Carles: Of White Sand Beaches and Unlimited Scallops

Two of my friends were kind enough to invite Marv and I for a long weekend gala in Iloilo. We purchased promo tickets from AirPhil. I knew nothing about the itinerary and where we would stay but my friends just told me to pack light and avoid the use of stroller bags. I was really excited for the trip since I'll be spending three days with 3 photographers and Marv who's a hobbyist. And for someone who looooooves being in pictures, aba, eh jackpot na yun para sa'kin! If you want a rest and relaxation trip, this is not for you.

Day 1
Travelling to Carles


Our flight was delayed (hay AirPhil) by around 3hours. So we did what we do best.

Bukod sa pagtulog no! Grabe naman kayo! Syempre ang picture-picture.

Oha eto pa. Eh sabi na kasing delayed eh.

Sa wakas! Hay AirPhil, wala ka talagang kupas hehe.

Upon arrival in Iloilo airport (which btw looks like NAIA Terminal 3, only way way smaller). We took a van in front of the airport to Jaro Plaza (P40-P50). I forgot to get money from the bank and super kabog kabog ang dibdib but to my surprise, there was a UCPB branch/ATM in Jaro Plaza and other banks! We took a cab to Tanza terminal, which is just 15-20mins away from Jaro Plaza. One can take the jeepney but since we had heavy luggage (so wala ring palang nag-pack light!) we opt to take a cab. Tip: ask the manong taxi driver to open his meter. Some drivers would usually take out a laminated taripa with their own rates, wag kayo papayag. I'm not generalizing Ilonggo taxi drivers pero kasi we happened to meet some of the worst ones while we were there.

When you arrive in Tagbak Terminal, there are a lot of buses with various signboards. We arrived at the terminal between 10-11AM. We met Dana and Dinno's good friend, JC, there. He was from Bacolod and he will be our tour guide for the trip. We took the bus going to Estancia (Fare ranges from P160-P180). There are air conditioned buses and those w/o AC and since we were running out of time (the photographers wanted to have more time to shoot before night strikes), we just took what was readily available, the non-airconditioned bus. The trip takes around 4-5hrs from Tanza to Estancia. Since we were all groggy due to lack of sleep the previous night (we crammed packing, yeah!), the heat of the sun and dust didn't stop us from sleeping during our travel.

When we got to Estancia, the end. Hahaha joke lang! Magsisimula pa lang ang kalbaryo namin! We met Joel Decano (contacts at the end of the post, promise), who happens to be the head of the tourism arm of Carles and Estancia. He also offers a homestay (for P100/pax/night) in Gigantes Sur (Gigantes Norte basta isa diyan, I forgot sorry naman but if you contact Joel, alam naman nya siguro kung saang isla siya nakatira hehe). We took a motorized boat sa Estancia port to start our island hopping.

The time we went there the sea was rough (the boat ride usually takes around 1hour pero sa amin 2hours). Since it was late afternoon already, we decided to head first to the Tangke, somewhere in Gigantes Sur. Alam na ito ng mga bangkero, ginagawa niyo pa akong Google Maps eh, c'mon! Never ever leave Carles w/o going to this salt-water lake. NEVER EVER! WAG MATIGAS ANG ULO kundi pagsisisihan niyo!

As soon as we got there, the boys went to the lake and set up their tripods. Dana and I were left sa bangka to change sa aming swim wear. Di pa kasi kami nagpalit nun sa airport o maski saan mang madaling lugar. Alam niyo na ang mga hindi niyo gagawin sa trip niyo. Gawin ninyo akong peg hehe.

Habang nag seset up na ang mga boys, bigla ba namang umulan. Karipas kami ng takbo pababa sa boat. Di bale nang masugatan, mabasa, mahulog sa dagat, basta safe and dry ang mga cameras. NILA. Haha ako kasi sarili ko lang ang inaatupag ko.

