There's more to Guimaras mangoes

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

GUIMARAS, home of the world's sweetest mangoes as listed by the Guiness World Record in 1995, is located in the southwest of Panay and is physically separated from Iloilo by a narrow watercourse.

But Guimaras is not all about the world famous mangoes, they have that and so much more.

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From Ortiz wharf in Iloilo, we took a 15 minute pumpboat ride for P15 to cross the Sulu strait to get to Jordan (Hor-dan), the capital of the island.

From the pier, it's a 30 kilometer of paved asphalt road and 7 kilometers more of rugged zigzagging terrain that took an hour's drive by a multi cab for P600 to get to San Roque Nueva Valencia where our resort was.

La Puerta Al Paraiso, loosely translated as "the door to Paradise" quite lived up to its name, inducing another kay ganda ng ating www.OurPhilippines.tv light bulb moment. Well, worth the long and quite bumpy transit.

I love how secluded it is and the islets in the middle of the ocean as well as the pockets of sheltered bay along the yellowish-white sandy shoreline gives off a rustic unspoilt ambiance. Perfect for lounging and catching up on your readings, or for simply lazing around.

You will find little in the way of the social pleasures of the loud city night life. It's just you, the beach, the friendly fishes (yes, you read that right! -see photo below), and the moon and the stars. Not even a decent cellular phone signal. Exactly my idea of a perfect getaway.

Rooms are located along the cliff overlooking the aquamarine waters dotted with rocky coves and smaller islands. Our native themed cottage but with modern creature comforts (2 queen sized beds, air-conditioning, ensuite bathroom with hot and cold shower, closet, and a veranda) is priced at P3,200, haggled down from P3,600 since we were there on a weekday, can comfortably accommodate four people.

There is also a pool that we have quite snubbed during our stay. I mean, what do you need a pool for when you have the ocean, but that's just us.

Bringing of food is not allowed since they have a restaurant that has a limited and quite overpriced menu that I really wish they would work on to improve. But all in all, I would highly recommend it for the attentive staff and the sheer beauty of the place.

HOW TO GET THERE: Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines flies daily to Iloilo, from the airport there are metered taxis, shuttles and vans, head to Ortiz Port where pump boats will take you to Jordan Wharf. La Puerta is located in Nueva Valencia, hire a tricycle or multicab, they know where it is.