Since the Covid-19 pandemic restricted myself from receiving my usual double dose of Vitamin D and Sea, it made my trip to Malamawi Beach two-folds memorable — not to mention visiting the province of Basilan for the first time. As part of Tourism Promotion Board of the Philippines’ Influencers Program aimed at promoting destinations in the Philippines to restart an industry hit hard by the pandemic, I joined other travel writers, bloggers, and vloggers on a trip to Zamboanga Peninsula. After spending a night in Zamboanga City, we boarded a ferry for a 2-hour sea journey to Basilan. Among the places we visited upon arriving was Malamawi Beach.

The inviting waters of Malamawi Beach

Despite leaving Iloilo City early in the morning, we arrived at our next accommodation by nightfall already. While travel time is supposed to take only 3-4 hours, we stopped by several interesting places namely; the hablon weaving town of Salngan, the Ati community-run Balay Kape Nagpana and the Silagon Mangrove Eco-park in Ajuy. Not complaining but already feeling exhausted, I planned on getting a quick shower and a power nap before having dinner.

A few days after typhoon Odette got us holed up in our hotel in Coron, we finally saw blue skies and the green light from the Philippine Coast Guard to set out on a sea voyage to Culion Island. Returning to the island formerly known as the “Leper Colony”, had me revisiting memories of dread when I first found out about its history from a prior visit almost a decade ago.

Photo credit: Out of Town Blog

After departing Carles, Iloilo just after sunrise, we rolled into Capiz, a province known for its abundance of seafood, an hour before lunch. Since we spent a lot of time learning about local traditions at Capiz Ecology Park and Cultural Village, we reached our next accommodation in the middle of the evening already.

Nicely designed rooms

Formerly the Amigo Terrace, a homegrown hotel located within the heritage district of Iloilo, the rebranded Citadines Amigo Hotel now boasts a beautiful fusion of 1980’s architecture and post-modern interior styles. The blending of the old and new flairs commands a double dose of retaining its already familiar homey ambiance among Ilonggos and the addition of appealing aesthetics to the city’s visitors.