The Untold Stories of Islas de Gigantes - Carles, Iloilo, Philippines
Carles, Iloilo, Philippines
Where I stayed
Islas de Gigantes
Hideaway Inn
What I did
Islas de Gigantes North and South
To explore Iloilo, the province of my great grand fathers was a long time plan. I never lived in Iloilo. I was born and raised in the city of Manila and only knew more about my roots during my one month travel in the Visayas in 1999. With little knowledge about Iloilo, I started backpacking, trying to search where my parents came from, hoping to complete my family tree. I spoke to locals, made friends with them, got closed to my distant relatives especially the old ones. One day, Lola Udes/Trudes (Gertrudes real name), a cousin of my grandmother, 76yrs old at the time, brought me to the woods, a forest in my eyes. She was pointing at a huge property down hill and telling me to do something about it. She was telling me stories about the war, how they survived. I then found out that it was the old farm of my great garandpas during the Spanish time 1870's. A very old property of the family, idle for many years. I cant think of anything since farming is not my line of business. I decided to do my arboretum, planting trees around for 2yrs and now I have 12 yrs old trees which I visit regularly. The more I was eager to explore Iloilo and have enough reasons to come back. I was browsing on maps while I was in the our farm in Iloilo when I saw the islands on the North and researched about them. I finally went, hoping for nice weather, excited to island hop. Islas de Gigantes, unknown to so many people and even to Filipinos. It is situated in the Visayas, particularly Carles, northeast of Iloilo. It consists of 2 main islands in the North and in the South with 10 other islands around it. A population of 5,000 on the North and another 4,000 on the South. This is one of the richest fishing grounds of the Philippines and the scallop capital of the Philippines since 15yrs ago when scallops of different species started growing naturally around the islands of Gigantes which later became the source of income for most of the locals. Other neighboring provinces such as Aklan, Roxas/Capiz, Antique, Cebu, Negros and even the city of Manila order scallops from Gigantes which is unknown to many. Some local scallop operators have contacts for export and this helped augment most of the income of the majority in Gigantes to able to send their children to schools. Local operators have their own group of divers and preparation areas for cleaning, weighing and packing. The name Gigantes came from the coffins found by the locals in Longon Longon (Longon-a Visayan word for coffin) cave, believed to be when cavemen still exist, sized 14 feet and 12 feet. The locals call them Higante in Tagalog, Gigantes in Spanish or Giants in English. This is how the land of the Giants started, a story never told to other Filipinos living in the city. None of these artifacts were ever written on history books of the Philippines and none of the historians nor archeologists ever reported nor studied these. According to some old people I spoke to, some locals stole and sold the pieces found in Longon Longon cave to several antique dealers/collectors, thrashed the remains for money. Such a pity and only 2 coffins survived which are now being kept by the Decano family. Gigantes North consists of two Barangays, Brgy. Asluman and Brgy. Granada. Asluman came from the Visayan word "aslum" or sour in English. Locals found the fresh water from the falls sour and this is why they named it Brgy Asluman whilst Granada came from the Granada trees. It is the only island with 12hr electricity and Gigantes Sur or South is run by generator on the evening. The rest of the nearby islands don't have power. This is also where you can find one of oldest lighthouses in the Philippines, built by the Spaniards in 1884 and was rebuilt by a Japanese Organization in 1995. There are over 45 caves in the North, most of them are unexplored and 2-3 were open to public by the tourism of Iloilo. There are ways to get to Gigantes North/South. One is through Carles or through Estancia. Estancia is more known and have regular trips to Gigantes at 2pm daily. I would suggest to take Estancia than Carles. In Estancia, if you miss the boat, you can stay at PAON Resort which is 5 minutes by tricycle to the port of Estancia. I prefer not to rush so I stayed in Paon for a night to get a glimpse of early morning action at the port of Estancia. I met the owner and the restaurant is quite good, very affordable. The rooms are simple, basic, and can choose with fan or with aircon. The rate is php 1,000 per night with aircon. I suggest not to expect too much when travelling to provinces like this so as not to disappoint yourself but rather enjoy more on what you see. Places to Stay: PAON Resort in Estancia www.paonbeach.com (033) 397 0444 Carles Shangrila Family Resort email us: carlesshangrila@gmail.com
