Unexplored Beauty of Yato Island

One of the most memorable places I went to during my backpacking trip to West Visayas is Yato Island off the coast of Guimaras Province. 

An edible seashell

Three words to describe this Island: 

Captivating. Simple. Unexplored.

Yato Island (an island off the coast south of Guimaras mainland). Original picture from designofmine

Sadly, this island is just recovering from a major Oil Spill that happened last August 11, 2006. When I roamed around the island, the oil sludge are still preventing the mangroves to grow and thrive in their natural habitat. It was a big loss to the locals and the nearby towns.

This small island can be roamed around for 2 hours. Only 11 families inhabit this place, the men are fisher folks and the younger ones are taught of their trade. The kids go to Cabalagnan for education (elementary).

I'm just captivated by the simple beauty of this island- virgin white beach, mangroves, stunning rock formations, beautiful sunrise and sunset, marine life, the locals are accommodating and friendly.

I will just let the pictures tell my story:

Entrance to a foreigner's private resort

Cabalagnan port, with the view of Yato island

Yellow Rocks

John Robert (10yrs.old) shows a shell

Sigay shells used for sungka

Virgin island, unexplored, captivating

Cicada

Joven (15yrs.old), my tourist guide

The dead mangroves bec of the oil spill

Starfishes are replete in the island

Back portion of the island, among the mangroves

Yato Island during low tide

Its a regular thing for them to find shells

Kids get seashells for food

Hunting for dinner

Long stretch of unspoiled white sand

What is this? some sea creature? soft corals?

Another soft corals

Sunset view

Yato Island in the morning

Kids playing

Copras (coconut meat to be made oil)

this is the island life: chill and relax after the evening's successful catch

Important Infos:
Accommodation: None. You have ask the locals if you can stay in there kubo. Or you can set up a tent, just ask permission
Cellphone signal strength: Globe: None; Smart: Low; Sun: None
Food Supply: No available food in the island, bring something from Cabalagnan.
Electricity: None which makes it more exciting.
Water Supply: Water Pump 
How to get there:
From Jordan, you ride the jeepney to Cabalagnan, Nueva Valencia. From Cabalagnan, ask the locals of how to get there (pray that they would bring you to Yato Island). Tell them, you just want to spend a night or two. Befriend them first. I was able to go there because I befriended the boatman from Cabalagnan.
Or you can rent the boat, you can bargain, maybe P200-300 is acceptable as its is very near the coast of Cabalagnan.
Look for Joven and tell him, I told you about it. Use your charisma. So, this is not for the faint-hearted or the tourist but for adventure-seekers and backpackers- those who want to try the off-the beaten path.
Travel Time: From Jordan to Cabalagnan (about 2 hours); Cabalagnan to Yato Island (about 15 mins). Patience is a virtue, it would also take you to places you never dreamed of.

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Ending this with a fitting verse from the Bible:

"Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them... Let them give glory to the LORD and proclaim his praise in the islands." 

(Isaiah 42:10,12 NIV)

I think I want to do this more! Going to places that you can't find in the internet and telling something about it. Exciting and cool! What's next

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thanks for reading journeyingjames- my running stories and travel discoveries-- 

let's walk, run, climb, ride, swim and fly. 

You can find me at Facebook and follow me on Twitter.

Day 5: La Carlota City to Yato Island (Guimaras)

If this is your first time to read my blog, please read this first:

14 Days Solo Backpacking Challenge

Itinerary/Route today: La Carlota City to Valladolid, Negros Occidental to Cabalagnan, Guimaras then Yato Island, Guimaras ( with 2 islands stop-overs during the boat ride).

Paddle boat at Yato Island

Breakfast is ready when I woke up. Thanks again to my host, K! But I decided to go to the Plaza and the Old Church to take some pictures, then to Central Azucarera de La Carlota before eating breakfast.


Pictures. Pictures. Pictures (from Plaza and Old Church at La Carlota City)

La Carlota City Hall

La Carlota Church (finished 1877)

Girls' Comfort Room (you're more than secured inside)

The City Hall was erected 1934 adorned with 2 large vases on each side with carvings

Simbahan ng La Carlota (in black & white)

Then, I encountered some problems with Central Azucarera security because they won't allow me to take pictures of the old train. I don't want to argue so I used some diplomacy and a little bit of intimidation (saying I'm a writer and I will write about how you treated me, etc... hahaha! it worked!). After about an hour of talk, I was allowed to take some pics...see below, I took a lot of pictures even of its parts. The officer told me that the "Iron Dinosaur" (old train) is still working up to this day.

