Island Hopping in Guimaras

We woke up at 6:00 AM to catch the sunset but unfortunately it was a bit cloudy that day. We just had our breakfast at the canteen by having cup noodles and coffee. Afterwards, we fixed our things and made ourselves ready for our island hopping.

Time check, 8:30 AM. We inquired for island hopping rates besides the resort. Regular rate is PHP 400.00 for the first hour and PHP 150 for the succeeding hour. Deal!

Our first destination, Lawi Marine Turtle Rescue Center.

We got a close encounter with the sea turtle. It’s quite heavy and I was so careful not to drop it.

Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea) are marine reptiles that inhabit all of the world’s oceans except the Arctic. They are almost always submerged in water, and, therefore, have developed an anaerobic system of respiration. Although all sea turtles breathe air, under dire circumstances they may divert to anaerobic respiration for long periods of time. – wikipedia.

I felt pity when I saw the staff feeding one of the sea turtle. The sea turtle is too old and lost its appetite for food. So here’s how they fed it. 🙁

Afterwards, we moved on to our next destination which is Ave Maria Island.

People can do snorkeling here but since I had contact lens on, I wasn’t able to do so. My friend took a dip on the beach and I just took pictures of the island, and discovered its beauty. The shore is a bit rocky (with parts that are full of rocks) but there are parts with fine sands.

Next is Baras Cave. It’s a small dark cave but boat can fit in.

Just 5 minutes boat ride away from Baras Cave is the Baras Beach. The place that I’ve been waiting for. I didn’t took a dip / swim in any of the places that we’ve been too during the island hopping since I’m saving it for Baras beach. 🙂

When we arrived at the Baras Beach, we plunged into the water. Wow ang lamig! Ang hangin din! The sea bed is rugged and rocky. Mejo nakakasugat. Since di ko na kinaya ang lamig, umahon na ako. Hahaha! Umahon na din mga friends ko.

By the way, there’s also a resort at the beach which is Baras Beach Resort.

Afterwards, we moved on to our next destination. We passed by this private resort at Natago Beach. People are allowed to enter the island however, it was exclusive for the resort’s guests that day. Sayang ang ganda pa naman nung beach… Sarap magswimming kahit nilalamig na ako. 🙂

Time check, 11:00 AM! Susunduin kami ni Kuya Gerald, our driver / tour guide ng 11:30 pero go pa rin kami sa next destination namin, SEAFDEC.

I thought it was just a 10 – 15 minutes away from the Baras Beach but I was wrong. It took us an hour to get there. Ang layo, literal na kabilang isla pa.

The Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) is an intergovernmental organization established in December 1967 for the purpose of promoting sustainable fisheries development in the region.  – seafdec.org

The ICD-SA is the Institutional capacity development for sustainable aquaculture project launched in 2006 to hasten the transfer to and adoption by coastal villagers of appropriate technologies that would enhance the productivity of aquatic resources and at the same time safeguard the fragile balance of the aquatic ecology. – seafdec.org.ph