Throwback Post: Ilo-Ilo and Boracay 2013
Another Throwback post :)
My bestfriend and I went to Boracay March of last year. It
was our first time to go there so we were both pretty excited. But days before
we left Davao ,
it was all over the news that the Visayan Region was experiencing bad weather.
My dad was kind of hesitant and he didn’t want us to go. I just assured him
that everything will be fine. Well, he wasn’t successful in trying to convince
us not to go. Took three days off from work and had an amazing time in Boracay.
The flight we booked was from Davao to Iloilo since there are no direct flights
to-from Davao-Caticlan. We planned on commuting via bus that will take us to
and from Caticlan from Iloilo .
One of my friends, Kim Michael, who was working at that time in Iloilo offered to give us
a ride from Iloilo
to Caticlan since his working route was also on the way. So we gladly accepted
his offer.
Wednesday
We arrived at Iloilo
before 9 in the morning. It was an hour flight from Davao City
From Iloilo
to Caticlan (where Boracay
Island
After eating lunch at a simple karinderya somewhere in Iloilo (awesome food by
the way, but too bad I couldn’t really pinpoint the exact location of the
place), we were ready for our 4 hour journey to Kalibo. *burp* *excuse me*
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| At the Karinderya. |
Kalibo is around 4
hours away from Iloilo
and 2 hours away from Caticlan. We went to what they call the DOLL HOUSE (Precious Moments at the Sampaguita Gardens
Once inside, we were greeted by simple angelic statues along the
side of the path.
After walking a little further, we saw the DOLL HOUSE. It
was so pretty to look at. How I wished I had a Doll House like that one when I
was younger. (take note, younger… I’m still young at heart haha).
Inside, there were a lot of dolls (duh.given.haha). Some
were kind of creepy to look at but others were very elegant and appealing to
the sense of sight. Souvenirs were sold there too however prices were quite
expensive so I just gave it a pass.
After taking a few snapshots around the area, off we went to
Caticlan. During the drive, it was raining cats and dogs. My bestfriend,
Katrina and I, were kind of worried that we might not get the chance to do all
the activities we planned on participating in Boracay. Nevertheless, we still
kept our chins up. Nothing was going to ruin our vacation.
(much.needed.vacation)
We arrived at Caticlan around 5 in the afternoon – eight
hours travel time. Not bad considering we still went to the Doll House. Kim
parked his car a little far from the ferry terminal so we had to hire a
tricycle to take us plus our luggage there. I believe we paid 50 pesos for the
three of us. We had no choice but for me I think the fare was too high
considering the terminal was less than 2 minutes away. Moving on…
At the terminal, we each had to pay the terminal fee,
environmental fee and the boat fare. I forgot how much everything exactly cost
us but I think it was roughly around 400 each. Yeah, more or less that total
amount. The boat ride from Caticlan to Boracay was around 15-20 minutes. Kim
decided to have dinner with us before going back to Iloilo that same night.
When we arrived there, we hired another tricycle to take us
somewhere in Station 2 to look for a place to stay. He charged us 100 pesos. I
guess that was quite acceptable for me considering that there were three of us
bringing heavy luggages and Station 2 was quite far from the terminal.
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| Tricycle selfie with these two :) |
We found a place to stay called CulPepper Lodge. It was near
the D’talipapa area and it was a minute walk from the beach. It was located
inside an alley and a few steps away from shops that sold the cheapest
souvenirs in Boracay. More on that later. The lodge we stayed in was family
owned. It was decent enough for me and Kat. That time, we were charged 1500 per night for the two of us. It
has a double bed and private bathroom. Tv was not a flat-screened tv but it had
cable. It wasn't exactly the best room on the island but it worked for us. Didn’t get photos of the room though.
After settling in, Kat, Kim and I went to Dinner at
D’talipapa. How convenient for us since it was just a few steps away from our
Lodge. First thing we did, we bought fresh seafood from the market and looked
for a nearby restaurant that would cook our food for a fee. They actually have
a menu that indicates how much they charge depending on the food and weight of
the food.
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| Wet market at D'Talipapa |
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| Buddies :) |
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| Yummy |
After bidding farewell to Kim, Kat and I went back to the
lodge and got a good night’s rest.