Old train used in Sugarcane Mills (Also known as "IRON DINOSURS")

More shots on its parts

More shots on the train parts

My nice accommodation at La Carlota 

After breakfast, I packed my things, said good-bye to my bed for the last 2 nights (I can feel that I will sleep on my hammock again). I really want to stay for another day but I have to get going... Off to Guimaras I continued my journey. I'm excited to taste the sweetest mango in the world. 
So I went to Valladolid port (about 30minutes from La Carlota City taking the minibus) at 9:00am, just before the pumpboat/outrigger boat is about to leave. The boat left at exactly 10:15am and we arived at Cabalagnan, Guimaras at 12:15. Just in time for lunch.

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Boat leaves from Valladolid, Negros Occidental to Cabalagnan, Guimaras 

between 6-7am; 9-10am; and 12nn-1pm.

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Day 5 Route (click to enlarge)

Story. When I get on the pumpboat/outrigger boat, I was mistaken to be a Korean. What the?! @#fkjdnf$%(@#!!!! Do I look weird? So I told them, hey Pinoy ako! Funny, they were speaking English to me (on second thought, what if talked in Korean accent?). Anyway, the sun is shining and I can feel the vibe of the sea welcoming me to another set of adventures. After some time, I started to use my lenses (again, thanks Mitch for lending me you dslr), taking some pictures of the poetic boat ride to Guimaras. Traveling solo would allow me to meet new friends because I don't have someone to talk to when I keep silent. Also, talking to the locals would save you a lot. So I started talking to the boatmen. I even take a 2 shots of The Bar so as to show my interest with them and tell them that I'm with them in their journey. Read the conversation below (of course, it happened in Ilonggo and Tagalog):


Boatman 1: Where are you going?
James: Somewhere in Guimaras.
Boatman 2: Where in Guimaras?
James: I don't know yet. Maybe I will look for an island to spend a night.
Boatman 3: What are you doing? Where are you from?
James: I'm traveling Negros Occidental, Guimaras and Panay Island for 14 days. Its my 5th day today. I'm from Manila (Pasay to be exact). This is an adventure trip! 
Boatman 1: Adventure? Great! Would you like to stay in our island? The beach is white. You don't have to pay anything. Just buy a liter of gasoline and we will bring you to Yato Island.
James: Really? Sure! I will go there. Thanks!
We continue to have our conversation. I enjoyed my time with them. Salamat mga Mig!

PLACES I VISITED

in Negros Occidental
La Carlota City Plaza. Where you can see Andres Bonifacio sculture and Rizal Monument. I think its better to visit it in the evening for I saw some food kiosk- a sampling of some local produce.

La Carlota City Old Church. One of the very few churches of Romanesque Architectural design with its semi-circular arches, Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage Church was made by the faithful through forced labor (Polo y Servicios) from red bricks coming from Silay and coral stones from Guimaras. THese stones were mixed with lime and bonded using eggs.

Central Azucarera from a far & a shot with the sugar canes on the foreground.

Central Azucarera de La Carlota, Inc. (CACI). "Central Azucarera de La Carlota, Inc. traces its history to 1916 when it was estrablished by the Elizalde and Ynchausti families at Hacienda Esperanza in La Carlota, Negros Occidental at the south base of Mt. Kanlaon. Prior to its establishment, there were already two sugar mills operating in the vicinity : Sta. Teresita and Kanlaon Mills. In 1920, CACI absorbed Sta. Teresita and Kanlaon and began its operations for crop year 1920-21."


in Guimaras
Nauway Island, Sibunag. This is the first stop-over. This island is known for their crab culture. The boatmen unloaded the Styrofoam boxes with ice for the crabs. The crabs are to be delivered to Bacolod City. 

Nauway Island, Guimaras (boat replete with crab catcher boxes)

Cabalagnan, Nueva Valencia. I ate my lunch here, a small town with a port.


Yato Island. An island off the shores of Guimaras, 10-15 minutes by boat inhabited by 11 families. The community composed of 12 families welcomed me as their own. I was welcomed as a traveler, but I left as a friend to them. Here I met Joven & John Robert's family More of this on Day 6. I will definitely come again on this island. And because this place is simply amazing and captivating, I will post another blog about it. Revisit to view more of my photos from this small island.

