Although I have lived around 10 years of my life at the Philippines in Bacolod, I have never been to Guimaras until this year. Iloilo was just an hour away, and Guimaras is 15 minutes off that point. This summer, I made sure to take a trip down there because I knew it would be a great side trip during my visit home.

Beaches, ruins and mango pizza are just some of the great things that have been touched by a unique Guimaras flavor in there. Yes, you heard that right! Guimaras has beautiful beaches and although resorts are not as vast as other beaches you may have already visited, the water being clear and the sea being clean can already make you want to stay. Plus, do the people there take after their mangoes? They were all just so sweet to a tourist like me. So, I'm sold on staying a night at one of the beaches!

I was also lucky to visit plantations where so much greens are allowed to grow, Some locals also brought me to a firing range somewhere in the mountains or forests. I was sure no one would get hurt because all I could see were trees! Further along, I trekked to the end of Guimaras where the ruins of the lighthouse can be found. It was beautiful, and what was more astonishing was the view I saw when I climbed atop the old lighthouse (photo of the view is the last photo in this post). It's pretty dangerous though, so maybe think twice about going up there.. Anyway, all in all, the sights were so great because it touched on nature so much.

Lastly, I would not leave the place without having the famous mango pizza! At first I thought it would be weird, but when I tried it, I realized that it was a good combination. The mango wasn't as dominantly sweet as I expected, so it went really well with the pizza sauce. When you visit the place, grab some of it at The Pitstop and try it out for yourself! Now, you better get that trip going soon!