Known as Islas de Gigantes or Island of Giants is the Scallops Capital of the Philippines.. Gigantes Island is a remote group of islands located off the coast of Carles and Estancia town, in northeastern Iloilo, Philippines. How we get there? A lil' bit chaotic but pretty funny. Fresh from Smallville, we packed up and ready the set.
Oh by the way, Smallville Complex is Iloilo's nightlife capital and popular dining and entertainment hub where Ilonggos and visitors go to eat, drink (and get lost. lol) and spend a fun night out in the city. The term originally referred to the complex of restaurants, bars, and clubs beside Iloilo Business Hotel. These businesses were the first to open in the area. But now, when locals mention "smallville", they usually mean the larger area that spans the "original' Smallville Commercial Complex up to the Iloilo River Esplanade. (I've mentioned in my earlier blog Hello Iloilo) If circumstance brought you here, the place is located along Diversion Road in Manduriao District, Iloilo City. A footwalk connects Smallville to Iloilo River Esplanade to the south and a road joins it with Atria Park District by Ayala on its northern side. Atria Park is where we bought "pasalubong" of various Iloilo delightful delicacies back home.
Going home from Smallville at 3am of June 20, 2015 we took a bathe, freshen up and set ourselves going to the mysterious island (i mean for first timer like us, kinda mysterious is the term). We hired a van good for 7 persons. At exactly 4am, we leave. We hopped in to a convenience store along the way and bought water, personal necessities like soap and shampoo since islands are limited to few sari-sari type stores only. We spend not more than 30 minutes. Most of us took a nap during the trip. Our lady driver safely brought us to Estancia port approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes. From the port, we rode a boat (which is inclusive in our package) for approximately 2 hours and not more than 30 minutes.
We were greeted by this fascinating sight of white sand and different sea shells. The people were accommodating. At 0900H we took our breakfast apparently sea foods and we set ourselves to sail thereafter for the island tour.
The most famous spot. Cabugao Gamay Island. It offers a breath taking view from the top.
The Bantigue Island. We obviously preferred pictorials than chasing crystal clear waters, haha.
We chartered our pump boat to Tangke Salt Water Lagoon. We missed the cliff diving though. Most of us were not adrenaline junkie but we enjoyed the place well too.
The islands are naturally blessed with pristine white sand beaches. We reached another white sand beach and calm waters at Antonia Cabugao Gamay Island. We did the thrilling Banana Boat ride which costs 200 pesos each with 200 thousand exchange of fun. That was unforgettable.
After Island hopping we did explore the mystical caves. The Bakwitan Cave have spacious caverns that can be easily explored. According to our tour guide, it was named so as it was believed that it has been an evacuation area for many locals during the war. And that gigantic set of human bones was found her so the name Islas de Gigantes was derived from such.
By the way exploring this cave will measure your courage and endurance. Being able to exit in the cave, you need a long jump, a crawl and a climb inside before the exit hidden behind which is steep rock formations and cliffs. Luckily we managed to survive the challenging adventures.
Before the sun sets on its horizon, we were able to peek the Ruins of Spanish-Colonial Lighthouse found at the northern shore of Gigantes Norte Island. We did overlooking of the islands we visited earlier that day. At 6;30pm, we headed back to Gigantes Hideaway Resort where we stayed overnight. We ended the day with sumptous dinner of baked scallops and grilled Tilapia. The whole day was overwhelming plus the raindrops started cascading down the roofs that sent us to a very good sleep early that night.
The following day we took our breakfast which is primarily a feast of seafoods. We paid for our package and leave some extra tip for our informative tour guide before heading back to the city.
Our trip was quite short but the itineraries and travel guides was a total package. Gradually, Gigantes Island today becomes one of the mainstream tourist destination in the Philippines.
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