Lumipat nalang kami sa nearest island and doon na sila nagshoot pa while ako ay busy magswim. Kinulit pala ako ng mga local kids doon sa island na yun. Maganda raw ako yey! Huwag umangal at blog ko'to.

Super lakas ng ulan and super dilim na when we got to Joel Decano's island. Wala raw kuryente nun kaya pitch black talaga ang dadaanan namin. I understood why they didn't want me to bring a stroller; it was much easier that I carried my bag sa dilim kesa yung ida-drag ko pa siya sa buhanginan nang di ko naman nakikita ang tinatapakan ko. Joel pala had a generator kaya may kuryente kami sa gabi.

When we got to Joel's place, para kang nasa Hawaii! My gosh! Parang Survivor ang labanan complete with the sulo, boracay lamps, kubo, etc. He had asked his helpers to cook dinner. Alam niyo ba na ang Carles ay super rich sa scallops. Ang super mahal na scallops dito sa Manila ay uulan sa Carles. So sa dinner, may fish kami, pusit, at sandamakmak na luto ng scallops. From inihaw na scallops to sizzling scallops to scallops salpicao, etc. Don't laugh. Sobrang sarap nito and while I'm writing this naglalaway ako kapag naaalala ko ang kinain ko noon. Pati pulutan namin ay scallops (Joel made sure na hindi umuulit ng luto ang scallops na hinahain nya sa amin). BEAT THAT SEAFOOD ISLAND!

Ang inuman namin ay hindi ang BUMO naming Strong Ice or Red Horse. Kaya nga nandito sa Iloilo eh, you have the chance to meet the GOLD EAGLE BEER. Ewan ko ba kung manginginom nga lang ata talaga ako at sarap na sarap ako sa Gold Eagle. Take note: Mas nagustuhan namin ang walang yelo kesa sa may yelo. Try it when you go there. Bukod sa bagong trip eh goodluck sa pagiinarte't paghahanap ng mga BUMO beer niyo haha.

Dana and I with our Ilonggo friend, Gold Eagle Beer. At the bottom of the picture is our inihaw scallops. Naglalaway pa rin ako.

What made this night memorable was not only the food pero ang bonding moments namin. Perfect ang ambiance para magkwentuhan tungkol sa buhay-buhay etc.

Day 2
Exploring enchanting Carles

My friends woke up around 4:30AM to shoot. Pro yung 3 eh while Marv tag along (tuwang-tuwa kasi para siyang nag-photography workshop for free). They went up the rocky Isla Higantuna. It was very hard to climb (I wonder how Dana did it hehe) kasi matatalas ang mga bato. Pero alamo naman, hahamakin ang lahat para lang sa litrato. Here are their works of art (sana they won't mind that I used it here):

See how sharp the rocks are! Joel went home limping kasi nasugat and napunit ang rashguard. Poor Joel.

Photo by Marvin Despi

Photo by JC Enriquez

Photo by Dana Mengote

Award-winning photo of Dinno Sandoval

I requested to be left behind kasi baka mabagot ako habang nagsu-shoot sila and matutulog na muna ako. Kaso namamatay pala ang generator ng between 5-6AM so sobrang dilim! NATAKOT AKOOOOO!!! Kaya pinikit ko nalang ang mata ko at nakatulog. Paggising ko nagbilad ako sa araw and waited for them. After breakfast (more scallops, tama ka), we asked Joel to cook and pack lunch for us na rin kasi we were going to have lunch sa island. Ni-request ko na sa sandbar kami kaya pinagbigyan nila ako.

Before we got in the pumpboat (long walk again), Joel asked a lady if she could give him some crabs para naman matikman namin ang alimango sa Carles. Ito ang mga "bigay" lang na alimango.



Super lalaki. Say hello to Kim and Sebastian. Hehe.