Resort : 63 33 3962081
Iloilo : 63 33 5096589
Mobile: 63 09279339155 Rock Climbers and Divers would love Gigantes. Once discovered, they will never leave these islands but these islands have not been completely published yet to other provinces of the Philippines nor to other countries worldwide. These are the hidden gems of Iloilo. Beautiful, unspoiled, unexplored, pristine, clear water, powdery white sands,rich marine biodirversity, amazing rock formations and coral reefs, islands you hardly see nowadays. Gigantes got 'em! There are 2 sunken Spanish Galleons and 2 Japanese warships around Gigantes South, believed to be next to the enchanted lagoon. These now serve as habitat for many types of marine life. Still unexplored, no one really dares diving around the area. These shipwrecks only proves the presence of Spaniards around Gigantes and active trading around the area during Spanish era. Galleons are big, multi-decked sailing ships used on battles or missions of explorations by Europeans during the 12th -17th century, having 2 sunken galleons, does that mean treasures and piracy? Are these the Spanish treasure fleets? Based on records, Manila Galleons used by the Spaniards reached up to 2000 tons. They sailed once or twice a year in the Pacific ocean in the Spanish East Indies Manila, Acapulco or New Spain known now as Mexico. The Galleon trade route was inaugurated in 1565 with the discovery of the ocean passage by Andres de Urdaneta and was put to permanent stop in 1815 which thereby means that the Galleons sunk in between 1565-1815! Japanese occupation started in 1943 which devastated the whole country and killed almost one million Filipinos. Liberation and World War II ended in 1945 which means that the shipwrecks happened somewhere in 1944-1945. Wow, this is again another untold story of Gigantes. According to the locals, Bakwitan cave was the only cave used by the locals to hide from the Japanese. Bakwitan came from the word "to evacuate". People from different towns run and hide inside the cave during the war, proven on the writings visible until now all around Bakwitan cave. A lot of people survived here due to the exits which are difficult to find. I myself tried Bakwitan cave but due to moist and wet grounds, my guides refused to take me to the exit. I was only halfway through. It will take atleast 1 1/2-2 hours to exit the cave and there are local tour guides around the area There are a few resorts that cater to mostly local tourists such as Hideaway Inn, Rosewood Place, Arjan, Rejohn, Las Marias and Benny;s. Only Hideaway offers good service on daytrip tours such as island hopping, caving or snorkeling with trained and knowledgeable tour guides. There are no dive shops yet in the islands. Renting a boat/ banca for island hopping: php 2,000 for 2 or more persons php 1,800 for 1-2 persons Food is upon request List of places to visit: (check photos below)
Bantigue Island
Cabugao Island
Antonia Island
Uwaydahon Island
Pulupandan Island
Balbagon Island
Gakit Gakit Island
Enchanted "tangke"/ Lagoon
Spanish Lighthouse
Calumpang Beach/Lumpatan Rock
Langub Beach
Read more about "Tangke", Gakit Gakit and Spanish Lighthouse by clicking the photos
Place to Stay: Hideaway InnContact person: Tourism Officer Joel Decano Mobile numbers: 0918 4682006 0916 5795617 Please take note that this is not a beachfront property but very close to the shoreline full of mangroves. Don't expect better facilities coz theres none on the island, it may disappoint you. 200 is very cheap and water is very good, clean and clear. Renting a banca to the beautiful nearby islands and spend hours there is the only way to enjoy the white sand and the beach. Cost per night in Hideaway: php200 Food is readily available in the resort which I must say highly recommended. You may request what you like and the charges are at cost. More or less php 500 for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I made special requests and more or less paid Php 650 for breakfast, lunch and dinner You may also try other resorts if you like and make reviews on them. Suggestions: Buy mineral water in Estancia before you leave at 2pm or snacks you like if you intend to stay more than 3days or 5days like I did Bring shoes for trekking, climbing or caving Have an easy, lightweight carry on bag you can use to keep your cameras or video cams Make sure to have a zip lock always for your gadgets or cellphones Bring OFF lotion or mosquito repellant If you love diving, bring your own gears or goggles etc so you don't have to pay There are no towels provided in the resorts or toilet paper, better bring some sarong Don't bring too much clothes, more t shirts, you can wash them in the