Together with my friend Racky we explore Western Visayas covering the provinces of Aklan, Antique, Iloilo and Guimaras Island. We landed Kalibo airport at around 10 pm with Air Asia. Since were arriving late at night our initial plan is to stay at the airport but we can’t find a place because the Air Asia-airport lounge is occupied by Korean tourist. We check the net for a budget accommodation nearby. We stayed at Airport Line Pension House.
We check-out at the pension house early in the morning and chartered a tricycle to the Bakhawan Eco Park in Brgy. New Buswang. This eco park is managed by Kalibo Save The Mangroves Association, Inc. (KASAMA). Were too early that the eco-park is still closed. We had coffee and hard boiled camote for breakfast in a sari-sari store just across the park.
The community transformed mudflats into a mangrove forest. Their vision is shared by the municipality of Kalibo, USWAG Foundation, DENR and people’s organization KASAMA. This community based management was adopted a national strategy and received a various local and international awards. The United Nations FAO acclaimed this one of the exemplary forest managed in the whole of Asia and the Pacific.
Entrance fees were 100.00 for general admission, 60.00-Aklanons/senior citizen, 50.00-students. The 1 kilometers wooden walkway leads to the sea, passing through forest mangroves.
After spending that whole morning walking through the mangrove forest we bought some clams for our early lunch then we headed to the Kalibo transport terminal and were bound to our next destination Antique!
This is part of my Western Visayas Trip.
