It‘s around 9:30 am in the island of Guimaras and I had no plans of doing any tours or activities that time but I changed my mind and tried the biking tour from Mountain Biker’s Hub.
Sir Tommy Martir (guy on the left side) is the owner of the lodge where I stayed and also a biking enthusiast living in the island for more than 20 years who assisted me and taught me how to ride a bike properly and professionally and uncover the beauty of the island of Guimaras.
I paid more or less P1000 for the bike plus the tour guide. Good thing that I was the only guest checked-in at that time or else no one will assist a beginner like me during the course. No one will push my back because I couldn’t pedal due to exhaustion. Thanks to Sir Tommy! I couldn’t do it without you.
There are different biking routes in the island depending on where you want to go or how far you can pedal under the heat of the sun. Just ask Sir Tommy the places that you want to visit and he will tell you based on how he evaluate your capability going to those places.
Since I am a beginner and never tried mountain biking before, (but I know how to bike but not like what we did in this tour 🤣) he decided where to go and what to do.
Our first stop was the Guimaras Provincial Capitol where you can see this giant signage of “Guimaras” and the Smallest Plaza. Guimaras is well-known for the sweetest mangoes in the Philippines and in the world. They are regarded as the Mango Capital of the Philippines.
This is not an ordinary island tour because we took a different path where most tour agencies will not travel through. We did trek around the forest and stroll the rough roads of the island.
We reached this island at around noon called “Turtle Island” but was renamed according to Sir Tommy. Pawikan (Tortoise) used to lay their eggs in this island but after the turtles became viral online it was prohibited by SEAFDEC (Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center) due to seriously at risk of extinction of the said species.
As far as I can remember, we only paid P10 for each person to enter the resort because it’s a privately owned property. I am just lucky that I am with a pro. I don‘t need to hire a boat or join an island hopping tour which would cost me more than P1000 depending on the number of persons.
We swam for more than an hour, took photos, videos and just appreciate the crystal clear waters of the island. It was marvellous!
After bewildering us with the waters of the island, we then proceed to ”Our Lady of the Philippines“ Trappist Monastery to buy some pasalubong (souvenirs).
The monastery is managed by monks and nuns and they sell various snacks from mango jams, dried mangoes, banana chips, jewelries, accessories, juices, shirts, bags etc.
They also have a church where you can pray and you can also contact them if you are planning to have a retreat with your company, group, friends or with your family.
According to Sir Tommy, they have large farms where they get their produce and make products for their gift shop/store.
Our last stop was “The Pitstop” restaurant famous for their Mango Pizza. This popular establishment started as a small business owned by a married couple used to sell hamburgers then blossom to a big business. You can try their pizza ranging from P200-P400.
We left the restaurant at around 5:00 pm and I thought that we will go back home right away but we didn’t.
Sir Tommy brought me to a different path going to the mango and coconut plantation cycling through the bumpy road and the blades of the grasslands.
It‘s getting dark at that time reaching the dusk. We were on the highway still pedalling until we finally arrived home fulfilled and happy.
I learned a lot from this journey. I am very fearless and a fighter when it comes to pushing myself to do a lot of things but when I felt the extreme tiredness pedalling the bike under the sun made me concede defeat. I thought I couldn't do it anymore and I just want to walk towards the next whereabouts owing to the fact that my legs are weary and weak because of the long walks before this tour until I told myself that I wanted this and I have to finish what I started and with the help of Sir Tommy encouraging me to carry on I did NOT surrender.
Sometimes you need someone to push yourself to persevere and you have to ask yourself why you started something. If no one else could help you then you have to help yourself.
Contact Tommy Martir for Mountain Biking Tour in Guimaras at 0936 994 8528. You can also book your stay here.
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