resort on day time Dont bring jewelries, a water resistant watch is enough There are new resorts to be built in August right at the beachfront of Gigantes North Brgy Asluman and will be finished by December. There are no signal for cellphones, you have to ride a motorbike to get a signal/connection for internet but why bother about those when you are on a vacation? Seafood is overflowing on these islands, totally rich and incredibly cheap. For php180 pesos you can buy a kilo of crabs or rock lobsters or a variety of squid. A kilo of scallops is also very cheap and this is the only time wherein I ate scallops everyday, cooked in so many ways. Be it grilled, steamed, fried cooked in curry sauce, adobo, sizzling, spicy etc, I tried them all! There are mounts of scallop shells all over Gigantes islands and only a few operators survived due to to the decrease of demands from other provinces. Aside from the long hours of cleaning and preparation, locals ventured to other means of living in the neighboring town of Estancia. High supply with low demands. Estancia is considered a big fish port and a very busy one. The locals come here to buy their fresh fish/seafood. Fishermen come here to deliver their goods for the day in exchange of cash. It starts very early, around 4am and ends usually at 7.30 am. I was delighted to see a lot of locals here and got a glimpse of how the port works, how much they sell by kilo/bucket. I've never seen so much fish in my whole life! An awesome experience for a city girl like me. This is also where the passenger boat regularly docks to Gigantes and other provinces. How to get to Estancia:
Take a taxi from the Iloilo Int'l Airport to Tagbak Terminal -20minutes
Airport Taxi Cost: php 500-600 Metered Taxi: plus php 50.00
Take a bus to Estancia aircon or non aircon usually leaves at 7am -4-5hrs due to drop offs
Take a van to estancia aircon or non aircon usually leaves at 6/7am -2.5-3 hrs only
Most of the inhabitants of Gigantes are fishermen, mostly poor and rely on daily fishing to survive. These men are mostly polite, friendly and happy. They say, as long as they can buy rice to feed their children and send them to schools then they are happy. Indeed, simple minds with simple needs and desires. I met quite a lot of them on this trip, have interviewed them and I must say, I salute every fisherman there is. Brave men I call them. They risk their lives every single day and live with hope to survive. It makes me think how hard it is to catch fish alone on a motorized outrigger or "banca" (as we call it) at night with a gas lamp in the middle of nowhere? Hours of waiting and hoping and sometimes can be unlucky due to rain or typhoon season. Patience is a real virtue..Then it makes me calculate how many kilos of fish they need to sell to be able to buy a kilo of rice or perhaps pay a tuition fee for one child? It is sad and this is how life is for most of them in Gigantes. Their children starts helping their fathers to fish at an early age of 7-10 and it really takes a lot of experience to become one. Most of them are amazing swimmers and divers. At 14, they already know how to use the outrigger or forecast a weather by looking at the sky or searching signs in the sea. They don't have compass, watches or GPS. No dry suit, goggles, sunblocks or spf's. Mostly "got feel" and trust on nature. Their fathers pass on and teach what their fathers taught them. It is a chain and they grow old as fishermen, humble, patient, simple and god fearing men. An hour talking to them was a learning experience. They tried to teach me how to catch squid or crabs, what they use and how to use them. It is difficult. I dont think I'd be able to catch even one. After I spoke to a few of them whilst I was in Gakit Gakit island (came from "life jacket" for survival) I gave the a fisherman 200 pesos, thinking its best for him to just go home for today and buy food for his children. He is 28 yrs old with 4kids living on the other island, an hour away by boat. He comes home every 2 days to give money to his wife for food and school needs of his children. He doesn't want to accept the money, he returned it to me. I told him to accept it. It is for his children. Then I decided to leave the island with my guides with a thought " It feels good to help atleast one fisherman". Gakit Gakit island is a small island, use by locals and fishermen to stop over during heavy rain or typhoon season. It is their survival island. Fishermen stay here during daytime to rest or sleep before they start fishing at night. They usually start at 4pm until 4am early morning. A 12 hour daily job. On my return to the main land or Gigantes North, my tour guide "Josef" started preparing for my dinner fresh seafood! This is something you wouldn't want to miss and indulge as much as you can, EATING SEAFOOD!