Tacloban To Guimaras

My (bastardized) quote why I embarked on this trip would be... "Kung gusto, maraming dahilan"!

Yeah yeah, I know the real normal actual original quote that says "kung gusto maraming paraan, kung ayaw maraming dahilan"! O eh ano ngayon?! Basta, that is my quote for the weekend. Period! Walang basagan ng trip! Don't me! 'Wag mo akong! Hahaha, "if you want to go to, go to! Do not two by two"!

Why Guimaras? Ano ang dahil?!
Wala nga! But some days ago, I read an article on a local (Cebu) newspaper telling about Guimaras having had to build concrete roads and highways, because many of their narrow dirt-road paths were rendered impassable by heavy equipment used to build the windmills. And my lowly mind said... "aba, new roads, new windmills, mapuntahan nga"! Reason enough out of many, di ba?! Yun ang dahil! Go!

So, hello Sabado! Another good reason to hie off! To see how easy it would be this time (if at all), to roam Guimaras. Because, I remember, in the late '80s to early '90s, the island's roads were muddy everywhere, at times it was even wiser to just travel by banca from place to place, than "hit the road"!

Therefore... from Tacloban... to Guimaras with new roads and windmills, I went!

The "Plan of Attack" (as written on my Google Keep)!
     Friday
       - Bring weekend pack and labada to work
       - 1700H head to the Tacloban DZR Airport
       - 1917H ETD TAC-CEB on 5J (ok, booked)
       - 1945H ETA CEB, go straight home
       - dunk the "labadami" in the bin
       - grab weekend beach wear {2 nights}
       - taxi to Waterfront Mactan (ok booked)
       - dinner, 2 bottles
       - 2200H lights out
     Saturday
       - 0400H rise and shine! washup asap
       - 0430H check-in at 5J (ok, booked)
       - 0545H ETD CEB-ILO
       - 0645H Taxi to Ortiz Wharf
       - cross to Jordan Guimaras
       - roam
       - 1400H or later: Check-in at Raymen Resort (ok, booked)
...and so on...

The idea of taking the early morning flight (ETD 0545H) from Cebu to Iloilo was, so I could hopefully avoid the weekend crowds crossing the strait, and, be able to already tour many parts of the island as I could all day, even before checking-in at my hotel of choice, Raymen Resort. Nice enough plan, right?

As a consequence of that idea, I couldn't take the TAC-CEB early morning flight on any airline as they fly out of Tacloban about that time as above. So, the only way for me to connect was, leave Tacloban at end of day Friday, which I am used to, anyway. But that also meant staying near the Mactan Airport for the early flight next day. Thus, I passed by Cebu and Iloilo not seeing them much! As if in a rush!

How did it go?!
Not the most ideal, but I'm not complaining much, as I learned some lessons along the way.

Here's the story:

Yesterday, I left the office in Tacloban past 5PM. I reached the airport still very much on time...

That was my boarding pass. Boarding at 6:45PM, and departure at 7:15PM (daw)!

So, as usual, (ugali na 'to) I waited at one of the restaurants across the airport terminal

I did not catch any solar spectacle this time. Either it was already late or the skies were gloomy!

Now now... at 8:13PM, I was still at the very same restaurant across the DZR Airport. Anyare?!

Yeah, ano'ng nangyari? I was supposed to have arrived Cebu at 8PM! From this table in the restaurant, I could hear the delay announcements. Well, Cebu Pacific is now the new PAL = Plane Always Late!

I checked inside to ask for more specifics. I told them I was flying first thing in the morning from Cebu to Iloilo, to catch the first boat to Guimaras. Thus, if this flight had a chance of getting cancelled, they better re-route me via MNL. They said "the plane is coming, sir". So I shut-up and returned to my SML.

But in my mind, I was saying, "paano na ang labada ko, sayang ang hotel ko! O'clock na!".

This required my lowly brain to do some bit of quick thinking. Argh! The hotel room can't anymore be cancelled as it was way beyond 6PM. So I must stay overnight at Waterfront. Sayang ang reservation!

How about the laundry? And I had no clean anything in my bag! And Waterfront does not do quick or rush laundry. Their services are for day time only. If I arrive in Cebu at say, 10PM, go home to get new clothes, then still come back to the airport where Waterfront is, it would probably take me until 1AM!

Thus, while the flight was not departing Tacloban yet, I called up a neighbor in Cebu to go ransack my house! Hehe, joke lang, they have a key to my little payag for 'emergency' cases such as this! The wife answered, I quickly said "I don't want to talk to you, give the phone to your husband, I love you, bye"?

She always has the last word you know, and as she gave the phone to her husband said "mag-tagay na pud ang mga animal, unsa orasa na, pag-tarung mo ha"?! Hahaha, I requested the husband to open my cabinet, get this and that for me, "and let's drink at Waterfront Mactan, I will be there by 10:45PM"!

