Weekend Getaway in Islas de Gigantes

PROVINCE OF ILOILO—From afar, the majestic silhouette of Northern Iloilo’s little-known jewel radiates a feeling that somewhat a giant is waiting to be either conquered or explored. Braving the rough sea and the wild clash of the big waves, I managed to set foot at last in this province’s last frontier—Isla de Gigantes—which is brimming with natural wonders ripe for the world to see.

Lodged in the northeastern part of Panay Island, Isla de Gigantes boasts of pristine and raw beaches that are exuding charm and mystery. Legends and folklore immediately speak as I arrived in the island at night. Legends have it that the Gigante Islands are reigned with “giants” way back then, and this is supported with artifacts found in one of its many caves. I didn’t see real giants when I stayed there; what I saw instead are warm people standing tall and proud like a giant with their prized possession: the islands itself.

And this is where I experienced my first solo backpacking trip—in this little-known place and undoubtedly a hidden gem that’s poised to carve its name in tourism circles for its enchanting charm. 

One would surely fall in love with its group of amazing islands like the Cabugao Gamay which is my favorite. Here, you can climb in a rocky hill where you’ll have a fantastic vista of the whole island itself. Up there, the sight of fisherfolks resting on midday is a worthwhile experience while witnessing viewing the frantic union of the white sand and the blue-green water. This explodes into white foam as it reaches the shore. 

Traveling Louie on top of the Cabugao Gamay Island in Isla de Gigantes, Carles, Northern Iloilo.

Snorkeling is a fun thing to do in Antonia Island where you’ll be able to swim with a school of colorful fishes above the coral reefs. This is also where I braved the scorching heat of the sun to have a swim. Except for my tour guides and the island’s caretaker, it was only me swimming in the island in midday, savoring the sea after a sumptuous lunch. 

Not far from Antonia is the Bantigue Sandbar which is also a magnet for tourists. It offers a good view of a fiery sunset during low tide which is the only time you’ll be able to see for yourself its snake-like formation.

The biggest star in this island escapade is the Tangke Saltwater Lagoon which is formed by a surrounding wall of monolithic cliffs. The place looks like an oasis of comfort. During the habagat season, it would be very difficult to reach this place due to the big waves that clash with the stones in its entrance. Notwithstanding the huge waves, we managed to cross the threshold and under the flares of the sun, we basked in its glory. 

The Tangke Saltwater Lagoon

Big waves hinder us from exploring the rest of the islands in the area like the Uaydahon, Sicogon, Gaket-gaket, Pulupandan and Balbagon—places that would surely bring me back to this place. Summer would surely be the best time to go back, when the sea is calm and the sun rises up to the mightiest. 

The travel to these islands which are located mostly in Gigantes Sur is a treat in itself where you’ll witness fishes putting up a show: flying up a bit and get some air. 

Thing is, Gigante Islands is a world within a world. It has its own way of slowing down things and nature spoils you for a choice. This is a place for those who want to relax or finish an almost forgotten song or to enjoy the mouth-watering seafoods! Oh-la-la! There’s no signal in the island so forget about the harsh world and let yourself relax through music or by reading a book. 

Gigantes Sur

Appreciate silence in Antonia Island

A world within a world

The New Lighthouse in Asluman, Gigantes Norte

The Old Structure of the Gigantes Lighthouse in Barangay Asluman, Gigantes Norte

A coffin measuring measuring 8 feet in length found in one of the caves of Gigantes Norte. It could be true that the islands are once inhabited by giants! 

Sunset in Barangay Granada, Gigantes Norte

Sunrise in Asluman

Gigantes Norte is known to be the Scallop Capital of Carles. Here, children pose with scallop shells which are forming hills in many places in the island.

Seaweeds

Lunch will truly be nice here, right?

Tourism development barely started a year and a half ago, according to Carles Tourism Officer Joel Decano who also owns and operates the island’s lone inn that accommodates tourists: The Gigantes Hideaway Tourist Inn. There’s really a big room for improvement but given more time, Isla de Gigantes would surely be a giant name in Philippine tourism. By the way, Gigantes Norte also hosts within its soil numerous caves which make it very cool. Water is not a problem in the Gigantes Hideaway Inn as it has developed a system that gets spring water directly from its mountains and it’s for free. Electricity turns on by 5 in the evening and shuts down by 11 but the inn has a generator. 

