I don’t mind bringing along a bagful of snorkeling equipment just as long as I can glide along the surface to my heart’s content of whatever beach my sore feet takes me. I was expecting to find good snorkeling grounds in Villa Igang as per my previous experience in Raymen Beach not one year ago but I was a bit disappointed as I dove down and switched on my underwater camera. Everything’s not lost though; there were still some pretty interesting things down under every few feet or so; this was no coral garden, but it was a fair enough in-betweener before my next snorkeling trip.

What was supposed to be an errand for buying some needed supplies turned into an adventure after taking a right turn off the main road of Villa Igang. I wandered alone into a forest of Mangroves, my not so light weight supported only by time-weathered and creaking bamboo walkways wondering if the thorny mangrove roots impale me should it give way haha.

What better way to end our trip in Iloilo and Guimaras than by having a steaming bowl of Batchoy. Bought at Bayani Café at the airport, it was expensive at Php90.00 but was very much worth it; the bowl was filled to brimming with all sorts of sinful ingredients. Good stuff!

I planted my tripod firmly on a rocky beach, I crawled with my camera inside a seawall cave, I looked and looked and can’t seem to find my rhythm for the fading sun over the horizon. I then saw a path leading upwards into a hill and finally found my frame; the sun was already gone but its mighty afterglow still painted my first colors of Guimaras.

After a month of being constricted to the confines of the office, a chance to go off flying again presented itself at last. With seven tons worth of bags and whatnots we flew over the sleeping metro, jet engines roaring through the still dark sky and waited for Iloilo to appear across the plane’s window.