Exotic Delicacy of Kalibo

I asked my Aklanon friend to bring me to a peaceful place in Kalibo where I can be one with nature. And in a split, he brought me to one of the tourist destinations in their town, and that is the Bakhawan Eco-Park located at New Buswang, Kalibo, Aklan. 

For the first timers like me, the Bakhawan Eco-Park is a 220-hectare mangrove forest.The mangrove reforestation project started in 1990 when the local government and several non-government organizations transformed the muddy shoreline of Brgy. New Buswang into a mangrove reforestation site to prevent flood and storm surges in the community. The park is dubbed as the Philippines' most successful mangrove reforestation project.

As of today, the Bakhawan Eco-Park is considered as one of the most popular tourist attractions in Kalibo. The centerpiece of the Eco-Park is a 1.3-kilometer wooden trail that takes visitors deep into the mangrove forest.  There are parts of the trail where they provided small cottages for people to rest or have a picnic.

The park is an ideal destination for Eco-Tourism, it is home to different species of mangrove trees and it serves as a sanctuary for various types of birds and marine species. Other features in the park includes a watchtower, souvenir shop, canteen, massage area, charcoal briquetting, picnic huts and a Center for International Mangrove Studies.

But what really took my attention was when I saw group of men gathering in a decaying mangrove. I got serious so I approached them. And I was surprised to see a big worm! The locals call it tamilok. Tamilok is an invertebrate with case of identity crisis. Other locals call it mangrove snake and some call it a woodworm. But in scientific taxonomy, it is a mollusk (shocking, right?)

But what shocked me the most is that they eat it!!! And with the insist of my dear friend, I tried it myself, too.

Just like kinilaw, they put the tamilok in a vinegar. (But of course, they cleaned it first)

To be honest, it doesn't look good. But when I tasted it... YUM! 

Dipped in a bowl of vinegar garnished with onions, garlic, and peppers, tamilok tastes like seawater made into jelly. It also tasted like an oyster in some other way.

So the next time you dropped by Kalibo, why not go to to Bakhawan Eco-Park and and try their exotic delicacy!