Joaquin in your itinerary.
For a better appreciation of San Joaquin, you can check out my previous post HERE.
Field of Saints, San Joaquin, Iloilo
Campo Santo, San Joaquin. Literally, “Field of Saints” a 19th century cemetery build on a hill over-looking the sea. I think this is a nice place to have pre-nup photoshoot. Yes, its a bit scary but the view of the sea brings a lot of memories, should I have more time I tried taking a quick dip. But I have to tarry and go to the next destination…
Bas Relief at Miag-ao Church
Miag-ao Church. I arrived at this UNESCO-stamped church raining. I have no choice but to stay at the Municipal Town Center and wait for atleast 2 hours. No nothing to do except to admire the old photos of the different tourist spots found in Miag-ao and the surrounding towns.
I will not forget the conversation I had with the tourism officer of Miag-Ao as I was asking for a brochure or any information about Miag-ao Church. He said, “Naubusan kami.” Too bad! I hope they just ran out of brochures because this church is a tourist spot. We don’t want to discouraged tourist who loves to learn something about history.
Yellow 18th Century Guimbal Church
Guimbal Church. I think the churches that I visited always has a yellowish complexion. Are they suffereing from Hepatitis or just Pro-Cory/PNoy? Built more than 20 years before Miag-ao Church this small church of Guimbal stands proud as a testimony of the faith of the Southern Ilonggos.
Sorry Tigbauan. I judged the church by its facade. I was wrong and until now I regret that I missed documenting the beautiful 16th century sculptures inside Tigbauan’s church.
CouchSurfing Friends at a Coffee Shop
CouchSurfing and friends. Its getting late so I need to hurry up and meet friends and CouchSurfing Iloilo group. This is a great way to make new friends while traveling- couchsurfing.org. Thanks for the time Rhea and Shaun. Again, if you are not yet registered try join CS. I also met with a longtime friend Vophi.
Chill at Terraza Grill. Because of the limited budget that I have, I have to say pass on chill nights. So what will I do if its for free? Thanks to my CouchSurfing host, Rudy, for the treat. I still owe you one bucket here in Manila bosing.
Day 8 Expenses in Philippine Peso:
P14 Jeepney (Villa – Oton)
P40 Jeepey (Oton – Miag-ao)
P15 Jeepney (Miag-ao to San Joaquin)
P10 Bread (Donut and Hopia)
P25 Batchoy (Charlyn’s) – better than Ted’s
P7 Jeepney (San Joaquin – Campo Santo)
P15 Jeepney (Campo Santo – Miag-ao)
P30 Batchoy with hot pandesal
P15 Jeepney (Miag-ao – Guimbal)
P25 Jeepney (Guimbal – Mohon,Oton)
P10 Jeepney (Oton – Iloilo City)
P20 Tricycle fare
P14 Jeepney (to Villa)
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PhP 240 (US$ 5.44 or € 4.22)
On the 9th day you will find me walking on the streets of the Old Iloilo City and then to Capiz. Forgive me for being “so bagal” to post. That is meant to get you excited and adds more suspense.
it's a great idea to share couches with people with the same passion as yours. ang galing ng nakaimbento, at ang bait ng mga host. cheers to them!
try ko yan pero within pinas lang muna. im a bit aloof and scared.
yeah, its cool too! thanks for dropping by again chyng
I was browsing the web for an itinerary re your suggestion for South Iloilo, and look where it lead me… Back to your amazing blog!
Really helpful, James. So rich of information. Kampay!!! 🙂
Hi James,
It’s Anini-y, Antique bordering San Joaquin, Iloilo. Anini-y is the located in the southern most tip of Antique. It’s waiting to be explored – San Juan de Nepomoceno Church, which is also a century old and a few remaining coral stone structure in our province. just at the back of teh Church is Nogas island a 24 hectare marine reserve. Come and visit Antique soon! Kruhay!