The travel dates were already marked in my calendar for months though I did not have a clue as to where we were going. By some coincidence one afternoon, I flipped the channel to Living Asia and saw a feature on this island. I got so interested and woke R, who was napping, just to show it to him. He showed almost no reaction and went back to sleep. After that feature, I've constantly read blogs and writeups about it. I had no idea that this was where we were about to go in a few months.
A week before the trip, after bombarding him everyday, he finally told me that we were going to Iloilo Resort Spa and Convention Center. I excitedly looked it up on the internet but saw no information about the place. I just said to myself that it must be a new resort.
Fast forward to February 12, 2010, carrying our backpacks to the airport, the inspector told us that we'd have to check our bags in or leave the wine behind. We chose to leave the wine. After years of backpacking you'd think we'd already know we cannot hand-carry it. Opppsssss hahaha :)
We arrived in Iloilo airport at 10:30am. A van was there to fetch us which was a big surprise because back then, we used to commute everywhere during our trips to save money for more travel. We stopped at Ralph's to buy two bottles of wine and headed to the port. I remember passing by University of the Philippines and some other schools. Iloilo looked like a very busy town.
We reached the port at 11:15am and met with a middle aged couple. We shook hands and boarded a big ass boat. We were the only passengers. By this time I was still thinking that we were going to Iloilo Resort Spa and Convention Center. We traveled by boat for an hour. The sea breeze was cool and relaxing, the sea would shift from green, aquamarine, deep dark blue with bubbles of white water.
As the boat dropped its anchor, I gave him a grin. I immediately recognized the place...this place that I've been obsessing about from blogs and articels for months...I was certain that I will be there someday...but I never thought I'd be there this soon.
Isla Naburot, our own private island for three days...just me with my favorite travel partner in this whole island!
Isla Naburot is a private island in Guimaras, Philippines which has been in the Family for generations. It is amazing how the family has managed to build such a lovely place with big wooden and stone structures in such an isolated location.
One side where the docking area is located faces extremely deep blue water. From time to time, one can see big boats, barges and outrigger boats passing by. There is a floating raft where one can rest in between a refreshing swim. On the other side is a cove where the tide is low. The bed is almost dry during dawn and the tide rises as the day goes. When the tide is high, you can see small fishing boats passing through.There is a beach and some beach chairs in front of the dining area facing the cove.
A stretch of bamboo walkway no more than 1 meter wide leads to a bamboo ladder up the facade of the first house. We passed by the old wooden house, the staff house, a bahay na bato, the island kitchen and dining area and more cottages. Finally, our home for three days.
We got the best room in the island with almost 360 degrees view. The interior is very simple and rustic which adds to its charm. The whole island runs on solar energy. There is very weak mobile phone signal for Smart line only in the dining area but none elsewhere. The cottages have light and an electric fan but there is hardly any use for the fan because of the gusts of wind in and around the cottages. There is also running fresh water in their bathroom which has an al fresco feel to it. Plus, there are hammocks EVERYWHERE! :)
A few minutes after we got settled, the lunch bell rang. Our lunch menu consisted of...
Kalabasa (pumpkin) with coconut milk and clams, leeks and a hint of lemon grass
Grilled butterflied whole fish with butter
Lechon kawali
Seaweed salad
Ginisang kangkong
Grilled large scallops on a half shell (I almost dies when I saw this haha, my favorite)
Rice
Fresh fruit platter
 |
| Our view while having our meals :) Deep sigh, if only I can live like this everyday |
Since we were served A LOT OF FOOD, I will just reserve my food comments to the end of this blog post.
Purified water is free but they also have assorted drinks for sale. This runs on a "honesty system". They have a chalkboard where you can mark your room number and the drink that you got then they will just bill you upon checkout.
R napped while I read and wrote until 4:30 in the afternoon. We then took some pictures around the island. It was so picture perfect! Since it was a hot day, we immediately jumped into the cold water after our photo op. So refreshing!
Could the sunset be more dramatic than this? Boats were passing by as the sun slowly went down and the color of the sky shifted. I couldn't help but feel transported to the past and wonder "How many sunsets has this century-old home witnessed and how many passing boats has it greeted?".
We then borrowed their small boat and rowed around a little. As we docked, our cook brought our snack of freshly fried shrimp and squid tempura. SERIOUSLY? Tempura at 6:30, just before dinner? Talk about food overdose! We ate it all up though, it was so fresh, right out of the frier and fried to a crispy perfection. It hardly needed any dipping sauce.
As I was dressing up after shower, I heard the dinner bell once more! Our meal consisted of...
Shell soup in clear sour broth (I couldn't remember what the shell was called)
Sauteed vegetables with seafood
Grilled squid
Grilled liempo
Fried fish
Roasted whole chicken
Vegetable salad with yummy dressing
Rice
Mini turon dessert
I sampled everything on the menu. I wanted to eat more but there was just no more space in my tummy!
