Skip to main content

Mararison Island Getaway

There has been a lot of buzz lately about Mararison Island. For good reasons. How can one not rave about the crystal clear waters around the island and the long stretch of beach with nary a soul? Or the opportunity to take a hike up the hills for a panoramic view of the "land where the mountains meet the sea"? 

We docked by the pile of ginormous jackstones which serve as breakwater for the island. Someday these will be properly redistributed so the beach will be well protected and halt the sea's reclamation of the beachfront. 



















The sea was calm in February when we visited Mararison. It didn't rain though the sky was heavy. And as it was low tide, the curving sandbar, Kawit, was visible from our open cottage on the beach. The hut rental was P300.

After leaving our things in our cottage, we went in search for grub. We found fish and vegetables for sale just a short distance from the beach. And we were pointed to a woman who cooked our meal for us. She grilled the fishes and made some fish soup and rice for five people, all for P350. She also provided the utensils. Our meal was ready when we returned from our circle island tour. We bought our drinks from the mini convenience store nearby. (As an option, we could have bought fish at the public market in Culasi which is conveniently located behind the municipal hall.)

Colorful outriggers dot the shoreline. I found this pink lady trapped between the blue sea and sky.

Culasi, Antique is an easy drive from Roxas City on a paved highway. We left early in the morning and stopped for breakfast in Kalibo before continuing our journey to Culasi. Prior to embarking on our trip to Mararison, we paid the environmental fee of P20 and terminal fee of P10 at the Tourism Office behind the municipal hall. Senior citizens are exempt from paying these fees. 

There are a number of motorized outriggers waiting at the jetty outside the Office. We hired one for the 20-minute crossing to Mararison. The cost of a roundtrip is P750.00 for a maximum of five passengers. This included a circle island tour. It was all fast and simple to set up. We left our car at the parking lot in front of the Office. Our pumpboat waited for us until we were ready to return to Culasi. If you are traveling alone, you may join a group and share the cost. 

Frequent bus services from Iloilo, Kalibo and Caticlan stop in Culasi. The bus from Iloilo leaves from the Molo Terminal and it takes approximately three hours to reach Culasi. The Caticlan and Kalibo buses bound for Iloilo also stop in Culasi. See the schedule here: http://kalibo.org/bus-schedule-ceres/.

Homestays provide basic accommodations and there are also a couple of resorts on the island. Overnight stays can easily be arranged through the Culasi Tourism Office or you can shop around for a room when you arrive in Mararison but not during the summer season when the island welcomes a flood of visitors. If you plan to see more towns in Antique, I would suggest staying at Pandan Beach Resort in Pandan (30 minutes north of Culasi) which is on the beach and close to Bugang River (a popular destination for river rafting) and the town of Sebaste with its waterfalls. Check this link for more information about Pandan Beach Resort, 

*****

Images by TravelswithCharie


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Filipino Struggles in History - Carlos Botong Francisco

In 1968, Antonio Villegas (then Mayor of Manila), commissioned Carlos "Botong" Francisco to paint the history of Manila for Manila City Hall. The series of large scale paintings was called  Kasaysayan ng Maynila  (History of Manila).  The paintings deteriorated over time and no attempt was made to preserve these historical canvases until 2013 when Mayor Amado Lim sent them to the National Museum for extensive restoration. Four years later, in 2017, Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada and the Manila City Council signed an agreement with the National Museum to leave the paintings at the museum so they may reach a larger audience in exchange for museum grade reproductions to replace the originals. Kasaysayan ng Maynila was later renamed Filipino Struggles in History and is now on display at the Senate Hall of the National Museum . Carlos "Botong" Francisco died in March 1969, a few months after completing the paintings. He is one of the first Filipino modernists and

The Art of Carlos Botong Francisco - Progress of Medicine in the Philippines

Pre-colonial period Pag-unlad ng Panggagamot sa Pilipinas (The Progress of Medicine in the Philippines) is a group of four large-scale paintings depicting healing practices in the Philippines from pre-colonial times to the modern period. Carlos Botong Francisco was commissioned in 1953 by  Dr. Agerico Sison who was then the director of Philippine General Hospital (PGH) together with   Dr. Eduardo Quisumbing of the National Museum, Dr. Florentino Herrera, Jr. and Dr. Constantino Manahan. These oil on canvas paintings measure 2.92 meters in height and 2.76 meters in width (9.71 ft x 8.92 ft) and were displayed at the main entrance hall of PGH for over five decades. Owing to its location, the artworks were in a state of "severe deterioration" at the beginning of the 21st century from exposure to heat, humidity, dirt, dust, smoke, insect stains, grime, termites and an oxidized synthetic resin used in an earlier restoration. These canvases were restored three times, the last was

8 Heritage Houses of Iloilo

Lizares Mansion The province of Iloilo on the island of Panay has a rich trove of heritage houses, left over from the sugar industry boom in the 19th century. Iloilo also had the largest port in the Philippines at that time which facilitated the export of sugar to foreign shores and deposited money in the hands of the sugar barons. The barons dropped their earnings into the acquisition of properties in Negros and the construction of beautiful homes in Iloilo, many of which are located in the vicinity of the Jaro Cathedral. The Lizares Mansion was built in 1937 by Don Emiliano Lizares for his wife, Concepcion Gamboa and five children. The family fled to safety when World War II broke out and the house was occupied by the Japanese military. The family returned to the house after the war but left once again after the demise of Don Emiliano. It was sold to the Dominican order in the 1960s and was converted in 1978 to a private school, Angelicum School. The mansion now houses the