Lucie & Rhys´s Honeymoon Adventure: Week 80 - Guimaras, Boracay, Carabao (Philippines)

Another early start and we left our pension in Silay at 8am. After waiting a couple of minutes, a local bus pulled up heading to Bacolod north terminal. Although we were over taken by two Ceres buses, it was worthwhile as our driver and conductor looked so happy to have white people aboard I thought they were going to burst. From the terminal we took a cab to the port and found a ferry going to Iloilo in Panay. The hour long ferry ride was painless and once at the other side we grabbed a tricycle to the Ortiz pier where we caught another smaller boat to Guimaras Island, 15 minutes away, followed by another tricycle to our accommodation on the other side of the island. Finally, a travel day where everything went to plan and on time.

One of the women who ran our resort was a bit fruit loop but we eventually got ourselves into our rooms (sadly Rhodri’s treehouse was a little too basic and we had to upgrade him) and settled down to a home cooked lunch with views out across Lawi Bay. After lunch me and Rhys went for a swim and Rhodri took a nap. The pool was a winner, set in the jungle and right by our cottages. Rhys joined Rhod and napped while I read and we woke Rhodri in time to watch the sunset from the restaurant. A game of cards, home cooked Adobo pork and a bottle of rum and we were ready for a final swim and bed.

We booked motorbikes for the next day and Rhys took Rhodri up to the tarmac road to make sure he was comfortable riding with gears. Once he got the hang of it they came back to pick me up and we headed out to explore the island. First stop was at the Trappist Monastery. Although we’d stopped there briefly with our tricycle driver the previous day, we’d only seen the gift shop and wanted to pop in to see the actual monastery. It wasn’t really very spectacular but as the only male monastery in the Philippines we felt we had to to stop by. Next, just across the road, we pulled in to the Mango Research Centre. Guimaras is famous for it’s mangoes which are hailed as the sweetest in the world. After reading some info boards about their research, we were able to wander around the orchard and the nursery, amazed at just how many fruit can grow on one tree and how they manage to staple each fruit in to it’s own little newspaper pouch to protect it.

Rhys and Rhodri strolling through the orchard at the Mango Research Centre, Guimaras.

Mangoes for sale, the sweetest in the world! Guimaras.

Next, we tried to find a waterfall but failed and ended up down a very bumpy dirt track and gave up and continued to Alubihod Beach. We’d considered staying at Alubihod and were very glad we didn’t. The main resort there, Raymans, is a bit like Butlins and the beach, although beautiful white sand, was packed. We arranged for a private boat to take us out for a couple of hours and ducked into Rayman’s restaurant for lunch. The boat trip was well worth it. After passing Fairy Castle Island, our first stop was as Ave Maria, a very pretty little beach with a sand bar jutting out into the water and semi decent coral and marine life. Next we stopped at Turtle Beach where one poor turtle was kept in captivity for tourists to pick up and take photos of, we left pretty quickly. Next, we went to a shrine with some great views over the nearby islets before pulling in to Baras cave, a cave big enough for a boat to fit it (or three boats even, since there were more people doing the same route). We jumped out of the boat and swam in the cave in the bright turquiose waters with bats flying around. Back on the boat Rhys asked if we could go to ‘the place with the big fish’, thinking it was somewhere we could snorkel. We didn’t realise how far away it was and by the time we got there we figured we’d have to extend our trip from 2 hours to 3. It was well worth it though. It was another research station where they breed fish to release into the wild and give vaccinations and the like. The star attractions were Mike and Pedro, two 25 year old grouper, weighing in at 120kg. One of the research assistants took us around, he was incredibly knowledgeable and we had a great time.

Rhys swimming in Baras Cave, Guimaras.

Mike the Grouper, Guimaras.

Our boatmen took us back to the beach and we climbed back on our bikes for one last stop of the day, at the Guisi Lighthouse. Again, a worthwhile stop, it’s an old metal lighthouse that’s in ruins but that you can still climb. Rhodri waited at the bottom while me and Rhys braved the spiral staircase for views across Guisi Bay from the top, a lovely little cove that we wished we had time to sit and relax on. We ended the day back at our resort with a swim in the pool and home cooked dinner on the terrace.

Guisi Lighthouse, Guimaras.

We had arranged to be collected by the tricycle driver at 7:30am the following morning to take us back in to Jordon to catch a boat back to Iloilo. The road leading to the resort was so steep and rocky that we had to walk for the first 10 minutes while our tricycle driver battled to get our luggage up to the main road. Once in Iloilo we found a cab to take us to the Ceres bus terminal where we’d timed it just right to get seats on a spacious aircon bus, a real treat after the hideous bus trip to and from Sipalay. The 6 hour journey flew by and me and Rhys enjoyed a roadside lunch partway through. The bus dropped us at the terminal in Caticlan for boats across to Boracay. The crowds were overwhelming, so different to anywhere else in the Philippines. We joined the masses and were fed through to a waiting area and straight on to a boat. 30 minutes later and we were on Boracay and in a tricycle to our guesthouse, near boat station 1.

Although we’d got ourselves confused and booked the room for the wrong dates, they managed to squeeze us in. We dumped our bags and headed out to White Beach to explore. White Beach is a beautiful 3km stretch of white sand, lined with resorts, restaurants and bars. It’s unlike anywhere else we’ve been here and is the only place where we felt like it caters more for package tourists than backpackers. We walked the length of the beach weaving between the hundreds of people, stopping for a happy hour cocktail when we got near boat station 3, the quieter and cheaper end of the beach. Deciding to freshen up before dinner we caught a tricycle back to ours. A short while later and we were back on the beach, it was already much quieter and more appealing. We shopped at the souvenir stalls and ate kebabs on the sand before wandering back to the cocktail bar on the beach.