INTERESTING FOODS I ATE

Suman. Sticky rice cooked with coconut oil and placed inside a banana leaf or coconut leaf.

Sirum-Sirum on the inset (ESQ with orange juice)

Sirum-Sirum (its like anchovy, but better tasting). Tasted (as pulutan) some while I joined the Yato folks in their "shoting-shoting." I had two shots of ESQ, again to show them that I'm with them. Very nice and good people.

PEOPLE I MET

Sir Warlito. The CACI head of security. At first he doesn't want to allow me take some pictures but because of diplomacy, I was permitted (His "no" for an answer means try harder for me). He even treated me with coffee and bread from their canteen. Thanks Sir! You are doing your job well!

The passengers of the outrigger boat and Em-em

Em-em. The baby aboard the pumpboat.

One of the boatmen (on yellow) and Mang Tomy (with a headdress)

Mang Tomy. The captain of the boat, he was serious and hard-working. Look at  his eyes reflective of the hardwork he did over the years.

They were the ones who pointed me to Yato Island, they actually offered it for an adventurer like me. Cool guys!!

Raymund the conductor (one who gets the fare) and co. (See short story above). These people are very nice and cool! They even invited me to have some "shots" of the Bar. Who would deny that offer? In the many travels I did, "shotting-shotting" (drinking) is part of the culture. To drink is to be part of them. It is a string message that you are one of them, and you trust them well enough to use the same shot glass they are using. Hope to meet you again guys!

Ptr. Mark and some young people from Calvary Church

Ptr. Mark and some young people from Calvary Chapel Iloilo. Mr. Congeniality as I am, I smile to people I met. These bunch of cool Christians were with the same eatery the morning I arrived at Cabalagnan, Guimaras. 

Joven & John Robert trying out my hammock

Joven (15yrs.old) & John Robert (10yrs.old). My tour guides, Joven stopped after graduating from highschool. He wakes up early every single morning to fetch water for the family. His younger brother, John is a curious boy, loves the sea creatures and knows where seashells can be found. 

On a pumpboat to Guimars (thanks to 10-sec timer)

Some Reflections. I learned the simplicity of life and brevity of youth. The community in this island is devoid of material things, they have no electricity, no easy source of fresh water, no cellphone signal for Globe and poor signal for Smart but they are happy individuals. The kids play around while others get seashells during the low tide. (Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Mt. 6:34 NIV)
I feel sad about the condition of Joven and his younger siblings, they don't have access to informations as what Manila kids have. Their youth is so short that they are expected to be working after highschool.

Day 5 Expenses (in Philippine peso):


P7 Tricycle (La Carlota town proper - Central Azucarera), yellow tricycle
P7 Tricycle Central - Ampang)
P10 Suman
P15 Minibus (La Carlota - Valladolid)
P100 Pumpboat (Valladolid - Cabalagnan, Guimaras)
P37 Lunch (1 cup of rice and beef steak)
P51 Gas for the pumpboat to Yato Island
P22 Bread
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P249 (whew, that was close!). I thank the family of Joven and John Robert who welcomed me to their house, I slept on their kubo with their kids. That was great and I feel I'm part of the family. So, I didn't pay anything for accommodation. They were also kind enough to prepare me some dinner (rice & pork nilaga).

  

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thanks for reading journeyingjames- my running stories and travel discoveries-- 

let's walk, run, climb, ride, swim and fly. 

You can find me at Facebook and follow me on Twitter.

14 Days Solo Backpacking Challenge

This I think will be my favorite post, the essence of journeyingjames: come and join me as I walk, run, climb, ride, swim and fly!

Come July 6 (Tuesday), I am embarking on the longest backpacking journey yet in my life. Armed with courage, confidence, backpack, running shoes and camera (Mitchkay, are you going to lend me your DSLR? Pleeeease). You say ADVENTURE? Nahhh, its more than that! In fact, I will be amazed if someone did this already.

Duration: July 6-20, 2010

Solo. I want to do this solo because I don’t want to be in a hurry, stopping if I want to stop, take more time in some places, meet and make new friends along the way. Although being solo makes me vulnerable, it will also make me trust in humanity more. I will try to eat, buy and live as the locals.

I took this photo during my first solo backpacking trip at Panglao Island, Bohol.