One of my favorite things to do is stargazing. I love it even when I am in the city, much more when I am away from the crazy lights of Manila.
I was lucky that the sky was very clear that night. The sky was so clear and the island was so dark and isolated that I could clearly see billions of stars in the sky. It is the most that I have seen in my life so far. They were exactly like still fireworks that never faded. We had wine with our mini turon and watched the stars for a couple of hours. I swear I could stare at them forever!
At 6:00am, I woke up to a beautiful cool morning. The sun was just rising and the tides were low. I read and wrote my notes as I tried to build up my appetite for what surely would be another excellent meal. It drizzled a little, taking away any sign of the hot and humid weather from the day before.
As I looked at the beach I saw the owner carrying a weighing scale towards a small boat. He was buying fish that would probably be our lunch. It is such a treat to buy seafood, straight out of the sea and to your dinner table in a few hours. It doesn't really get any fresher that this.
By this time, our Olympus underwater camera (that we gladly disposed of) was no longer working so I was not able to take more pictures.
Breakfast consisted of...
Sinangag na hibi
Mini longganisa
Tuyo with garlic
Native spiced vinegar for our dipping sauce
Toasted wheat bread with a side of butter, mango jam and guava jam
Garlic rice
Fresh melon juice
Mango and ripe papaya platter
Our lunch was...
Grilled mushroom soup
Adobong isda sa gata (fish adobo with coconut milk)
Large grilled prawns
Inihaw na liempo
Ensaladang grilled okra
Salted eggs
Pinakbet
Rice
Diet coke (I just had to give in!)
Our afternoon snack was homemade crispy sweet potato chips drizzled with a little white sugar
In between all these busy activity...busy eating activity I mean...we took pictures, dozed off on our beach chairs, had massages, read, wrote, listed to reggae music in our ipods, swam, snorkled, played around with our floaters and talked endlessly! Basically a lot of "doing nothings" because we are "forced" into it. No phone signal, no internet, no laptop charger. I Think I want to be "forced" like this again, even just for a few days.
The old ancestral stone house was very rustic and charming, just like everything else in the island. It is very open and airy. It possibly never needed any locks because no one else is in the island anyway.
Too bad I had to take the rest of the photos for this trip through my mobile phone. Dinner was...
Molo soup
Steamed crabs
Fried whole fish (bought from the fisherman that same morning) with cauliflower and broccoli on the side
Pugon roasted chicken stuffed with sampaloc leaves and lemon grass
Radish ensalada
Rice
White wine (care of our very gracious host)
Mini turon and the sweetest mangoes
 |
| If you still do not know, Guimaras has the sweetest mangoes...think a normal sweet mango sprinkled with tons more of white sugar! |
Waking up early the next day to catch the sunrise once more, I started preparing my backpack. Our few days of "doing nothing" will be over in a few hours.
Our breakfast, and final meal in the island was...
Chicken adobo
Sunny side up eggs
Pork tocino
Toasted bread with butter, mango jam and guava jam on the side
Rice cooked in adobo sauce and topped with toasted garlic
Melon juice
Yellow watermelon, pineapple and mango platter
Our meal was a delicious end to our vacation.
If asked how I would describe our trip in three words, I'd say it was Perfect, Delicious and Rare. The food was fresh, everything was delicious, well prepared and well seasoned. It reminded me of my childhood where everything was homemade and cooked fresh in time for every meal. The food sure was OVERFLOWING! The owners were very welcoming and accommodating. The staff kept a close watch and always knew when we needed them but kept a distance to give us privacy and make us feel like we owned the whole island. The island has an old feel to it, almost transporting you to the 1900's. It was so private, extremely charming and incredibly peaceful that you would only hear the sound of nature at any given moment.
We have come far in three years. It is amazing how things have changed and how very busy we have become. No complaints on our end really, because we did ask for this crazy business in our own ventures. I am just thankful that I was able to do those things when I did. Otherwise I wouldn't have experience them at all. Certainly not now. I still want and long for another experience like it even just once every year, when I get to leave everything behind and turn my phone off for 5 days without getting anxious about the emails, paperwork or meeting that await me when I get back. Working on it already...Someday...Now taking things one thing at a time and one step at a time towards my goals of a happy and stress-free career life.
Little did I know that this trip was a prelude to an even bigger surprise. I'd find out later on that R planned this so I wouldn't suspect anything when he takes me to another island to propose (in June 19, 2010). He sure thought right. Because if a woman is treated to this vacation without a wedding proposal, no vacation will ever give her a hint.
Thank you for knowing so well that I would love this surprise.
Cheers! Be Grateful for Everything!
http://www.e-philippines.com.ph/
