Since the oil spill in August 2006, tourists have shied away from this bountiful island. But as Maida C. Pineda finds out, there are many enticing reasons to visit.
Mention Guimaras, an island as big as Singapore with a population of 167,000, and mangos spring to mind. However there’s more to it than fruit, with a Trappist monastery, agriculture, new resorts and stunning sunsets. Here are seven experiences that show why Guimaras is worth revisiting.
photo by Josedeluna (Flickr)
1. Mango Mania
photo by h.neu (Flickr)
The province prides itself on producing the sweetest mangos in the country and the famed fruit made its way as far as the White House in 2001, as a special present to US President George Bush by the Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Mangoes are exported to many countries, including the US and Australia, and even has its own festival in Guimaras called Manggahan, held from 16-21 April, with street dancing, performances, and even an all-you-can-eat mango contest. The PHP50/USD1.25 fee entitles you to indulge in as many mangoes as you can consume – last year’s winner ate an astounding six kilograms!
February to June is the harvest season, but mango products abound for the rest of the year: anything from jam, piaya (a sweet bread), tarts, turon (spring roll), and even ketchup. The island’s wet and dry seasons are perfect for creating fruit with concentrated sweetness. If you want to find out anything and everything about growing mangos (including pests and insects that may harm the trees), head to The National Mango Research and Development Center, the only government institution in the country solely devoted to the fruit.
2. Alternative Farming
So ideal are the conditions in Guimaras for growing mangoes, that Rose Greisser and her husband Erwin, an Austrian pastry chef, bought property for their farm during a 10-day visit seven years ago. The retired pastry chef has given up his spatulas for a hoe and wheelbarrow, spending his days busily tilling the soil for their pineapple and mango plantation called Wonder Farm. They have an organic vegetable and herb garden and a pond filled with catfish. Rose has given up her home in Bulacan and spends her days in her new home in Guimaras, where she makes jam, delicious mango balls candy and pickled pineapples (atchara). Her joy is walking around the farm inspecting her trees. When she claps her hands, the fish come towards her, ready to be fed.
For those wishing to learn more, a tour is open to the public for PHP20/USD0.50 per head. Walking through her farm is lovely, but it’s the encounter with someone filled with so much passion that is priceless and Gressier can talk for hours about her love for farming.
3. Soul Trade
photo by jaypresaldo (Flickr)
The monastery is the most visited destination on Guimaras. Stepping foot on land at Jordan wharf, the jeepney drivers will immediately ask “Sa Trappist?”
Many people go to the Monastery of Our Lady of The Philippines Cistercian Monks of Strict Observance to buy their fill of guava and mango jam, cashews and other sweet delicacies, which the Trappists have been producing since the late 1970s. This business helps the monks to support their order.
The 75 hectare property is home to 22 monks, with a guesthouse offering accommodation to the religious and non-religious, seeking days of prayer and reflection for only PHP500/USD12.30 per night, inclusive of three meals and two snacks. The community is self-sufficient and grows its own food and a lifetime here is a simple one without television and modern day luxuries.
Continuing the monastic tradition dating back to the 1700s, the monks commit to a life guided by a rhythm of prayer, manual labor, and study in the only Trappist monastery in the Philippines. There’s an astonishing discipline to waking up at 2.15am for the first of five prayers throughout the day. A daily 6am mass is open to the public. Many come to share with the solemnity of the monks. As Dom Fil, the abbot explains: “In every person, there is a monk.” Cris, a regular Sunday churchgoer can attest to the monks’ positive effect on people, “Dom Fil can even make the little kids sit still and behave during an entire mass.”
4. Going Green
Committed to the environment, Father Cornelio Jaranilla is developing his family’s resort to allow guests to commune with nature. You can climb up the five-story rustic tree house within the mangroves to enjoy a spectacular view of the sea. He’s built a boardwalk through the mangroves where visitors can walk and marvel at the reforestation, and his cottages are located right in the mangroves. Not wanting to cut any trees, the priest made an effort to build around them so guests literally live within the trees, with the branches sprouting next to the guest houses’ beds.
This committed environmentalist walks through the mangrove’s boardwalk to check the trees daily. “The best fertilizer is the footprints of the farmer,” he explains. Sharing his passion for nature, he invites guests to trek through the rugged terrain of trees, shrubs, and to watch the egrets. He is also working on creating a river cruise beginning from his family resort, inspired by the famous Bohol Loboc River Cruise.
5. Tourism With A Difference
Tired of the commercial beachside resorts? Experience community tourism at its best in Guisi, in the southern municipality of Nueva Valencia. This barangay was affected by the oil spill, but the locals’ resilient spirits led them to work together improve things. Their community-based heritage tourism project has really taken off, receiving several awards including the Best Emerging Tourism Destination in Western Visayas.