Sail boats lining White Beach, Boracay.

We checked out the next day and lugged our backpacks down to White Beach to search for a boatman going to Carabao Island. There aren’t any public boats from Boracay and you can either charter your own boat or try to get a lift home with the locals when they head back there in the afternoons. We found a couple of guys leaving at 3-4pm but after Rhys negotiated a great deal to charter a sailboat we left immediately. It cost us £20 for all three of us and we loved it. It took about 45 minutes and we were drenched by the time we got to Lanas, we hadn’t realised it was a racing boat until we climbed aboard. The crew were having a wail of a time while the boat sped through the waves leaning into the wind with us perched out on the wings. We arrived and straight away managed to find three people with motorbikes who could take us to Poblacion, a beach we’d heard was the best on the island. The journey was great fun, we clung on, trying not to tip backwards with our bags on while climbing up and over the hill, following a concrete path.

Me and Rhodri on the sailboat to Carabao Island.

When we got there we met the mayor, Fil and looked at a room he had to rent in his house. Leaving Rhodri there for lunch, me and Rhys wandered along the beach to check out other options. Seeing the beach, we were a little disappointed, it was littered with seaweed and rubbish, brought in by the choppy sea. It turns out it was just the wrong time of year for that side of the island, a shame since the photos we’d seen showed a glorious white sand beach. After a quick discussion we all agreed that we’d prefer to head back to Lanas, the beach where our boat had landed, and try to find accommodation there, although we had heard that it was the priceier side of the island with the more established resorts.

Rhys asked the mayor to organise some more bikes for us and we clung on for the uncomfortable but exciting journey back to Lanas. We asked the bikes to drop us at Nipa Hauz, a resort right on the beach that i’d read about and after looking at another two rooms at places nearby we settled at Nipas. We dropped our bags in the room and cooled off in the sea before grabbing a late lunch in the restaurant. We were the only people staying there and only saw a couple of other white people on the whole island- considering we were only 30 minutes from Boracay we felt like we’d found a spot a little off the beaten track. While Rhodri slept in the room and in the hammock, me and Rhys whiled away the afternoon walking along the beach, watching the locals play basketball in the village, swimming, snorkeling and relaxing. Despite it being a coral beach it was still beautiful and the sea was crystal clear.

Sunset outside Nipa Hauz, Carabao Island.

The next day we left Rhodri in bed to enjoy a well earned lay in. As the electricity doesn’t run all night and the generator wasn’t powerful enough to keep the aircon on it got stifling hot in the room and me and Rhys struggled to sleep for long. Instead, we sat on the beach with a morning coffee before a not overly impressive snorkel. Rhys left me to walk in to the village to try to buy fruit and when he returned we walked in the other direction along the beach. Rhodri appeared at lunchtime and we ate at our resort before he disappeared off to the room again for a bit more recovery time. That night we walked along the beach to another empty resort run by a lovely German couple where we had all you can eat BBQ. Although it wasn’t what we expected, we had a very pleasant evening sitting around a big table with the managers and a couple of the kids of the Filippino owners.

As most of the motorboats that work on Boracay belong to people living on Carabao, each evening around 3-4pm, they head home. We’d waited on the beach and agreed with a boatman to take us back across the following morning when he headed to work. He told us to be ready at 5am when he would pick us up from Nipas. At 5am we were in the restaurant waiting. He didn’t appear. At 5:30am we decided to walk along the beach to the village to try to find another boat. Lots of boats were heading to Boracay but none would take us. Eventually, Rhys found a ferry boat headed to Caticlan that was making a stop at Boracay and we jumped on. Sitting on the roof of a boat watching the dawn break over a paradise island isn’t a bad start to the day. We motored past White Beach and pulled into a tiny cove near the port. I’m not sure how legit it was as we ended up walking along a dirt track and arriving at the main road after passing through a big gate with a no entry sign on.

We hailed a tricycle and arrived at our hostel, Boracay Boarding House, by 7:30am. Rhodri’s room was ready so we dumped our bags, left Rhodri to sleep for a couple of hours and headed out to find a coffee shop. We strolled around the markets, got Rhys a haircut, then found a spot on the beach to sleep before lunch. Back at the room we woke Rhodri and checked in to our own room. The first room they gave us was a massive family room and we ended up having to move to another room which was a bit of a shame but it was still great value. Rhodri popped out to the markets and me and Rhys headed back to White Beach to walk up to Boat Station 3 and Angol, the backpacker area. It was much quieter the further you walked but the sand was coarser and less white in colour.

We headed back to the room and woke Rhodri to head out for dinner. We were all abit shattered after the early start and i’d picked up a cold so we just had kebabs on the beach again before a very early night.

After a mammoth 12 hour sleep and a lay in with coffees in bed, we left Rhodri to his bed (jeez can that boy sleep!) and wandered to the back side of the island, Bulabog Beach, renowned for it’s kitesurfing. The beach was quiet. Although it was lined with kitesurf schools, no one was out on the water and the sand was compacted and strewn with seaweed, not an ideal sunbathing or swimming beach but nice for a walk to get away from the crowds. Back at the room, we packed a picnic (cornbeef and pickle sandwiches and salt and vinegar crisps - yum!), collected Rhodri and caught a tricycle to Puka Beach. It was by far my favourite beach on the island. Although the sand wasn’t as fine or as white as White Beach, there were only a handful of people there and rather than being lined by resorts and restaurants, it backs onto hills covered in trees and scrub and the odd palm tree, a far more remote and tranquil setting. We swam, walked along the beach, sunbathed, drank fresh coconuts, bought some more souvenirs and after 3 hours, caught a tricycle back into town. That evening we wandered through the markets, ate at a posh burger restaurant and had a cocktail on the beach, turning in early again as we had an early start the next day and I was still a bit under the weather.