Discover the Paradise in Guimaras Island at El Retiro Beach Park

How can you determine if a certain place has not been explored by many people? You can Google it. I did that and found some travel websites and some online forums that had basic information about the place. But when I got to a Wikipedia entry, I was surprised that it only had a short description about Guimaras Island. It included a short description of its location, the population, and the different towns on the island.

Enjoying the moment in Roca Encantada

 If I may recall, last April 2001, an American friend of mine, Gerette Crawford, once invited me to travel with him in Guimaras Island. Unfortunately, I was not able to go with him because I had to go back in the States. After years of pure imagination, I was finally able to set foot on Guimaras Island for FREE, together with our editor-in-chief Ramil Baylon and photographer Elmer Cajilig. We stay at El Retiro Beach Park situated in Brgy. San Miguel, Buenavista.

Fall in love for the first time, or all over again, in the seductive serenity of your own beach park idyll in El Retiro Beach Park.

El Retiro lies 25-30 minutes travel by tricycle or jeepney from Buenavista wharf. While on the way, I kept on asking questions to our photographer Elmer if we are almost there. When we arrived at El Retiro, we were welcomed by their friendly front-desk officer Ms. Noreen. Then Mary Ann brought us to our room. We were all tired and hungry. It was already past 1 in the afternoon when we arrived at the place. We took a few minutes of rest then went to the restaurant to eat our lunch.

The El Retito Staff with 

Well, there’s nothing to worry if you are at El Retiro Beach Park, their staff will tailor your stay according to your needs, from the moment you arrive. And to help you get the most from your destination, they will share their local knowledge, so you can discover to make your stay memorable.

They serve great food of Filipino Visayan, but you can also choose what particular continental food you like to eat. Well, though I am a Filipino-Chinese, I love to eat pancit canton. Their pancit canton is amazing! I love it! It’s unbeatable! Ramil & Pads were teasing me that I am “not” hungry. Hahahaha. Because I did finish 1 platter of pancit canton! Well, I just wanted to taste their pancit canton. And I did not end up frustrated because it tastes really good! TWO THUMBS UP!

Enjoying the sumptuous food 

Well, El Retiro is comprised of a number of sumptuous rooms, each one is extremely spacious and clean. Choose from Garden Cottages and Family Room with reasonable rates. 

There’s a distinctly relaxed atmosphere at El Retiro Beach Park. The staff are exceptionally friendly, especially the front desk Ms. Noreen, who later told us to visit these two local attractions - Roca Encantada and Navalas Catholic Church -  which are both located nearby.

So, we woke up early the next morning, hoping that we could visit these beautiful landmarks and enjoy our one day trip. It was not really a sunny Saturday morning. In fact, there had been intermittent rain showers, but it didn’t stop us from our desire to explore one of Guimaras’ famous landmarks: the Roca Encantada or “Enchanted Rock”, which is the summer house of the Lopez family built atop a hill.

The Roca Encantada

“Roca” was built in 1910 in honor of Doña Presentación Hofilena Lopez. Surprisingly, despite the modern exterior, the idyllic mansion is a “heritage house” as declared by the National Heritage Institute on the 14th of August 2002. We also never missed to visit the famous made of coral rocks abundant and considered to be the oldest structure in the island in 1880 - the Navalas Church.

Well, If you want to escape from the hassle; and battle of the city and want your own beach paradise, El Retiro is the perfect getaway.

Give yourself a break!!! As a traveler, I highly recommend El Retiro Beach Park, located in the fascinating island of Guimaras, and make your own private park. On your next vacation, here’s how you can make a reservation to El Retiro Beach Park. You may contact the accommodating Mrs. Lucia Cachuela at mobile no. +639162567556 or telephone no. +63333280779 or email maluciacachuela@yahoo.com.

To Mrs. Lucia Cachuela: My warm thanks for entrusting us to feature El Retiro Beach Park though it was just a short notice.

The Staff of El Retiro: Noreen, Mary Ann, Nora, Rolando and Hector thank you for making me feeling at home. Keep up the good work.

I just want to grab this opportunity to say thank you few people:

To my new friend Robert Alor of Iloilo Grand Hotel: it was nice meeting you. Thanks for the coffee. Looking forward of having a second round of coffee. Hehehehe.

Twinkle & Joy of Cloie’s Pension House: thank you for noticing that I do not know how to do my laundry manually. Thank you for taking care of my laundry. Well, I really do appreciate it.

Kuya Glenn & Ate Lorrena Opong: Thank you for being there if I need someone to cry. You are always there to listen to me.

My officemates: Editor-In-chief Ramil Baylon, Photographer Elmer, Admin. OfficerJanice, Admin. Asst. Vanessa, Machine Operator Jonathan Navarro and Asst. Operator Felix Lago. It has been a privilege to be your colleague even just a few weeks. It’s been a pleasure working with you guys./DH