A tourist visiting the barangay will experience the finest Filipino hospitality and bayanihan (the traditional value of working together for the good of the community). School children make guests feel like celebrities upon their arrival, as they are greeted with singing and dancing to a cheerful Ilonggo song. They even engage guests in the festive dance. Then everyone partakes in ibos, a type of local suman (a native sticky rice snack).
The community prides itself on an old lighthouse built over two years (1896-1898), but unfortunately, only a run down skeleton of the structure remains. Close to the lighthouse and the beach, visitors can rent a little cottage for their stay. A small outrigger boat can take you around the islands, or the daring can go for a thrilling adventure rappelling 90 feet down the cliff to the beaches of Dolores.
Perhaps the best attraction for tourists is witnessing bayanihan at work. Instead of commercial business establishments, the entire community does their share. The little children provide the entertainment and make souvenirs. The mothers cook meals and snacks, while the men are the designated boatmen. Young adults are the enthusiastic tour guides, leading the adventure.
6. Seaside Serenity
Guimaras is not lacking in picturesque beach resorts. Don’t expect top end accommodation, a party nightlife or even immaculate waters, but if you’re looking for deserted beaches, this could be the place.
Famous for its spectacular sunsets, Nagarao Island Resort is one of the many that doesn’t disappoint (nagarao means sunny). The pier makes an excellent setting for stunning silhouettes against deep orange and purple skies. And in the evening, Helen Stummer, the resort’s owner, stages a family meal with guests all dining together on one table. In busier times, an extended table was filled with mainly German tourists staying for weeks, or even months, during the European winters. Although the season is quieter since the spill, Helen serves delicious fresh fish and prawns, local mangos and cookies from her German Restaurant in Iloilo city. The wine keeps on flowing, punctuated with spirited conversation, lots of laughter and fascinating travel tales.
On another island, Peter Bryan Harper Bill, an Englishman and sailing enthusiast, fell in love with the surroundings, prompting him to set up Baras Resort in 1985. The resort still has no electricity and only runs on a generator for several hours in the evening, but the cottages are strategically built along the cliff so guests can sit on the balcony, soothed by the gentle waves beneath and experience nature in its most unspoilt form.
7. Be Enchated
photo by garachi2004 (Flickr)
A visit to Navalas Church, about 7km from Buenavista on the northern end of the island, is like a walk back in time. This 17th century limestone church is still intact, with a roofless bell tower next to it. If you continue heading towards the water, you will see Rosa Encantada (Enchanted Rock), the summer home of the wealthy Lopez clan. It is a good place to hire a pumpboat to explore Siete Pecados (Island of Seven Sins), a cluster of seven uninhabited islands.
Perhaps the island’s most endearing asset is how it has maintained its rustic provincial life. There are no enterprising vendors at the beach, or persistent boatmen forcing their services on you. The internet is hard to come by. Many roads are still unpaved. Indeed, the idyllic life in the farmlands and fishing villages remains intact, and the simplicity of the countryside continues to charm.
WHERE TO STAY
Secret Convention Center and Hotel, tel (0) 916 536 9540 This 1.2 hectare hidden accommodation won’t be a secret for long. Rooms start at PHP1,200/ USD29.52
Our Lady of the Philippines Cistercian Monks of Strict Observance, tel (0) 0919 244 7891 For spartan accommodation with a soul, contact Father Bruno.Overnight stay, three meals and two snacks is only PHP500/USD12.30.
Guisi Community Heritage Based Community Tourism Project, tel (0) 920 547 0288 Help a community while you holiday. For PHP1,600/USD39.36 per person, a package includes the tour, food, and overnight accommodation. All profits go directly to the locals.
Valle Verde Mountain Resort, tel (0) 918 730 3446 or (0) 918 594 0958 Offers the best view of Lawi Bay, the western coast of the island province.
Nagarao Island Resort, tel 33 320 2186 or 33 329 0078 Sunny days, always sunny dispositions and the best seafood spread for dinner.
Baras Beach Resort, tel (0) 917 241 1422 or (0) 915 450 2351 Seaside solace and delicious Malaysian curries.
Tequero Resort, tel (0) 920 290 0321 Mangroves, trekking and nature.
El Retiro Beach Park, tel (033) 320 3075 or (0) 33 328 0779 Close to Roca Encantada, the fabled Siete Pecados, and Navalas Church, a 17th Century limestone church is nearby.
HOW TO GET THERE
Cebu Pacific flies to Iloilo City daily. Take the passenger ferry from Ortiz Wharf in Iloilo to Jordan wharf for only PHP11/USD0.27 per person. The boat ride takes about 15 minutes, with departures also every 15 minutes.
Article source: Smile (Inflight Magazine of Cebu Pacific)