Northern Roundtrip

Short Description

The Northern Roundtrip brings you to the hearth of Guimara's mango production "Oro Verde" at Buenavista. You will see the "Navales Church". After a fine lunch and a siesta on the beach you will climb up to the villa "Roca Encantada" and admire the sight over the "Siete Pecados".

Time and Distance

You can do this trip in 4 hours without stress. Although we recommend to spend a whole day. Visit the "Oro Verde" mango farm and the "Navales Church" in the morning. Then have a good lunch at El Retiro and then a fine siesta on the beach.
In the afternoon you then can visit the villa "Roca Encantada" and on your way back to Jordan gave a stop at Andres Ferrer's fruit stand to buy mangoes and other sweet fruits.

Equipment

Swimming gear, hat, sunglasses and sunscreen.

What to see

Oro Verde Mango Plantation: See more than 50,000 mango trees. Some of them are more than 100 years old. As soon as the flowers grow to young fruits they are protected by paper bags. These bags prefent the fruits to be eaten/damaged by insects. It is funny to see trees with se.veral thousands of paper bags attached.

The Navales Church had been built between 1880 and 1885 (and not in the 17^th century as many guides write). It is dedicated to Saint Isidore, the farm worker. We were told, that the church had been severly damaged by the Japanese occupants during WW-II. During the 1990s the church was renovated, but there is still a lot of work to do.
An interesting detail is the free standing bell tower with its metallic structure.

The villa Roca Encantada (Enchanted Rock) had been built in 1910 as summer residence of the wealthy Lopez family. Its position on top of a rock on the beach and its outstanding architecture made it be declared as a National Heritage House by the national historical institute in 2002.

From the Roca Encantada you enjoy a stunning sight of the Siete Pescados. This group of seven rocks lays in the sea between Guimaras and Panay. Two other rocks are just a few hundred meters from the villa.

What to do

Eat mangoes!
Enjoy the sights and have a fine lunch break with a bath on the beach.

Costs

Transportation:
Rent a multicab PHP 1000 to 2000, half day/day)

(We recommend to invite the cab driver for lunch).

Entrance and others:
none