Believe it or not, with all the wonders and beauty that I've seen from this paradise called Guimaras, I, myself, cannot believe that our last stop, Guimaras Museum, would be the most disappointing part of them all. Taking the fact that this sad place holds the collection of this paradise's history - really, really sad to see.
FYI, I wrote this blog not because I wanna throw dirt on Guimaras, if you'll read my previous blogs about my first visit here, you'll feel how I enjoyed the province. I wrote this to call the attention of their local government or probably the national government to help the province preserve what's left for them - their rich culture, their simple yet colorful history.
Run by monks of the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, whom we found really strict, with their actions, diction and facial expressions, ones' visit to this well-graced province, Guimaras, wouldn't be complete without paying a visit to Trappist Abbey.
If you are staying to Raymen Resort, Rico Beach Resort or even in Baras Resort, you don't have to worry, because you'll be passing by here, and it'll be hard to miss because since this is the best place to buy "pasalubong", so your driver will surely point yo here. ^_^
Upon our arrival, we immediately sensed how solemn the whole place, a perfect epitome of the whole province of Guimaras. With nicely trimmed lawns and wonderful mango trees all over the place, one can enjoy the serenity and solemnity of the place.
Our last destination for the island hopping tour that we had during our visit in the very gifted island of Guimaras was another resort that offers relaxation and fun in its simplest form - Rico Beach Resort.
Though, we really didn't get a chance to explore this resort, realizing that it's just a neighbor to Raymen Resort, where we are staying, sounds good to me that I might checked-in here next time.
With it's nicely built cabanas giving the shoreline of Guimaras a nice landscape, it is so lovely too look at and admire even from afar.
More than the fishes in SEAFDEC, the "Pulang Pasayan" in Tiniguiban Island, the jellyfishes in Ave Maria Island, the turtles in Turtle Sanctuary, the fruit bats in Baras Cave and the lovely accommodations at Raymen Resort and Baras Resort, Guimaras' Nagtago Island stole my heart with its charming beauty inside and out.
When I asked our boatman Kuya Wheng what's in store for us in Nagtago Island, he didn't replied to me with a direct answer. Little did we know the island holds a very dear story that we can all relate - LOVE.
Welcoming its guests with white-sand shore, the island is being kept by its caretaker who's been living with his family. Nagtago Island is actually a private island, but since its original owners had passed away and the new owner is currently living in Germany, the island is left to its caretaker, whom when we've met was so dedicated to his job keeping the island as much as possible clean and organized.
Another option that tourists can check-in when visiting the heart-warming island of Guimaras is a resort named Baras Resort.
With a truly magnificent ambiance, Baras Resort is considered to be a nature-loving haven for tourists who want to experience Guimaras the natural way.
Before reaching it's main island, Kuya Wheng, our boatman on this island hopping trip brought us first to Guimaras' most visited cave - Baras Cave.
Baras Cave is just some minutes away from our previous destination, which was the Turtle Sanctuary. But if you are coming from the Guimaras Island itself, or from some main island resorts like Raymen Resort, where we stayed overnight, I think, it'll probably take you some 15- to 20-minute boat ride to reach this place.
My fondness over turtles started when I was a kid, and though, I haven't yet seen a live big turtles of "pawikan" back then, I found them really nice and really cool - that is if we are talking about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Hehe.
Seriously talking, when we learned that one of the destinations that we are about to reach for the island hopping that we availed during our visit at the very beautiful island of Guimaras was the island's Turtle Sanctuary, I got all excited and really thrilled - a kid's dream in me, I think.
Since we've been to SEAFDEC that displays cultured fishes, to Tiniguiban Island that houses "Pulang Pasayan" and Ave Maria Island that's giving live to small fishes and jellyfishes , seeing this sanctuary of cute and most likable reptile in the whole wide world is a great treat to us from Guimaras.
With its pristine white sand and groto-like island look, no wonder this island was named after the prayer that gives praise to the miraculous beauty of Mother Mary. Ave Maria Island is located on the western part of Guimaras, with approximately 3 minutes away from Tiniguiban Island, around 5 to 7 minutes from Guimaras' SEAFDEC and roughly 10 minutes from Raymen Resort, where we spent a night.
Ave Maria Island is kind of a deserted island in the middle of Panay Gulf. But with its white sand beach, it will be hard to miss it and not spent a day.
A 30- to 40-minute boat ride from Raymen Resort and 10- to 15-minute boat ride from Guimaras' SEAFDEC, the next island that we got to visit during our island hopping at Guimaras with our boatman Kuya Wheng was this small island called Tiniguiban.
According to the caretaker who welcomed us on our visit, this small island is privately owned by a man named Jose Martinez. According to him, Mr. Martinez is living in Manila now but tends to visit the place once in a while, checking out his home that he built in this very peaceful island.
When we visit Guimaras, one of the activities that we were looking forward to experience was the island hopping. We were lucky to meet this boatman , Kuya When who toured us to seven of the most amazing sights in Guimaras. And to start sharing to all of you the amazing trip that we had with Kuya When, I'll start it with the first destination where our motored boat took us - SEAFDEC.
SEAFDEC stands for South East Asian Fisheries Development Center. It is a government-owned facility that takes care and cultures fishes for the livelihood of the locals and at the same time a spot to visit here in Guimaras.
