Little Me at Islas de Gigantes

All photos credit to Nereo Cajilig Lujan.

When you throw yourself into the unfamiliar, it’s where you’ll most likely find an adventure. Carles was my unfamiliar adventure in the summer of 2014. The town is located in the northern tip of Iloilo and getting there by a private car will take you around 3 hours. If you travel by public transportation, it’ll take you about 4 hours or so.

To be honest, I was like a hitchhiker when I went there because I was with the capitol press corps to cover Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor’s visit at the Islas de Gigantes scallop harvest which doubled as an inspection of the fisherfolks post Yolanda.

Fishermen harvesting scallops at Ialas de Gigantes, Carles, Iloilo. 

When fishermen harvest scallops, they set out to sea in groups almost looking like there’s a sea party what with all the boats scattered around. Then they’d prepare their tools composed primarily of a net and a tube. After a while, some of them (about one for every group) would wear his goggles, insert the tube in his mouth, and thrust his body underwater like a casual dive. In a matter of minutes, one of them would resurface and carry with him a net half-full of scallops!

A fisherman holding up captured scallops which he would be selling.

Freshly harvested scallops

I already have established an admiration for scallops simply because I like eating them but to see them being harvested and eating portions of them raw is even more amazing! I love scallops-grilled, steamed, baked, fried, even raw (because we literally ate lots of them during the trip)! 

Yours truly about to eat live scallop

While that was the highlight, we also luckily got the opportunity to take a side trip to some of the islands. In fact, we also got to hitch a ride with the Coast Guard BRP Davao del Norte heading close to Isla Antonia. The said island is where the famous photo of Islas de Gigantes, captured in an elevated position, is taken. You probably have even seen this picture when you googled Islas de Gigantes. 

Isla Antonia by the shore angle.

BRP Davao del Norte parked close by through which we took a quick joy ride

Aside from Isla Antonia, we dropped by Isla Tangke which literally has a “tangke-like” structure because of the hidden lagoon in the rocks. It’s an unassuming treasure. I swam-more like floated-in their for about 15 minutes because the water looked so pristine and inviting. You can imagine yourself there soaking in utopic bliss for a fantastical moment. One of the Capitol employees mentioned that this place is also inhabited by monkeys and they come out around the rocks sometimes to entertain tourists.

The spectacular langoon of Tangke Island, Carles, Iloilo

A lot of firsts happened in this trip. I won’t dwell on them for your sake, but let me tell you that firsts are awesome! They’re especially made memorable because of the corresponding awesome people (hello, capitol press corps!).

Awesome people