⌛ Panay Island - Iloilo city and Antique Province

It all started when my mate Andy invited the princess and I to come for a visit at a mansion he's house-sitting at in Iloilo city. We packed that night and hit the road by 7:15am the next morning. With the suzuki swift all loaded up and coffee in hand we drove via the Mabinay route over the mountain and into Bacolod to arrive at 11:30am. Road was mainly good but south of Mabinay the rainy season has taken it's toll on the road and several parts have simply collapsed and washed down the mountain side. It's one very small lane passible in several areas.

We needed some lunch and to stretch out legs in Bacolod. Stopped at Sugarland Hotel and had the oh-so-good Sugarland pizza. At 220P, it's quite good and we also stopped and had it on the return trip. We then went to SM Mall and picked up a couple things. We bought a coloring book and crayons for Andy's daughter. She loved it....she used the crayons on Andy's coffee table! :-)

Got to the pier in Bacolod to board the RORO (Roll on - Roll off) with the car and got the 4PM schedule. Paid the fees and awaited boarding. Gate fee 10P. terminal fee 375P. Car fee included 2 passengers is 700P. All in, 1085Pesos for the 2 hour crossing into the Dumangas Pier in Iloilo city. There's 4 companies servicing the route and here's the schedule for those interested:











On arrival it was a Signal 4 typhoon and the rain was just POURING down! Visibility must have been about 30 feet at best. Andy had warned me about the road from the Pier. In short, it's not a road at all. We really should have had a moon buggy for that. It's a shame what they've let happen to the roads at the pier and throughout Iloilo city itself. A very stark contrast to the superior roads in Antique province.

It was dark on arrival but we woke the next morning to find that Andy's estate was so high profile and elite he actually had installed a moat around it overnight! haha


A bit about Iloilo city itself. The traffic is just downright gridlocked and streets choked on smoke belching trikes and Jeeps. It's barely a crawl driving speed. As an example, at home in Dumaguete city my car computer shows i get 10.7km/l for fuel. In Cebu city traffic i get 6.9 and in Iloilo city i get 5.9 the worse of them all. The city is full of cultural history that's sadly left to crumble to the ground and is dilapidated. There's signs of it all around and here's a couple examples

 

This one is now used as a childrens school:
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Were told this property is owned by the Lopez Family, a local businessmen and it can be rented for 16,000Pesos a day for weddings and such

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Many many of these sort of properties just sitting around in states of decay and neglect. Most are an eyesore, which is sad. :-( Fruit and Vegetables in Iloilo city Princess found were about 3x the cost here in Dumaguete.

Some more random pics of Iloilo city

 

Woke up on morning and decided to go to Guimaras island. It's a 20 minute banka boat ride just off Iloilo city port. 14P each for the banka. We didn't research the island at all before going so it was just a feel around a bit. Arriving in Jordan, guimaras wasn't the most scenic. There's a defuct and rusted manufacturing plant at the port on arrive that really takes away from the landscape. It's scrap metal and seems someone would want the money?? And, it would the landscape justice to arriving visitors if it was gone.

Banca ride to guimaras


Jordan Pier in Guimaras
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We decided to just get on one of the Jeepneys that was loading and take a scenic ride to anywhere. Here we are on the "road"


We ended up taking 2 jeepneys and a trike to eat at some carinderia. Mediocre food but we took a walk and got some good scenery shots

 

And now it was time to head North from Iloilo city in the province of Antique. We drove the coastal road and the highway was VERY nice to drive. 2-3 minor parts of road construction but mainly beautiful roads and nice clean little cities. Historic churches and central plazas are common on in each city. Here's some random pictures as we made our way north











Wide open roads in Antique

 

With that it was time to bring the trip to an end. Got the 8am RORO from Dumangas Pier. 129P Terminal fee and 900P RORO fee for a total of 1029Pesos. THEN...when we arrive in Bacolod they have the audacity to charge 375P terminal fee on ARRIVAL!. What a way to greet people to your city....Shame on them.

Overall, a fantastic trip with good friends and we really enjoyed it. :-)

Want to see all my photography from Panay? Click Mark's Photography Of Panay Island

Cheers for now,
Mark

 

Wow amazing report of your trip, The problem is, now i'm startng to get the travel bug again: Thanks for the great information.
Ron

 

Thanks Ron! Big world out there to explore....

We made it as far north as Libertad, just south of Caticlan which is the jump off point for Boracay. Total distance was just under 1100 Kilometers traveled.

 

Wow! Awesome thread! Very informative and great pics!

 

absolutely great thanks

 

Nice photos Mark-

Very professional...


Our yaya is from Antique, and I've been wanting to go there for some time.

Thanks for posting this thread. Antique looks like a really nice, laid back place.