“ANTIQUE is one of six provinces comprising Western Visayas or Region 6, and one of the four provinces in the island of Panay.
The province is an elongated stretch of land occupying the entire western side of the island. It is bounded by the rugged central mountains of Panay, bordering on the provinces of Aklan in the northeast; Capiz on the east; Iloilo on the southeast; and the Sulu Sea on the west. Its westernmost and northernmost point is Semirara Island. Anini-y is the province’s most southerly point.”
The trip to Anini-y, Antique from downtown Iloilo City which normally would have taken only two hours and 18 minutes took longer because we drove leisurely and stopped at several points to eat and enjoy the scenery. In fact, we explored several resorts until we finally decided to hit the road to Antique. I was not complaining though. It compensated for a stressful work life.
We drove easy through the picturesque coastal towns of Iloilo leading to Anini-y, Antique; the scenery providing respite to the city-weary eyes. Some scenes look uncannily familiar; resembling places I have gone to or passed before.
But it’s no mystery at all. It is purely geography – the physical layout of the country. We have the ubiquitous coastline, coconuts or mangroves by the coastal roads, two-lane or four-lane roads depending on, dare I say, the lobby efforts of the people’s Representatives in the concerned areas, people toiling and going about their daily lives, small and big stores sometimes empty or brimming with people, animals on the streets, houses by the roadsides – these precisely provide character to the scenery whether one is in Iloilo, Antique, Bohol or Sarangani Province.
We reached our destination. We hired a motorized banca to bring us to Nogas Island. I haven’t done any prior research on Nogas Island so I had no expectations about the place except that I love the sea so anything that required a sea trip is totally worth it! That simple.
The water was sparklingly clear changing colors from deep blue, light blue, to green. But hey, considering my color blind state, my vision may have tricked me! It was absolutely a fun trip.
Nothing beats a sea trip and as an added bonus, I got to interview the bankero. I asked him about his life. It turns out Randy Alvarez is a senior high school graduate. He’s hoping to take the qualifying exam of TESDA so he can get NC2-certified. Talk about perseverance and determination!
He’s the youngest in the family. He was assisting their eldest brother Renante who operated the boat. Randy said their father is a fisherman who has now retired owing to health reasons. He explained further that they do not own the boat. It is rented to them by the Anini-y Environment Association (ANEPA). For every trip, Randy gets only P150; Renante gets the same amount. P200 goes to ANEPA. I made a mental note of giving Randy a generous tip for his admirable hard work.
We landed in Nogas and saw quite a number of people. We sat and enjoyed the cool breeze and then walked the whole stretch towards the lighthouse under an arcade of Calachuchi! Boy oh boy! Whoever planted those Calachuchi ought to be commended. The trees added character to the walkway.
We proceeded to walk the grassy path beyond the lighthouse bringing sticks with us for safety measure. You can never discount anything that crawls on the earth. Then we reached the huge Balete tree. If the Calachuchi added charm to the path; the Balete, without any doubt, lent mystery to the place. It seems as if it were enchanted and held many stories that no human is supposed to know.
After a few more steps, we arrived at the end of the island. Aha! It’s really a narrow strip of land.
After we had our feel of the adventure and the abundant sea breeze, we decided to do a little snorkelling. It wasn’t fun for me though. Something in the sea stung me. So much for snorkelling. We proceeded to the mainland and enjoyed the hot spring to culminate our trip.
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT
There’s a lot of optimism in changing scenery, in seeing what’s down the road. – Conor Oberst
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For comments, you may reach the writer at belca.87@gmail.com./PN
