I vote for Explore Iloilo! Bloggers’ Choice Award 2009 Philippine Blog Awards

The man behind Exploreiloilo on the rocks...

Last Sunday, SM City Iloilo held probably the first food bloggers event here in Iloilo. They bombarded our taste buds with a variety of flavors, some unique to Iloilo, and others coming from the different parts of our archipelago and other countries.

If you would also like to have a taste of Iloilo, there is the famous Breakthrough, Ocean City, Casa Ilongga, Ted's Batchoy and Sabor Ilonngo to satisfy your cravings. And the taste of other places can also be had in a single sitting. You can taste lechon from Bacolod in the Bacolod Lechon Hauz, American fast food chicken from Chicken N Ribs, the ever famous Pinoy taste of Jollibee, and the Japanese taste of Yukashii Sushi.

And for those who are on a diet and seeks to eat healthy, there's Thirsty?, Buko ni Frutas and House of Panini. Lastly, for those who just want to check-out the free WiFi and hang-out at the foodcourt, there's Lavev Shawarma, Pizza Hut and Mon's Takuyaki to fill your mouth with morsels of goodness in an affordable price.

bloggers taking pics of the food

crablets

food!

Sushi!

more food!

Iloilo's scallops... hmmmmm tasty

Chicken N Ribs

an Ilonggo tradition to keep the flies off the food...

believe it or not, candles do repel them away, not that there are flies in SM for that matter

better take out your anti-histamines, insulin and anti-hypertensives to enjoy the seafood and sweets that the food court can offer

A long time ago, Boracay was a virtually unknown island. It was Aklan's gem waiting to be discovered by the world. People who would visit the island used to have an adventure, they must ride a bus from Kalibo and go to Malay via Libertad, Antique since there was no coastal highway yet. And the roads were rough and the trip would take at least 3-4 hours. After arriving in Malay, they must then find a fishing boat that will take them to the island. And after riding a small boat, they would arrive in the powdery white sand beach of Boracay. And some would camp out at night since there were still no resorts and bonfires were a necessity since there was no electricity in the island.

But how things have changed. Today the island has resorts like a zit on a teenager's face. The beach is a lot smaller because of the resorts, the Ati's along the beach looking for worms can no longer be seen, and cheap is the last word that you'll ever hear. The deafening silence of night is replaced with loud party music, the joy of relaxation is replaced by bottles of alcohol, and the reefs that you used to see are no longer there.

I like to remember Boracay as I saw it for the first time as a kid. And nostalgia kicked in once I had a chance to visit Concepcion.

a glimpse of the majestic Mt. Manaphag or Mt. Pan de Azucar, one of the tallest peaks in Panay

locals told us that you can walk to the other island when its low tide

tents

now this is how I like to relax

walking barefoot is the way to go

Sand Bar Island Beach Resort, Bulubadiangan Island

a view of the sun setting in the mainland from Bulubadianan Island

off to go fishing

breathtaking sunset

what's an evening under the stars without a bonfire? We paid P300 for it.

electricity went off after 10pm

bamboo long chairs were provided by the management for our evening bonfire.

view of Mt. Manaphag in Pan de Azucar Island in the morning

after waking up, we decided to check on the locals preparing crab traps.

we also decided to circumnavigate the island

after dealing with sharp rocks and short rock climbs, we were able to go around the island

after our lunch we had a tour to the other islands for P500

Agho Island

cottage in Agho Island

crystal clear waters in Agho Island

view of Mt. Manaphag in Pan de Azucar Island from Agho Island

Malangabang Island in the background

Mt. Pan de Azucar or Mt. Manaphag and Agho Island

reefs near Agho Island are great for snorkeling

Bulubadiangan Island

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.

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.