2GO Travel: Touring Iloilo & Bacolod!

So we traveled to Iloilo and Bacolod via 2GO's St. Michael the Archangel and their smaller boat, Supercat. Manila to Iloilo took 22 hours, IloIlo to Bacolod was an hour, Bacolod to Manila 20+ hours. I guess it's safe to say, we mostly spent our time on the ship. Haha! Not complaining though. Except for the rare times we were pingponged by the waves, it was pretty fun on board. Embarking and disembarking from the vessel was also easy breezy. Photos!

Thrifted polo shirt, Wrangler w/ belt shorts, Kandi Treats leather bracelet, Converse sneakers

The only decent outfit photos I could ever have on board. Haha. It was super windy that we weren't able to push through with our outfit shots plan. The wind was super that it unbuttoned na my shirt! May pagka manyak ganung levels. Haha. This polo I scored from our ukay-ukay excursion in Baguio. My new favorite. The shorts naman is from my partner in traveling, Wrangler! And you all know how I literally live na in my Chucks. Hee.

our tour guide from Department of Tourism:)

bloggers busy being bloggers hihi

old buildings being restored yey!

loving the architecture!

It would have been nicer if it was a walking tour, but we were in a hurry so they chose the quickest way, through a coaster!:)

First stop was BBQ PARK for some Chicken Inasal fix!

with Tracy, Ana, Tin, Paul, Rodel, Pong

yameeeh!

Buco Halo. You scrape the walls of the buko to add to the mix. Genius!

the kind owner of BBQ Park! Thank you for our bottomless meal! Hehe.

Molo Church or Parish of St. Anne - the women's church

Built in 1831, the church stands as a reminder of Iloilo’s rich history and a monument for Ilonggo artistry. The Molo exudes a blatant expression of Gothic-Renaissance architecture, the one of its kind outside Manila. This Molo Church made of coral rocks (affixed with a mortar made from egg whites mixed with sand) earned the moniker “women’s church” because of the presence of 16 images of women saints inside. The centerpiece in the retablo is the image of Sta. Ana, the patron saint of Molo.

Benefactors of the church and priests were buried here.:)

Beautiful:)

Ilolio River

pasok daw kayo, welcome daw hehe

Everywhere SM!

Pasalubong shopping at Biscocho House!

super long line!

JARO Cathedral

The Jaro Cathedral (Church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary) was built in 1864, the year the district was named a diocese by Pope Pius the IX, by order of His Grace Mariano Cuartero, first bishop of Jaro. Destroyed in the quake of January 1948 and restored by order of His Excellency Jose Ma. Cuenco, first archbishop of Jaro in 1956. The cathedral’s style is basically Baroque, with the addition of Gothic elements over many renovations.

The Nuestra Senora de la Candelaria (Lady of the Candles) is the only rose among the all-male collection of statues which line the walls of the cathedral’s interiors. The Lady of Candles is perched on a glass encased shrine carved out of the facade. The limestone is said to be continuously growing, and in fact had become too large to fit into its original niche just above the present one. Her shrine is visited often by many devotees who believe the statue to be miraculous. This 400-year-old image is the focus of an annual Jaro Fiesta held every February 2.

bought Iloilo's version bibingka! so yummy for P20 each pack:)

Iloilo has many beautiful mansions and houses owned by prominent families. This one is being rented out as a venue for special occasions like weddings!:)

pink house:)

Deco's for meryenda! Love the batchoy and puto.

We then headed to the Provincial Capital (lakas maka Hunger Games haha) to drop off our relief goods. Thanks again Madhouse and Miko Carreon's mom for the boxes they sent!:)

Hope these reaches the affected areas and people asap.

Thank you IloIlo. We only had 5 hours with you but it was one of the best 5 hours of my life. You were beautiful and we left wanting more. Can't wait to go back soonest!

We then headed back to the pier to board 2GO's Supercat going to Bacolod!!!:) It was a short but bumpy ride. Hehe! I suggest you load up on bonamine coz it gets ugly halfway through. I slept through the whole thing, so no prob! Haha.

Only P300 from Iloilo to Bacolod

masaya pa sila nian haha

Upon arrival, we were greeted by Masskara dancers! So festive. Thanks for the treat 2GO! This was the closest I ever got to witnessing and feeling Bacolod's popular festival. Hehe.

1st Stop: THE RUINS

Been here before and it's even more grand than I remember.

they now have an Italian resto inside!

...And a souvenir shop.

Our tour guide! so funny! as in pasok sa banga lahat ng hirit nia. you guys should look for him when you tour this place.

Dining area. That window is where the food is brought out.

they preserved the original tiles and flooring of the mansion

The mansion was built in the early 1900’s by the sugar baron, Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson
and was home to his unmarried children with his first wife, Maria Braga Lacson, a Portuguese from Macau. The mansion was the largest residential structure ever built at that time and had in it one of the finest furniture, chinaware, and decorative items, as the father of Maria Braga was a captain of a ship that sailed across Europe and Asia and would cart with him these items. One of their daughters maintained a beautiful garden of lilies in and around the 4-tiered fountain fronting the mansion, all brought in from abroad.

The mansion met its sad fate in the early part of World War II when the USAFFE (United States Armed Forces in the Far East), then guerilla fighters in the Philippines, burnt the mansion to prevent the Japanese forces from utilizing it as their headquarters. It took days of inferno to bring down the roof and the two-inch wooden floors.

Abe Florendo of PDI explained it for all us, "Then at the end of the road, like a sudden apparition, something out of a half-forgotten dream looms The RUINS. It takes your breath away. And it takes a long time to recover." I concur sir, I concur.

Last Stop: CALEA!