The Isuzu Alterra conquers Guimaras

Last month, Isuzu Philippines Corporation invited The STAR to discover the island province of Guimaras in Western Visayas with the Isuzu Alterra in what they billed as the "Perfect Combination Drive 2." We sent our go-everywhere writers Ayvi Nicolas and Lester Dizon to cover the event.

Lester: It was one of those trips where you have to be up at four in the morning to catch a flight that leaves at 9:05 and, because of the floods the night before and the horrendous post-flood overnight traffic jam, you still end up scurrying to the airport before the gate closes.

Ayvi: I know. At the airport gate, Art Balmadrid, Isuzu Philippines’ VP for Corporate Business was telling me how he plowed through floodwaters, with depths other vehicles dread to tread. Good thing he was in his trusty Isuzu Trooper.

Lester: Most of our media colleagues made it in time to catch the wet flight to Iloilo where intermittent rainfall greeted us upon our arrival and strong torrential rains rocked the motorboat that ferried us to our island province destination. Fortunately, the weather was more cooperative when we got to the docks at Guimaras, where we were greeted by a row of gleaming Isuzu Alterra SUVs that were shipped there a few days earlier by Negros Navigation. "Finally", I told myself, "we get to be motoring journalists instead of seafarers navigating ocean crossings and flood waters."

Ayvi: We got to Guimaras through hell and high water with only our shoes getting wet. The sea crossing from Iloilo to Guimaras’ Jordan Wharf, however, turned out to be a solemn proceeding as the life vests were handed out as if signaling that the hard rain, choppy waters and low visibility meant that this Guimaras trip was going to be harder than we first thought. It was a stormy day, much like that one fateful day when Guimaras island came to be.

First known as Himal-us during pre-Spanish times, the island was named after the impetuous but ill-fated lovers Princess Guima and the slave Aras, who defied royal tradition for their romance. When the princess’ father insisted that she should marry the son of a nobleman, Guima and Aras escaped by small raft but disappeared in the raging sea. From then on, whenever strong winds churned the seas, people seemed to hear the lover’s names shouted by her distraught and repentant father, thus the name Guimaras.

Lester: Since June 18, 1966, Guimaras was a sub-province of Iloilo until it became a full-pledged province on May 22, 1992 after a plebiscite ratified the approval of its conversion. Billed as "The Island That Fits Your Taste", it is a rustic island province that has a population of 141,450 living in 98 barangays over a land area of 604.57 square kilometers.

With 547.48 kilometers of roads, 78.84% of it unpaved, Guimaras was the perfect venue to test the mettle of the Isuzu Alterra and its much-vaunted Flexi-Ride suspension system. The Caltex-fuelled Alterra behaved like a comfortable and spacious passenger car on concrete roads when we went around the capitol town Jordan and on paved roads that crisscrossed the towns of Nueva Valencia, Sibunag, San Lorenzo and Buenavista. But the unpaved roads that connected these towns really tested how flexible the suspension of the Alterra is. It cruised through dips and ruts with ease and absorbed the road shocks and undulations so the interior was still a livable place in spite of the rough roads.

Ayvi: I have to agree. The Alterra still was a "livable place" even with three annoying guys pestering me every half kilometer and a driver whose sole purpose is to plow through every pothole and every dip and incline on the road. And no matter how wild the ride or how geeky the gearhead talk has become, even when the rough roads of Guimaras can be merciless and intimidating, inside the Alterra, Guimaras’ seemingly endless rugged roads and countryside scenery is the stuff that make up dreams.

Lester: I suppose that’s what you’ve done throughout the drive — sleep and dream. But I can’t blame you with the smooth ride of the Isuzu Alterra and the rustic charm of Guimaras.

Anyway, we got off at the San Isidro wharf and boarded a motorboat to Inampulugan Island. Arriving at Costa Aguada, one would half-expect Mr. Rourke and Tatoo to welcome you with their trademark "Welcome to Fantasy Island" lines except Ricardo Montalban or his half-pint sidekick is nowhere near the island.

Ayvi: Uh, I can’t identify with that. Must be a generation gap, thingy, er…

Well! Costa Aguada is exactly how you put it, a fantasy island. Two nights at Costa Aguada and you would feel like you‘ve really quit your job and lived on an island. You have to rough it out a bit.

Lester: Yeah, right. You were roughing it out all right — at the pool and the bar! You missed the turtles at the Sea Turtle Park where Costa Aguada has made a little cove to preserve these sea creatures. You also missed seeing how self-sufficient the resort was with their own diesel-powered generator, their own elementary school and their own cottage industries making native products out of abaca hemp and making soap out of coconuts at their villages.

Ayvi: Last event we covered, I felt like a contestant in The Amazing Race while you hid in your hotel room. Now it’s your turn to write the Lonely Planet guide to Guimaras. Anyway, I know all that! It’s amazing what one could learn from the bartenders.

Lester: So that’s why you didn’t even bother to volunteer to drive during the second day when we drove to the Guisi Lighthouse, which was built by the Spaniards in 1896…

Ayvi: And cannibalized for antique fixtures by greedy Coast Guard top brass and government-types during President Cory’s term... That’s according to Manila Bulletin’s Aris Ilagan.

Lester: And you didn’t even bother to look at the breathtaking view at the Valle Verde Mountain Spring Resort in Ravina, Sibunag... But it was a great ride after all, wasn’t it? Driving around a rustic and inviting island province to test drive Isuzu’s latest SRV beats hacking away at the keyboards in a small, air-conditioned office space, doesn’t it?

Ayvi: Of course! And the trip did alter my perception about the Isuzu Alterra. First time I saw it, the Alterra really looked like such a very happy SRV with its front face and rear body graphic design that’s all smiles. Now, I know what the Alterra is smiling about. It’s smiling to itself because it sure is confident about what it can do.

As for Guimaras, it may be a small place but it sure has got a rich soul. Its mythology may be heartbreaking but a visit to Guimaras would always leave one heartened and happy.