9:10PM, I took this pic while I was about to board the overly delayed plane. Or was it, really?!

I had a very strong feeling Cebu Pacific has just combined two flights into one - for lack of passengers - my 7:15PM flight and their other flight that departs past 9PM (usually using the same plane). Merde!

Something we can't easily accuse airliners of - as they will deny it forever and ever!

Anyway, at 9:51PM, here we were circling around Cebu ready for landing...

Hey, if you've got a chance, try a flight that lands in Cebu on a clear night. The city looks magnificent!

And, at a little past 10PM, I found myself choosing what to munch with my beer...

at the lobby of Waterfront Mactan. Of course the friend with my weekend wear was already there (sa likod ng menu card na yan), on his second bottle of SanMigLight, listening to good live music. Yey!

More than an hour of alaskahan, live music and drinks at Waterfront's lobby, pwede na!

Of course I was endlessly ridiculed for such a "stylish" transit in Cebu! Ang sosyal daw, nang-utos pa ng kapitbahay magdala ng brief! Well taken, but he who ridiculed me, brought my stinky labada home!

By the way, those mix nuts come free. On the house, but this time they were a bit stale. Maanta!

Saturday, the day after! THE "D" Day! ("D" for departure - to Guimaras, that is)

03:50AM, I was ready to check-out, but front desk was devoid of humanity!

Across the lobby, a guard was looking at me, so I asked him where the people were. He signaled for me to bang the bell on the desk. I shook my head. I consider that bell noisy and too primitive a gadget not fit to use in our 21st century world! So he walked to the offices and called a front desk staff. Done!

04:29AM, I was eating Zubuchon lechon-adobo at Mactan Airport's pre-departure area.

Already?! Yes, as I didn't know where else could I grab food after departure, until I reached Guimaras.

I was at Mactan Airport exactly 4AM. No sweat, since as said above, I stayed at the Waterfront Airport Hotel & Casino for this! I woke up at 3:30AM, which was even thirty minutes ahead of my phone's set alarm. Hotel to airport was but a few steps. I had lots of time to eat, even smoke, until ETD of 5:45AM!

Ah, 3 small pieces of meat was "bitin"! So I walked over to Dunkin Donuts...

For a "bunwhich" and "hot-choc". Gutom eh! My last meal was just fish and rice in Tacloban yesterday!

Breakfast at Waterfront opens only at 6AM. But I would have been 15mins airborne by that time since ETD CEB-ILO was 0545H. So why did I get a room with free breakfast? Da! and Duh! Probably a matter of habit. I always click the same type of room when booking! Lesson learned: pay attention to details!

I would have also loved the "arroz caldo" at PAL's Mabuhay Lounge this early in the morning. But my flight today was on the yellow plane! I didn't dare go in there. Lesson learned too - avoid yellow plane!

Anyway, at 06:37AM, at Iloilo international Airport, I took this pic of the plane I arrived in...

ETA was 6:40AM. Of course the stewardess bragged "we arrived bla blah minutes ahead of schedule"!

And at 06:38AM (I just turned around after taking that pic above, 1 minute na agad yun?) this...

Walkathon?! Yes, the rigors of flying on yellow turboprops - some walking is needed (at Iloilo Airport)!

I took a cab straight from the airport to Iloilo City's Ortiz wharf. No "nostalgia shots" on this very early morning ride, okay? I already did that (this article) previously anyway, right? This time I snoozed a little bit on the cab, or tried to. Basta, I did not feel like floating into nostalgia this time. Bitin ang tulog eh!

PHP500 pesosesoses daw hambal ni manong driver. Okay fine! I had this ready...

Actually I took this picture so I could remember that the fare I paid was P500! Oh ha?!

On arrival at the wharf, he pulled out a booklet and wrote my receipt down!

Note: I did not ask for a receipt. It just came automatically out of his own volition hehe! Maybe not all taxi drivers are crooks after all. Or maybe manong driver was formerly a BIR employee? Or both hehe!

7:14AM, Ortiz wharf! I took this photo while manong driver was writing the receipt!

I was not actually sure where-to, so I asked him which way in that "complex" should I proceed. He pointed to me that little yellow shack with a green roof (red arrow) as the ticket office. So I went there!

Oh, about the blue arrow... When I got nearer the ticket office, I realized the building is a Barangay Hall. Which I find absurd hehe. Why is the barangay hall out on a busy port, or why is the Guimaras ticket booth at the barangay hall? Imagine if the barangay is distributing something to its constituents, and people are also lining up to buy tickets?! Ka-gamu! Ah, let's leave it to them. Walang basagan ng trip!

Let's hop on the boat and cross to Guimaras! In my NEXT story!