Mt Guiting-Guiting in Sibuyan

                                         Travel Guide

From Masbate to Sibuyan (Direct Trip)
           Mandaon Port: In the west coast of Masbate Is, the Mandaon port with a 1-km concrete pier offers direct trips to Kadiodijocan in Sibuyan Is every Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s at 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. Travel takes about 3 to 5 hours over Sibuyan Sea, usually battered by waves, for a fare of about Php140.00. A 50-passenger pumpboat, M/B Inday Lyn and Augury are among the boats in service. Return trips are on Saturday’s and Sunday’s For stranded passengers, Mandaon has a few lodging houses, of which Mesa’s Lodging House is the closest to the pier. The woman-tenant of Mesa’s proudly tells that the lodge is found in international travel guides. Caucasians who arrive in Mandaon look for it. At Php50.00 per head per night stay (lodging time ends at 12:00 noon), a lodger may share a tight room with two beds. Use of electric fan costs an additional fee of Php25.00. Mandaon is a quiet fishing town of nosy people.

From Roxas City in Capiz to Sibuyan (Direct Trip)
        Jumbo Bridge Port: A short tricycle ride (fare is Php3.00) from the heart of the city, this river port near Jumbo Bridge offers trips to Sibuyan Is. An 80-passenger pumpboat, Mitchell is leaving Roxas City at noon on Saturday’s to Kanalon in San Fernando and returns on Thursday’s. Sometimes this boat goes further to Kadiodijocan. Another boat, Sherelyn also plies the Roxas City-Sibuyan route (its departure schedules and port of call in Sibuyan are not determined by the author). This route could be covered in 4 hours for a fare of about Php150.00. For a pre-departure night stay, Roxas City has budget lodging houses or inns in Plaridel St. The most affordable, Beehive Inn and Restaurant in Roxas Avenue could offer a room with a bathroom and electric fan for three persons for Php200.00. Despite of its broken fixtures, this room is a lot better than the most excellent camp for the hardy backpacker. Aircon rooms and other choices are available.

From Batangas to Sibuyan (Direct Trip)
          Batangas Pier: A point of embarkation in Luzon, the Batangas pier is reported to offer regular ferry service to and from Magdiwang port in Sibuyan. (Magdiwang town is the ideal jump-off point to climb Mt Guiting-Guiting. The bus bare from Kadiodijocan to Magdiwang is Php 40.00.)

From Culasi in Antique to Sibuyan (via Romblon Is)
           Culasi Port: A passenger vessel leaves for Romblon, Romblon on Wednesday’s. Return trip is not known. Very likely, there are daily boat trips to Sibuyan from Romblon due to the proximity of the two islands and the politico-economic importance of Romblon as the provincial capital.

Iloilo City to Sibuyan (via Masbate)
           There is no direct trip to Sibuyan from the Iloilo City port although it is the leading port in Western Visayas.
           Estancia Port: The most important passenger-fishing port in the north of the province of Iloilo, the Estancia port may occasionally have in a week a vessel or boat that leaves for Bicol and makes a ‘scala’ or temporary docking in Sibuyan. At any rate, Estancia offers regular passenger boat trips to Masbate which in turn has regular direct trips to Sibuyan. A 50-passenger pumpboat, M/B Inday Lhil and 6 other boats or so leave for Mandaon in Masbate on Monday’s and Tuesday’s at 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. For a 6- to 8-hour trip (delays are caused by several ‘scala’), the fare is Php 140.00. In this set-up, the quickest trip is to leave Estancia by Monday morning, stay for a night in Mandaon and depart by Tuesday morning to Sibuyan.
            An alternative route, Calasuche in Milagros, Masbate is also served by boat trips from Estancia. The trip there is shorter by 1 hour. However, the traveler must take two rides from there to Mandaon, the only port in Masbate to offer a direct trip to Sibuyan. The first is through a tricycle ride (fare is Php5.00) to the town proper of Milagros and a jeep ride to Mandaon (a distance of about 40kms).
           Iloilo City-Estancia: In Iloilo City, go to the post office in Jaro where the north-bound buses or vans pass. Take a ride on a bus bound for Carles, the northernmost town of Iloilo. The passenger buses bound for Carles make it a point to detour from the main hi-way to go to Estancia (around 120kms from Iloilo City), a coastal town. At any rate, confer with the bus conductor or driver that your point is Estancia. The fare for the 3-hour ride to Estancia is Php90.00. Demanding higher rates, several L-300 vans ply the Iloilo City-Estancia route, mostly with limited stop-over. Subject to changes, bus trips to Estancia is available from 5:00a.m. to 5:00p.m.