Konting travel and we got to sandbar. Like the name, mukha talaga itong sandbar. Sobrang linis. Sobrang ganda ng buhangin. Prolly one of the best beaches I've ever been to in my entire life. We had our lunch then photo op again and again! Ang swerte ko, I was with very very good photographers. Feeling ko Philippines Next Top Model ang drama ko.

Nilapastangan ni Marv si Kim. Or Sebastian. Ewan ko na kung sino. Basta masarap sila.


Photo from JC Enriquez (1st and last group shot)

Then we're off back to Estancia. When we got to Estancia, we took a bath dun sa public CR. Then took a trike (P12) to Bancal Terminal. Since we were going to catch the last Supercat trip to Bacolod, we just took a van and prayed na makaabot kami. After 3-4hrs, nasa Tagbak terminal na kami ulit. Unfortunately, too late na kami for the supercat. So we decided to take another route and to get to Bacolod. We took a cab to Dumangas Port to ride the RORO (I don't remember na how much kasi super sakit ng tiyan ko) basta the travel time is 2-3 hours and it takes you to another port, hindi yung sa Reclamation in Bacolod (which was where our hotel was located). I slept during the entire trip. Forte ko ang pagtulog, laban tayo!

After 2 hours, swerte kami kasi sa Reclamation na dumaong ang roro. Gabi man ay nag-check in pa rin kami sa Bacolod Plaza Hotel. We paid around P1,500 for a huge room. Two beds, sofas, and big CR (quite pricey, yes?). We headed out to Reclamation area towards the place they call Manukan. Guess what they had there?

INASAAAAAL! If you like Mang Inasal, well, hate to say this but after you try eating the original inasal in Bacolod, you won't go back to inasal food chain's in the metro anymore. Hahaha well, it happened to Marv and I.

Sino mas nognog? Ang inasal o ako? WRONG ANSWER. Syempre si Marv! Hehe.

We spent the night going around Bacolod city & then went back to the hotel for a good night sleep. Too bad we weren't able to tour Bacolod that much. But our key objective in going there was to try their famous inasal which we were able to achieve kaya happy lang.


Day 3
Homebound

The four of us woke up early to have breakfast in Calea. It is situated in Lacson St. It is famous for its inexpensive cakes and desserts. We tried the blueberry cheesecake, strawberry cheesecake, triple chocolate cake, and another chocolate cake which I forgot the name. One cake slice is around P40-P50.

Then Marv and I were off to Oceanjet to get back to Iloilo. Dinno and Dana had an evening flight so they still stayed in Bacolod to shoot sceneries. We bought pasalubong pala muna in The Original Biscocho House in Jaro Plaza. I like its galletas and must-try ang squid rings nila. For biscocho (thanks to my friend Rob), my preferred brand is Merci, Angelina, or Bong-Bong bite size ube biscocho.

The best way to get to the airport from the port is to take a jeep to Jaro Plaza. From Jaro Plaza, you take another jeep to SM Iloilo. When you get to SM Iloilo, there are shuttles there going to the airport (P40-P50). TIP: You have to be there at least 2 hours before your flight because these shuttles do not leave the terminal unless they have completed the passenger quota. If you opt to take a cab from the port, taxi drivers usually persuade you not to use the meter. Some may even go as far as charging you P500 for a ride to the airport. I think P300 is fair enough.

Guess who we saw at the airport? My love, Borgy Manotoc hehe. And GF, Georgina Wilson. Wala lang, kinilig ako eh, keber nyo? : )



Photo from www.pinoymanila.com

CONTACTS:


Joel Decano
09296931036
He may not be able to answer you immediately since he may be in his home and there is no signal in the island. P100/pax/night ang homestay and our food was around P600-P700 for the 5 of us (dinner, breakfast, and lunch -- seafood galore)

You may find these sites useful too. A much more detailed article on Carles, Iloilo by my friend, JC Enriquez:

Las Islas de Higantes: An Intimacy with Giants (Part 1)

Las Islas de Higantes: An Intimacy with Giants (Part 2)