The amenities of the Gigantes Hideaway Tourist Inn... sort of like a home-stay. It's great.

Isla de Gigantes, without a doubt, is a giant waiting to be explored. I already did and it’s high time that you, too, should see for yourself its majestic islands colored by fiery sunrises and sunsets and bask in full glory in its pristine and raw beaches.

Louie.

GETTING THERE

From Manila or Davao, take the earliest flight to the City of Iloilo. From Iloilo International Airport, hire a taxi that will take you to Tagbak Northbound Terminal in Jaro District in Iloilo City (fare: 380 pesos). You can either take a bus or a van to get you to the coastal town of Estancia. The van is the most preferred mode of transportation because of its fast mobility. By van, it would take two hours to reach Estancia compared to bus’ five hours. Tagbak to Estancia would cost you 150 pesos.

Upon arrival, take a motorcycle (fare: 10 pesos) to the Port of Estancia. Here, a motorized pumpboat leaves for Asluman, Gigantes Norte every 2:00 PM everyday. NO other trips will take you there so it’s better that you should be early in the port. The same boat leaves Asluman at about 9:00 AM in the morning everyday. Islas de Gigantes is 18 kilometers off the coast of mainland Panay Island or two hours away via the pumpboat.

Upon arrival at Asluman, ride a habal-habal (fare:10 pesos) to Gigantes Hideaway Inn in Sitio Hayahay.

CONTACT PERSON: Mr. JOEL DECANO, Municipal Tourism Officer of Carles, Iloilo
                                    Owner, Gigantes Hideaway Tourist Inn
                                    09184685006

Once there, request for MR. JOFER DECANO to be your tour guide. He was my tour guide when I was there and he’s really nice and he is also a good photographer who can take you a decent picture if you are traveling solo. His contact number is 09199739477.

Special thank you’s to the DECANO FAMILY who are very warm and accommodating as well as to the boat owner (I forgot to ask his name) who let me hitch a ride in his cargo pumpboat because I was 30 minutes late going to Gigantes. I almost did not see the wonder of Isla de Gigantes. I’ll be forever grateful.

Finding Angles

We're filling up our "big" assignment with new photographs to incorporate on a Monday morning, and under the scorching heat of the sun. This is September 17, 2012 otherwise known as Finding Angles.

Sharing is Caring

It’s Sunday and it feels great to be sitting writing this piece. After a week of a date with the desktop computer (read: staring contest) in the office designing the official calendar of the City Government for year 2013, I am taking respite. Lay-outing the calendar usually takes months to prepare; two days of actual designing and selecting photographs that make it and the rest would be dedicated to revising the whole thing to fit the taste of the big bosses. This is actually my second opportunity to layout Tagum City’s Calendar, the first one was during last year for the 2012 Calendar.

Designing the city government’s calendar is actually great. The long hours of making the design would be worth it when you see your product hanging in every home across Tagum, in schools, in business establishment, in offices and the like. The city government will be printing 50,000 pieces for this particular calendar, some of which will be sent abroad.

What actually makes it more exciting this time is that our office is tasked to produce not just one but two designs for the official 2013 calendar of the city. I am not in authority to divulge the details of the concepts yet, but once it’s out in the public to see, I will be giving an update through this blog. Since we are producing not just one but two designs this time, expect that I’ll be seeing the world in the next few weeks through bulging eye bags.

But all is not dedicated for work this month. By the end of September, I’ll try for the very first time solo backpacking all the way to Carles town in the picturesque province of Iloilo. Carles is home to the mystical Islas de Gigantes—a group of islands located in the northern part of the Panay Island. I found this spell-binding place weeks ago and its turquoise-blue seawaters and the seafoods (yes, seafoods!) make me excited to the bones.

Last Friday, officemate and fellow blogger Leo Timogan of tagumexposure.blogspot.com did what we want best: sharing our little knowledge in AVP production and Photography, respectively. Videographer Kelvin Palermo also tagged along, helping us deliver the basics to our participants. It was actually great to share with interested teenagers our humble know-how of these two subjects. Passing on some knowledge to them and pushing them to tell stories through photographs and audio visual presentations is humbling and inspiring. We would like to extend our thanks to Ate Shiela Onlos for inviting us.

