Today I wanted to check out Iloilo.

But first I had to get breakfast. Sadly one of the Longganisa sausage on my breakfast plate was undercooked. The second one had off flavor that suggested it was not thoroughly fried. Visual inspection confirmed my suspicion. Let’s hope my stomach acid did its job and killed those germs. To make matters even more complicated for my stomach, I decided to take the ferry to Iloilo. I had heard the day before that seasickness a common occurrence on this route.

Around 9:00 I checked out of the hotel and took a Grab to the Passenger Port Terminal. The last Oceanjet ferry had just left. I had to book a slower one with Montenegro Lines. The Terminal had a fee of 40PHP, and it was hot waiting there. No aircon because of a brownout. I bought pita crackers which in taste and consistency reminded me of Panzerplatten. The ferry was scheduled for 10:30, but we didn’t leave Bacolod until around 10:45.

Ferry from Bacolod to Iloilo

The ride was indeed quite bumpy, and my fellow passengers were dozing off. I probably slept too. A little queasy at first, the crackers, and water helped a lot. After about 1.5 hours, we arrived in Iloilo.

Sleep or watch Aquaman 2?

It’s pretty cool that the Iloilo passenger pier here is up river and not on the ocean. You are right in the city when you arrive. There was a convenient line to metered taxis right at the arrival zone. It even had shade. The guards here are super helpful in the Philippines when you don’t know what you are doing. I always try to be extra nice to them because they helped me out a lot.

I finally got my luggage to the hotel and went exploring. While buying bottled water, I had a chat with the guard at the convenient store to get suggestions for places to see and how to get there.

Batchoy Lapaz is what’s for lunch. After eating and resting I went to Calle Real which reminded me a lot of Carbon Road in Cebu City. The Spanish influence is even more pronounced here in Iloilo. They have a traditional plaza and colonial buildings along this street.

Calle Real in Iloilo City

One of the things I liked here is the Iloilo River Esplanade. It’s a neat bricked walk next to the river, perfect for running. Around dusk, plenty of locals were jogging or strolling.

Sunset on the river

I had a great day in Bacolod and another great day here in Iloilo. People are friendly and curious, as foreigners seem to be a lot less common here than in Manila or Cebu. And so far my stomach has held up, which is a relief.