The Niños Inocentes also known as Yawa-yawa Festival is a Catholic tradition with a twist of Halloween. It’s celebrated every last Sunday of December in Argao, Malay, Aklan and in some villages in Ibajay, Aklan. ‘Yawa’ means a demon or a wicked person in Aklanon (but was an empowered female character during pre-colonial times demonized […]

Ever wanted to see the island of Boracay, the rolling hills of Batanes, and the windmill of Ilocos Norte all at one place? Malay, Aklan has them all and it’s just few minutes away from Caticlan, the gateway to Boracay. And believe it or not, it will only cost you a Php10-tricycle ride and a […]

True to its town’s slogan that says, “Pangibabaw Nabas!” (which means Standout Nabas!), the town is really going up in placing itself on the international tourism map being Boracay’s neighbor. Nabas is popularly known for its spine-tingling cold springs. There’s Hurom-Hurom, Basang, Manyuko, and the latest Bungan-Bungan. But talking about rivers and waterfalls matched with […]

Probably one of the reasons why you love out-of-town trips is that you never really see how beautiful and rich your own place is before a tourist does. And when it happens, you regret why you didn’t see or experience it first. Suddenly, you feel like a stranger in your own backyard. Gladly, I am […]

Apart from being known as the sugar capital of Antique, the town of Laua-an also boasts a lot of spots with beautiful sceneries. One of the interesting spots is Mt. Igmatongtong located in Barangay Capnayan, Laua-an, Antique. With an elevation of 800 MASL, it’s an easy to hike mountain with a magnificent view at the […]

Pandan Hills are verdant rolling hills located in Barangay Bay-ang, Batan, Aklan. It offers a beautiful 360-degree view of green sloping grounds covered with cogon grasses, nearby forests, mountain ranges, and the Tinago Lake or ‘Tinagong Dagat.’ The vast grassland serves as a food sanctuary for cows and carabaos (water buffalos) while the surrounding lake […]

By: Richard R. Cahilig “Hold on tight,” Ritchel said as she starts her scooter. “I’m ready, let’s go!” I said with full of excitement. Then she squeezed the gas throttle. We’re going on a road-trip and hike Mt. Igduao in Valderrama, Antique. It’s in the opposite side of Mt. Igcuron which we already hiked separately […]

By: Ritchel C. Cahilig  “I’ll come back,” I told Nanay Pangga as I bid farewell to her and her family. They accommodated me and Jackie in their house when we got stranded there a night before. They cooked us a very special meal for lunch and native adobo chicken and pinamalhan (fish cooked in vinegar) […]

By: Richard R. Cahilig “Ritch, your location please? I’m now in the bus, I’ll be in our meeting place at around 2:00 PM,” I told Ritch in Facebook messenger. We’re going for a major hike. It was an overcast Friday afternoon of May and a bit late for a normal hiking trip. For the record, […]

By: Ritchel C. Cahilig During our Aklan to Antique traverse through Mt. Madjaas, we were invited by Tay Herminio and Tay Roming, our guides from Barangay Panipiason, Madalag, to come back to their vibrant community to experience their fiesta called ‘Pistang Kristiyano’ in the coming weeks. Without hesitation, we said ‘yes’ to them. True to […]

By: Richard R. Cahilig After our seven-day exploration in the mountains of Aklan and Antique, we went to Boracay Island via a sailboat locally known as ‘paraw’ for free. It was my first paraw experience and definitely, a remarkable one. Paraw is a tradional Filipino sailboat commonly found in the Visayas. Before Boracay Island became […]

By: Richard R. Cahilig It was 8AM in Sitio Mananggad, Barangay Panipiason, Madalag, Aklan when we started preparing our loads for our hike to Mt. Madjaas in Antique on the same day. It is the highlight of our seven-day exploration so far and the toughest. We’ve traveled from Libacao, crossed the border to Madalag, and […]

By: Richard R. Cahilig Tay Freddy, ma-éa-yo pa (is it still far)?, Ritchel asked Pastor Freddy, our local guide, while we were walking in the middle of the night in the mountains of Panipiason, Madalag, Aklan. “Ma-éa-pit éon lang, Ma’am, una éon sa unahan (we’re getting close, Ma’am, just few meters ahead),” Pastor Freddy replied. […]

By: Ritchel C. Cahilig More than the famous powdery white sand beach of Boracay Island, many parts of Aklan remain hidden and untouched. The province of Aklan, particularly the towns of Libacao and Madalag, is home to numerous unexplored mountain ranges; a potential mountaineering destination in the country. The highest mountain in Aklan, Mt. Nausan […]

We’re Rich and Ritch, the Serendipity Seekers Richard and I (Ritchel) are Filipino solo-travelers who met each other by pure serendipity. Rich n’ Ritch Travels is a collection of our personal experiences, explorations, snapshots, and reflections on the road. This blog does not contain itineraries, budget breakdown, blog tips, income reports, and other practical information. […]