This week taught me this thing: Sharing is Caring. As long as opportunity will knock on my door to share your God-given talent, I would be very glad to take part in it. Making yourself available for the development of other person’s talent and potential is a sort of giving back, or for being thankful for what talent you’ve got.

So whether it’s about giving your best in an assignment, say designing some awesome things, or by sharing your knowledge to those who need it, it’s actually bringing back the glory to God who gave you all these things.

When you’ve got a job to do, an assignment to accomplish, give all your very best. When someone needs help, be humble enough to share.

Remember, sharing is caring.  Happy Sunday!

Louie.

SHARING IS FUN! 09.14.12 Photo by Kelvin Z. Palermo

TEAM ALAMAT. Just a way of remembering that all work and no play makes John a dull boy. Photo by Leo Timogan of CIO Tagum at the Rotary Park.

The Distinct Joy of Being Invisible

Bloggers Note: This blog post below is the very first post that gives spotlight on the things that are usually not given importance. The blog also comes with photographs that break the rules of photography, in the blogger's pursuit to take his penchant for documentary photography into a more serious level. This blog post (and the upcoming posts of this sort) also comes with a supplementary mini-magazine posted online which will serve as an online portfolio of the blogger.  This, above all, is the product of a dream finally coming into fruition. As what the tagline of this blog masquerading as an edict: Leave no Story Untold.

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Dark clouds enveloped the sky one night in Tagum, promising a cold night in this part of the planet. Soon after, droplets of rain started to startle everybody in this place called the Night Market where the heavy downpour of rain poses a grave threat to the merchants and an equal dismay to their patrons.

And this is where I found myself one night--amazed with how a busy street in broad daylight transform into a bustling night market at the fall of dusk. From the moment the sun kisses the western sky, stalls sprout in the busy streets like mushrooms and leave in the wee hours of the morning, just before the mighty sun rises up and brings in a new day full of hope. The usual sight of people from all walks of life happily dining or haggling over pre-owned clothes or designer bags or branded shoes would surely leave an impression that night life is more fun in this part of the world.

The strong wind or this excessive energy present in the area probably blew the dark clouds on that Sunday night. This is also when I felt I was invisible. My romance with my camera, I then realized, was a travesty of invisibility.

I am adamant that it is this invisibility enabled me to see things on a large scale and differently. My amazement of the place was only short-lived as my attention was grabbed by persons selling customized balloons. This scene exudes a patina of happiness in a place where people seems to brush it off. Except for children, of course. As usual, and as each of us could have experienced then, the radiant glow of excitement and happiness is evidenced the moment a child lets hold of the tiny string of the balloon and making sure it doesn't let go up in the air. To put it succinctly in our own tongue, hawak mo na happiness mo, bakit ka pa bibitaw? 

It is in this premise that my concept of happiness comes in: to claim the things and to hold dear in our hearts the persons or things that make us happy. It is a state of one's mind; a choice rather than fate. But we must also acknowledge the fact that the world that we live in is not perfect. Jose Mari Ugarte complained that we are born into it through the pain of our mothers and raised in it suffering failures, disappointments, sadness, prejudice and hate.

But since the world is not perfect, it cannot be perfectly bad. We also have triumphs, joys, tolerance and above all, love. And it is love that makes this journey through this vale of tears a wonder. As what they say, without pain, the heart is hollow.

By choice, or perhaps by default, my frames were dominated by pictures of balloons on that Sunday night and enjoyed the feeling of invisibility like I never experienced it before. Past sweet couples holding hands while walking, past family members and circle of friends grinning, past people bordering on the obnoxious was me and my camera– savoring that distinct happiness of snapping photographs in this happy place.

The moment you find yourself gallivanting in this place or in any other public place, take a moment to observe things and realize the richness of stories that can be found in each person or things that thrive here. Bring a camera if you please, preserve memories and be charmed with the same spell of invisibility that I enjoyed. If you do, do it with a light heart and without a doubt, you can never go wrong.

L.

Here's the rest of the photographs, bounded together in this special maiden issue of the Sprinkles:

Open publication - Free publishing - More happiness