From Iloilo City to Sibuyan (via Roxas City)
          Jumbo Bridge Port:
          Iloilo City-Roxas City:

From Negros Occidental to Sibuyan (Indirect Trip)
          Negros Occidental-Iloilo: As there is no direct trip to Sibuyan from Negros Occidental, an indirect trip passing Iloilo is the shortest or most logical option. Bacolod City in Negros Occidental and Iloilo City in Iloilo are linked by hourly trips of fast crafts from operators like Bullet Express, Sea Angels and Royal Ferry. The fare for a 1-hr trip ranges from Php120 to Php300 depending on the boat and class.
            Sharing affinity and culture, both Hiligaynon-speaking provinces share other linkages. In the South, both provinces are linked through the Valladolid-Guimaras-Iloilo City route. This route involves two boat trips and an overland trip across Guimaras province. In the North, the most prominent route links Da-an Banwa port in Victorias City, Negros Occidental and Culasi port in Ajuy, Iloilo. A wooden launch (fare Php50.00) and a modern fast craft (fare Php 60.00 to 80.00) serve this route, each offering a minimum of 2 to-and-fro trips a day.

From Cebu City (Indirect Trip)
            Cebu City-Masbate City:

             THE SB MT GUITING-GUITING EXPEDITION
                                  (AUGUST 20-29, 2001)

                                                   The Preparation

               The idea to climb Mt Guiting-Guiting was born right after the Victorias Climbing Party (largely an initiative of the Singarong Backpackers) successfully climbed Mt Madja-as in Antique in August 2000. Based in Victorias City in Negros Occidental, the party is a loose group of active mountaineers who are mostly employees connected to the sugar industry. Aside from the Holy Week vacation, they look forward to the Off-Milling Season, roughly from late July to early September, for the opportunity to avail of a long vacation to be used for climbing expedition outside the province. In keeping with practicalities, the party set aside the month of August of 2001 as the likely period to hold the Mt Guiting-Guiting Expedition.
               Without any contact in Sibuyan and anyone to ask about the peak and the island, Dennis, the lead-organizer, faced the daunting task of determining the logistics and itinerary of the expedition. To remedy the shortcomings, Dennis relied on Internet surfing for the gathering of facts. Eventually, he was able to formulate a climb plan.
              Climb Plan: Five days has to be set for the climb. The first involves making a courtesy call to the mayor of Magdiwang and the acquisition of a guide in Brgy. Tampayan, the chosen jump-off point. On the second day, the 8-hour climb to Mayo’s Peak, the final assault camp, ensues. The third day is devoted for the execution of the light-load push to the summit and immediate return to the high camp after lunchtime. Descent to the barangay follows on the fourth day. The fifth day is set aside for exigencies, if not for the return to the town proper and immediate embarkation from the island. In review, measures have to be taken to solve the deficiency of water for almost two days. Granting that the reliability and proximity of Bulod Spring to Mayo’s Peak is not confirmed, there is virtually no water-source in the high camp.
              Access Plan: While the Climb Plan was settled a few months before August 2001, the question of an Access Plan to and from Sibuyan Is remained in limbo. Actually, the party knew of a vessel that leaves from Culasi in Antique to Romblon Is every Wednesday. However, the party dismissed this route outright due to the absence of knowledge about the schedules of trips from Romblon Is to Sibuyan Is. Besides, a route passing Antique is very far from Negros Occidental.
Fortunately, Ernina came up with a sketchy route plan linking Negros Occidental, Iloilo, Masbate and Sibuyan. While the schedule of trips from Negros Occidental to Iloilo province is not much of a problem, Ernina’s knowledge of schedules in Estancia in northern Iloilo and Masbate remains to be confirmed during the expedition itself.

