GOOD MORNING, GUIMARAS ISLAND

I spent a night in Guimaras Island prior to my death-defying Masskara Festival Bacolod adventure. It brought my soul peace before the world went up in flames, as you now know.

It was my third time in Guimaras, and despite the short stay, I managed to see a new side of the island and met a handful of locals who are just so damn sweet, too.

In the past, I have always visited the same beach area in Alibuhod, usually coming in from Iloilo or Boracay, as an afterthought. There is so much to see in Guimaras. This time I went to the northern tip, near the windmills, where I also got momentarily stuck due to the typhoon.

This is what I had for breakfast the same day, cooked by a lady in her small kitchen by the road:

A warm, life-affirming bowl of la paz batchoy, of course, because I am in the region, enough to prepare me for the disaster ahead the size of the African continent. I have talked about la paz batchoy before: egg noodles, pork broth, chives, chicharon, liver, intestines, and other bits and pieces of pork.

The other one is biko, a sweet sticky rice cake, which you have to eat cautiously, or else succumb to the earliest food coma in the history of mankind.

Looking back, the day started perfectly, and these photos are nothing but serene. Moral of the story: never, ever let your guard down. Shit can get real any time.