Na-Gimbal Ako Sa Guimbal!

Kagimbal-gimbal na kagandahan! That would be my apt term for what welcomed me to this town of Guimbal in the province of Iloilo. This town seemed too differently notches up above the other towns I saw in this province so far. Everything seems to be colorfully lovely bright and new or renewed! Aliw factor! Yes Guimbal, nagimbal ako!

Oh for my readers who always look for profundity in my stories or the "sites" I visit, sorry lang, I do not travel to revisit history - incidental lang ang mga yan. I am just a happy go lucky pinoy traveler, who, aside from appreciating nostalgic mementos of yesteryears, I also feast and rejoice on many things superficial - katulad ng pagka-ganda-gandang maaliwalas na plaza! I am not always for the heart-rending "somewhere in time"... I also go for the "wow bongga", or "oi hi-tech" or "ang sosy naman nyan"!

Having said that, eto na, just about 7 or 8 minutes from the Tigbauan Plaza (and we even slowed down at the expansive SEAFDEC), we were passing by some kind of a colorful compound that I initially thought was a resort. And I almost shouted telling the driver to go slow, slow, even slower! I am sure my driver thought "maglakad ka nalang kaya"!
boat-shaped school building of EXACT Training Center
We were passing by the EXACT Training Center. What with a brightly colored fence and life-sized superheroes (not sure if there was 15 or 17) lining up their entire frontage facing the highway! Not to mention two of their buildings that are shaped like ships!

Here's more that made me smile, across that main gate is a restaurant named "To Kay Ann" and they say "we also accept orders and cathering for all occassions" (emphasis on cathering whatever that is hehe).

Along the highway entering town proper, I could see snippets of the sea.
Nice colors, nice views.

We also zoomed by a nice-looking place called South Park Grill Restaurant. I asked about it and my guide said that was in fact his next choice for us to have lunch if I did not like Sol Y Mar. He continued "although that place is lovelier from sundown to late evenings where there is live band music"! Ah eh.., there's always a 'next time'!

Okay, here is a bit of sad note... you see that nice line of trees on the right?
Its a cemetery behind them. The bad news is, all those trees (probably even the fence), will soon to be chopped en masse, to give way to an upcoming road widening. How bad, but at least we have a pic of them here when they were still beautifully lining the road!

Anyway, we arrived at town center and let's go to the Plaza.

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 Click these numbers for a chronology of my notes:
01   02   03   04   05   06   07   08   09   10
11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20
21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30
31   32   33   34   35   36  Thirty six stories
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