                                                    The Outcome

               With the withdrawal of Jeffrey Legaspi of Northern Trekkers Club, Inc. from the expedition as it was fixed for August 20 to 29, 2001, the enterprise became solely as the affair of the Singarong Backpackers. Three SB members, namely Dennis Ella, Ernina Defiño and Mariebelle Porras, comprise the climbing party. Their total budget is Php12,000.00 – a miser’s budget to defray the expenses of travel, food, lodging and guide’s fee for a period of ten days.
               Although the party is resolved to climb even in the middle of a typhoon, the bad weather remains as the main cause of worry of the party. Much of their travel involves sailing and the disruption of sailing schedules is the natural result of bad weather.
               Three days before departure day, Jolina, the tropical depression had already passed across to the west but it continued to submerge several parts of Metro Manila in flood. An impending cause of worry, a low pressure area about 150kms east of Luzon was threatening to become a typhoon. A great distance further to the east, a super-typhoon with a sustained velocity of 190 kph was raging. At least, the latter was reported to be moving towards Japan.
               On Sunday, a day before departure, the bad weather relented, particularly in the Visayas. By Monday morning, the sun shone brightly to end the rain and gloom of the past days. However, hope turned into dismay as the party realized the after-effects of the typhoon. Upon arrival in Da-an Banwa port in Victorias City, the party saw the crowd of passengers, mostly travelers who were detained in the port on their way to Culasi in Ajuy, Iloilo. The party intended to sail to Ajuy and, later, take an overland trip to Estancia. Leaving the uncertainty of catching a ride on a fast craft in Da-an Banwa, the party went 34kms south to Bacolod City, sailed on board Royal Ferry 1 to Iloilo City and took a bus ride to Estancia. Hence, the party was able to make it to Estancia for its first stopover night at the expense of adding about 70 extra kilometers to its planned route.
               On Tuesday, the party departed on board M/B Inday Lhil for the 6-hour ride to Mandaon in Masbate. Since the past evening, the party had made inquiries in Estancia, a sleepless port of fishing and passenger vessels, for all possible schedules and routes to Sibuyan. They learned about the occasional direct trip to Sibuyan and the indirect trip via Roxas City (45 minutes of overland trip from Estancia). Nonetheless, they headed to Masbate after exacting the assurance of a crew-member of the 50-passenger boat that a boat would be leaving for Sibuyan from Mandaon on the next day, a Wednesday. To the consternation of the party, the crew-member retracted his statement as the boat entered Mandaon.
              On Wednesday morning, the party confirmed the sad truth. Waiting in the Mandaon pier, M/B Inday Lyn announces its trip to Estancia, canceling its regular Wednesday trip to Sibuyan. Another boat, the Augury which sustained damage from squalls in Sibuyan Sea last Monday, is under repair and couldn’t leave for Sibuyan. The party learned that the next trip to Sibuyan would be on Sunday – the seventh day in the 10-day expedition calendar.
             For the last bid to sail to Sibuyan from Mandaon, the party scoured the beach for a pumpboat operator who could offer a special trip at an affordable price. Earlier, the party solicited the opinion of the two men of the Coast Guard and obtained the reasonable price range from Php 1,000.00 to 1,5000.00 for the 3-hour trip. Shortly afterwards, the party scoffed at the price quoted to them – Php 4,000.00! They turned their backs despite of the plea of a handler to quickly negotiate the price down to Php 2,500.00. (The price quoted by the Coast Guard is similar to the fee for a special trip from Mindoro to Boracay, a certified tourist destination.)
            That morning, the party left Mandaon and went 64 kms across the island for Masbate City where in accordance to Ernina’s information hunting, a vessel for Roxas City. The party learned later in the capital of the province (that abound with hustlers) that it was a false information. Eventually, their inquiries lead them back to Milagros town and, afterwards, to Calasuche port where they were informed that the trip to Roxas City was cancelled. Without any other choice, they decided to sleep in Calasuche and resigned to go back to Estancia for the next day.
             On Thursday, the party immediately left for Roxas City upon arrival in Estancia port late in the afternoon. In Beehive Inn and Restaurant, the cheapest inn availbale, they spent the night and reexamined their plan. At this point, with four days spent without setting foot in Sibuyan Is, they decided to terminate the Mt Guiting-Guiting Expedition. At any rate, they formulated an alternative plan - a climb in Panay - and looked forward to visiting for the next day the port to Sibuyan. Hence by obtaining further information about the schedule to Sibuyan from Roxas City, they will have greater grasp of facts about sailing schedules and conditions for a better planning for the next expeditionary attempt.
            They obtained the Roxas City-Sibuyan schedule by the next day and in the afternoon, they left for Lambunao in Iloilo for a trek to the famous Tinagong Dagat in that mountain town.