The Bucari Experience

If your name is MANfred, you like to eat MANok (chicken) and you love the first day of the week, MANday; a trip to Bucari in the rainy season is the thing for you. No hotels, no chicks (ladies), deep mud, no electricity, no cellphone signals and best of all, no toilets...

Bucari offers a breath taking view

Since it is the start of the rainy season here in the Philippines, I remembered my first trip to Bucari. It was about 3 years ago and I can still remember that I was surprised on the vehicle that we were supposed to ride up the mountains. It was a rusty and overloaded 4x4 jeepney. The road up to Bucari was really muddy because of the constant rain and the jeepney had to be fitted with a set of tire chains so that it can negotiate the muddy climb.

4x4 jeepney

This time was a bit different. The road a not that muddy as before since it was summer, making the trip to Bucari a bit easier and faster. Since we camped near Imoy waterfalls in Sitio
Camandag the last time, we decided to set-up camp in Tabionan, an area with lots of pine trees and dubbed as the little Baguio of Iloilo.

But before heading to the campsite, we decided to take a dip in the cold springs in Sitio Camandag. But we had a set-back. The driver kept asking where we were going and no one answered so he dropped of off about 2-3 kilometers from Sitio Camandag. After taking a dip in the crystal clear and super cool pools, we decided it was time to hike to the campsite in Tabionan.

the hike to Sitio Camandag

we decided to take a shortcut

I've seen this monkey twice now. Since the people there are really nice, we always ask for water in this house.

Sitio Camandag at the foot of Mt. Agua Colonia

settlements in Sitio Camandag

pools in Sitio Camandag

relaxing cool waters of the pools. Since we were tired, we decided not to continue to Imoy falls. But I regret making the decision because after typhoon Frank, Imoy falls was severely altered.

guardian

on the way to Sitio Tabionan, I saw this guy playing a trumpet. His music echoing in the mountains.

And since we were already tired, it took a while before we managed the 4-5 kilometer hike uphill. When arrived at Sitio Tabionan, it was already dark and we were exausted. We didn't have flashlights, but thanks to lighters with puny lights, we managed to move about.

I'll never forget this marker. It means you're near Sitio Tabionan.

we stayed in this house for the night, it also offers a nice view of the rolling fog

We didn't set-up our tents since my friends uncle offered us a place to stay and he prepared a really nice native dish for us. It was "linagpang nga manok", grilled chicken made into a stew, and it was really delicious. We gave them pork and some dried fish in exchange, so everybody was happy.

the pine trees of Sitio Tabionan

insects that I found in the pine trees

The next day, we went to the pine trees to shoot a short clip. I also managed to find some interesting insects, its a nature lovers paradise indeed.

How to get there...

From Iloilo, ride a jeepney or van to Leon. Terminals are on Jaro Public Market. And after arriving in Leon, the jeepney terminal to Bucari is near the park.

The Ride to Libacao

June 20 2008 is the date that most of us here in Aklan dread. Typhoon Feng Shen/Frank ravaged our province leaving people homeless and some even lost their loved ones.

I'm also worried since the rainy days are coming. Hopefully, it won't happen again. When I went to Libacao, it rained a bit, but I never expected the river to swell-up like this.

my trusty motorcycle, parked near Libacao's Park

the mighty and unpredictable Aklan river

After seeing the might of the Aklan river, my friend and I decided it would be best to go home because we might get trapped if the river will flood the bottom of the mountain. Rushing home, I witnessed farmers placing sandbags to save their crops, but to no avail. The water still rose over the banks and covered several hectares of rice fields.

Day Trip to Bacolod for a Slice of Cake

Since my friends and I are itching to go somewhere, we decided to go to Bacolod for a skateboarding competition and to taste their really amazing cakes from Calea.

We decided to ride a RORO ferry in Dumangas since its much cheaper than a fast craft. We were in doubt if the plan will work because we were going to be late, but there are times that I'm willing to bet on it since I was feeling lucky. And so, after consulting with my friends, we decided to stick with the plan.

Just as we arrived in the port of Dumangas, there was a RORO ferry waiting for passengers. And after approximately 1 hour and a half, we were in Bacolod. We arived in SM City Bacolod, and it was full of people because of the skateboarding competition.

leaving Panay Island

fast craft from Iloilo to Bacolod

we decided to take a peek at Bacolod's Cathedral

I only had a point and shoot back then and the facade didn't fit in the picture

old church bells

inside the Cathedral

beggar


Calea Cakes at last

But I was pissed off since the Lemon Meringue Pie that I ordered tasted very sour. But their cakes are good, especially their Blueberry Cheesecake. An they also offered free water, which was nice.

And they served their cakes in hefty slices, which made their price worth it.

a school of Tilapia lives if Bacolod's Lagoon


Provincial Capitol of Occidental Negros

Bacolod's iconic Paghimud-os statue

SM City Bacolod

sunset in Bacolod's Port

After watching the skateboarding competition, we went back to Iloilo via RORO ferry. And with the help of a guy offering us a ride in exchange for the fare that we will pay the jeep, we arrived in Iloilo at about 8 pm. A bit tired, but it was worth it. Calea cakes are special indeed.

Reminiscing the Ride to Pandan

Since I had my motorcycle, my range of trying to explore Aklan widened. I always have an itch to go to places that I see in the internet. And this time, I wanted to ride to Pandan, Antique. For this trip, I asked my friend, Marcos if he liked to tag along. The answer sure enough was a yes.

At that time, I only had my trusty point and shoot camera. And because I'm the one driving the motorcycle, I had no opportunities of taking pictures of the view from the road.

After an hour on the road, we were nearing Pandan. Marcos said before we rode that there's a "shortcut" to Malumpati. I went to Malumpati before but I can tell after taking the turn to the "shortcut" that this is not the right road to take. It was muddy and the houses were getting fewer and fewer by the minute. The rocky path tortured my motorcycle and though the road looked like it would put a 4x4 to shame, I still tried to push till we got to Malumpati. And after lots of slipping and almost falling off the motorcycle, we reached the cold springs of Malumpati, but we were on the other side. We tried another route but to no avail. So we decided to turn back.

I broke something in my motorcycle but I was more worried in getting it out of that sort of mess. And on the way back to the main road, I realized that the view from the top of the mountain was really magnificent.

And so, after loosing an hour, we were back in civilization and we used the long way round. And, after a sweaty 2 hours and a half, the only thing that I wanted to do was to swim in the refreshingly cold waters of Malumpati.

the water was really cold and crystal clear

a bridge connected this side to the other, instead of turning back, the locals told us that we could have used the bridge instead

I remembered that there used to be another diving board on top of the small one

view from the bridge

this is a view of the trail on the other side, but this is still the one of the "good" parts of the trail.

cottages on the other side

After taking a short dip in Malumpati, we made our way Phaidon beach resort. It was also a white sand beach but the sand is not as fine when compared to Baracay's.

as you can see, there a lots of small pebbles in the beach which is not ideal for skimboarding


but the resort boasts a dive spot which tourists can enjoy and the tranquility that Boracay can only offer if its not in season

the rooms looked nice from the outside, and, it also looked good on the inside. But something seems to be missing, airconditioning.

After playing with the dogs, we decided to go home. The ride was very tiring but also rewarding. And like what the terminator said, "I'll be back."