Guimaras: Beaches and Mango

Despite stormy clouds and a big downpour on Friday in Iloilo, I decided I had to push through with my weekend trip to Guimaras. Undaunted, I kept my eye on the prize: beaches and the sweetest mangoes on earth. The 15 minute pump boat ride from the Iloilo port made it easy.

I ended up staying at Clearwater Beach Resort, a tiny, family-owned place situated in Nueva Valencia in Barangay Dolores near the Guisi Lighthouse, about 1 hour south from the Jordan wharf. The resort only has 5 nipa-cottage type rooms and the bathroom is shared. You can take a multicab (Fare was steep, around 600php, but Guimaras has very little public transportation heading to Dolores, so you have little options. If you have your own motorcycle, you can transport it from the city on the pumpboat). Knowing how remote the resort was, I made sure to stop by the public market and pick up some fresh seafood. I asked the caretakers to cook the fish and crabs -- all I paid was the a small cooking fee and voila! Freshest seafood that doesn't break the bank.