Backpacking. My route would be Negros Occidental – Guimaras – Iloilo – Capiz –Aklan – Boracay – Carabao Island – Romblon – Batangas – Laguna (home). I will be bringing with me my 35L TNF bag, clothes good for 7 days (I will do laundry along the way), hammock and running shoes of course. The hammock will serve as my room/lodging most of the trip to save money.

Route Map

Challenge: Simple but almost impossible, to spend no more than PhP250/day or less all-in (US$6/day). And that starts at the airport in Silay City, Negros Occidental (food, fare and lodging). At first, I’m very hesitant on this but because I want to encourage every Juan that traveling is not only for the rich and famous, I will try my very best to do this. This means that I will be spending P3,500.00 (US$80) for the whole duration of the journey. Can I do this? Let’s see! I hope I can update you along the way. P250/day.

Activities. Running tops my list of things to-do. That’s the essence of journeyingjames, to run around the Philippines. Of course, I have this mantra that “all waters must be tested, all mountains climbed” so I hope to swim on falls, sea, lakes and river as long as it’s clean (and safe); and climb on mountains. Taste the sweetest and most delicious mangoes from Guimaras, eat inasal and batchoy, piayaya and all the local delicacies as long as budget permits. Walk and roam around downtowns, take some pictures of tourist spots and make friends. Observe and learn from their culture. Eat & Run and Visit too.

All waters must be tested: photo from Magpupungko Pool, Pilar, Siargao Island

Lodging. To tell you honestly, I do not know. I want to just set up my hammock on secret coves. I will couchsurf too (CS friends, please help). I have a friend in La Carlota who is willing to host me for 2 nights, one from Roxas City who will host me for 2 nights too. In my previous backpacking trips I saw rooms for only P150/night, common bathroom so maybe I will do that too and that means minus P150 for my daily budget. So, hammock is my best friend here. CouchSurfing, Friends and Hammock.

More hammock moments, shot from Siargao beside the beach.

Transportation. Habal-habal, jeepneys, pumpboat, cadillakad as long as I move forward. As everyone will say, the journey is more important than the destination. Hopefully, I’ll be back to Los Banos on July 20 alive, healthy and ready for another challenge.

Enjoying the Enchanting Coron on pumpboat

Updates. I hope I can find free internet along the way as usage would mean P20-25 on the budget. I think I will be updating my Facebook page (journeyingjames & james betia) on my whereabouts. For real-time updates, please follow me on Twitter (www.twitter.com/journeyingjames). I will text home-base of my whereabouts so they will be the ones to update you. If you are curious of my whereabouts, you can contact me through my mobile phone posted on my Contact Page. Let’s hope I can reply even as I enjoy the beautiful Boracay sunset.

Suggestions. I welcome any suggestion as I’m still doing my itinerary. Shout out a place to visit or things to do in places I will go to but please remember that I’m on shoe-string and I will do only those that are within my means. But if its free, why not?

Interested? Anyone interested of my story? I already emailed Smile of Cebu Pacific in-flight magazine and hopefully they will consider this. I have to email PAL, ZestAir, NatGeo, Travel & Living and Living Asia Channel too! Let’s see if they like this idea. Any suggestion on how I can use this trip to earn money? Thanks!

Before I forget, I bought my plane ticket to Bacolod for only P700, that’s PAL btw. I think I’m a promo fare junkie already.

Let’s all pray for my safety and success of this challenge. I trust that the good Lord will guide and protect me along the way. I’m holding on to His promise from Psalm 121:5-8 (NIV)

"The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day,nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."

 "Ayokong maging banyaga sa sarili kong bansa." 

(I don't want to be a foreigner in my own country.) Sana ikaw din.

Some photos I got from places I've bee too:

Sunflower at Benguet; Starfish from Starfish Island; 3 Boats at Puerto Princesa Baywalk;

Sunrise at Ifugao; Water splash at Puerto Galera; Heritage Village,Vigan, Ilocos Sur;

Shells by the sea, Romblon; Tree formation at Ilocos sur; and Baby crocs at Palawan.

Nice sunset at Batangas bay; Rock formations at Romblon;

Batad Rice Terraces, Ifugao, Pine trees at Benguet;

Palay from Ifugao; Ambuklao dam; and Night-scape at Subic.

More nice photos to come during this 14 days solo backpacking trip!

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