Thursday – Friday (ATV-HELMET DIVING-PARASAILING)
After eating breakfast at Andok’s, Kat and I went strolling
around the beach. It wasn’t really hot that day as this part of the Visayan
Region still continued to experience quite a bit of gloomy weather. A lot of
guys offered us packages of activities. We refused the first few guys because
we found the packages too expensive for us. Finally, we met Randy who offered
us three activities (ATV-HELMET DIVING-PARASAILING) for only Php 1,500. Not a
bad deal. So we immediately gave it a go.
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| Actual picture of our negotiation hahaha |
The Helmet Diving Activity offered us a free CD that
contained a few pictures and the video of our fish feeding.
We were only able to do the ATV and Helmet Diving on
Thursday. We postponed the Parasailing that day because weather did not permit
anybody to do parasailing. So we did it the following day.
More pictures
Where we ate:
We loved the Carbonara Pizza at Titos. Definitely a must
try. I highly recommend it.
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| I just loved the weird-headed lights on the background. Hahaha. |
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| Definitely a must try! Carbonara Pizza |
Pasalubong - Boracay
We observed that souvenirs sold in the beachfront are like three times more expensive than the ones sold in D'talipapa. Good thing we stayed just a few steps away from the source of the cheapest souvenirs in Boracay.
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| Souvenir shops everywhere in between Station 2 and 3 |
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| Ref Magnets, etc. Bought the one that I encircled in sky blue. I bought it for 50 pesos (it was a big magnet) |
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| Keychains - 8 for 100 pesos |
Kat and I loved hanging out at the beach every afternoon
after doing the activities. It was great to just sit back, sip on Jonah’s shake
and watch the famous beautiful sunset of Boracay.
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| We brought a big beach blanket. I just love this one. My aunt gave this to me from Jakarta. |
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| They have the best shakes in town! |
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| We brought sunblock. But it wasn't that hot during our visit. Don't forget to still bring one though. |
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| We Heart Boracay <3 |
Saturday - ILOILO
Our flight back to Davao
was still on Sunday Morning. So Kat and I decided to spend one day in Iloilo , just to explore
the place a bit.
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| Le Bus to Iloilo |
We woke up 4 in the morning, packed our things and left Boracay
to catch an early bus bound for Iloilo .
We paid 350 pesos as bus fare and the bus was airconditioned that had a
television in front so passengers won’t get bored during the trip. The 6 hour
trip was sooooooo tiring. I wanted to sleep but I couldn’t sleep on the bus. I
just watched the movies instead.
When we arrived at the bus stop, Kim fetched us there and
ate at this great seafoods place (forgot the name. ugh!) The shells were to die
for! Our bill was only Php 500 for the three of us and we ordered a lot.
Seafoods are really inexpensive there unlike in Davao .
After lunch, we checked in at the Jaro Bellevue (Php 800 per
night good for two). Kim left us as he still had work to do but we decided to
meet up for dinner later at Plazuela de Iloilo.
Plazuela de Iloilo is located near SM
Jaro. Kat and I decided to buy a few goodies there as pasalubong. We just asked
the receptionist how to commute to SM. It was not hard though. We just walked a
few blocks from the hotel. Before riding a jeep to SM, we took a few pictures
of the place.
After buying
pasalubong, Kat and I went back to the hotel, dropped off our buys (we didn’t
want to bring a lot of plastics while we were strolling) and went back again to
SM Jaro since Plazuela was just located beside
SM Jaro.
We met up with Kim and ate at the famous La Paz Batchoy. We ordered, of course, Batchoy. Namit Gid! (Delicious, indeed!) After hanging out for a bit, Kim dropped us off
at the hotel and we slept early to prepare for our flight back to Davao the following day.
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| ASIL |
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| Visited Angelicum School of Iloilo |
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| Beautiful Church |
SUNDAY
Kim took us to the airport around 7 in the morning. At the
airport, we said our goodbyes and thanked Kim for being so accommodating and
for being such a great companion during this vacation. Unforgettable indeed. We
enjoyed every detail of this trip. Boracay was awesome, and so was Iloilo even though we
only spent a day there.
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| Kim Michael. Thanks Bai! :) |
Oh and do allow me to share, this surprised me at the airport =D
I missed him a lot too!
Will definitely be back, Boracay and Iloilo .
XOXO,
AVI
Photo Credits: Katrina Hugos
Photo Credits: Katrina Hugos
