I have always been fascinated by old churches. Not only because they are concrete evidences of a remote architecture that survived the passage of time but they carry a certain enigma that can transport an imagination back to their origins.
The Philippines, being a former Spanish colony, is blessed with a number of them but unfortunately for me, I grew up in a province devoid of these old edifices. Maybe I have not explored the area that well or just ignorant of the history of its churches. If there are old ones that I have been to, they were not made of stone; most are of wood or concrete. So when I got the chance to visit the oldest city in the country, I did not pass the opportunity to visit The Basilica of the Sto. Nino and The Cathedral.
Basilica of the Sto. Nino
The Cathedral
And while in Bantayan, I was surprised to find a beautiful enormous church right in the heart of the unsophisticated community! In fact some of the houses seem to have been built during the colonial era. Mark and I took images of the church only since the residents may have reservations about their houses being photographed.
The Church of Bantayan
I had a glimpse of a few more while travelling along the coast of Cebu. Too bad I wasnt able to get any good photo. I’ll just save the chance on our next vacation.
Tags: Bantayan, Cathedral, Cebu, church, Sto Nino
I have never been a fan of computer games. Once in a while, upon the prodding of Mark, I’d give it a try but it’ll not last even 30 minutes. The 3 (is there a 4 already?) dimensional games are very effective sources of migraine! I cant keep up with the numerous commands, strategies of attack, and the confusing graphics. Maybe Im getting old for this kind of things.
That completely changed with the introduction of the PSP, courtesy of my hubby of course, and my top and ONLY choice is the cyclopean tribe of PATAPON. The idea is to command the army by beating a combination of drums, with each drum having a corresponding control button on the PSP. If you manage to complete at least 10 combinations without missing a beat, the Patapons dive into fever mode allowing a faster and stronger attack on the enemy.
There are 4 drums – PON, PATA, CHAKA, and DON. Pata Pata Pata Pon means Advance, Pon Pon Pata Pon is Attack, Chaka Chaka Pata Pon is for Defense, and Don DonDon DonDon is to evoke a miracle. I have defeated the dragons several times already and managed to break the walls of the enemy’s, the ZIgotons, castle. Yeah, that’s a major accomplishment for an unskilled player like me!
This is the type of computer/gadget game that I like. Simple yet enjoyable. I’m already addicted! Bata na naman ako…
Tags: Drums, Patapon, PSP
Just this weekend, Typhoon Frank (int’l code name Fengshen) crossed over the country leaving behind a wide track of devastation. Another typhoon, another tragedy. This typhoon claimed several lives on land and hundreds more in one lashing when the MV Princess of the Stars succumbed to the insurmountable waves of the Visayan Sea. The ship had over 800 people on board.
I remembered our island hopping adventure in Bantayan. It was a clear, sunny day and the water was as calm as a persian carpet on the floor. But there’s something about the water that gives me the creeps. The farther we travelled, as it became deeper, it got darker and darker and Lord only knows what’s lurking below that abyss. No water is calm enough for me, unless I’m on shore.
As I was watching the news and images of the capsized vesseI flashed on screen, I cant even begin to imagine what the passengers felt as it slowly tilted and sank. I swear the sheer terror of plunging into the waters would kill me in an instant. I’d be the first casualty.
Tragedies are always unexplainable especially to the grieving loved ones even when justice has been served to the offending and irresponsible individuals who allowed the ship to sail despite the terrible weather. And no amount of blaming can bring back the lives claimed by the rough seas. A lot will be questioned as we try to find meaning to what happened. Personally, I believe that it will be our faith that will get us through anything and everything that shakes us. Only one higher force knows why things happen when they happen. We just have to trust that eventually, the sun will come shinning back again.
Tags: sea, ship, typhoon
Mark and I could have kicked ourselves had we not taken advantage or our Cebu homecoming to explore one of the province’s natural wonders – the island of Bantayan. Actually, not the entire island, but at least a portion of its unspoiled shores and a short visit to its city.
Our trip began with a three hours bus ride to Hagnaya. That may seem long but getting to see the uncomplicated life in the rural communities, the old churches, and the lush green crop plantations as we passed along Cebu’s west coast made me lose track of time. The ride was only P50.
From Hagnaya, its another hour and P160 on a ferry. Im not much of a sea person and my imagination on the possible presence of sharks can run very very crazy. Good thing we brought the PSP with us and that kept me occupied until we reached the port of Sta. Fe. I immediately took notice of the clean surroundings… not a pile of garbage in sight. There were palm trees lining the road leading to the inner village and a simple pedicab was just the means of transport that took us to Budyong Beach Resort which, to my relief, is situated near the police station.
Words may not do justice on how much we were mesmerized by the view. I’m leaving some pictures to give you a taste of what we experienced there.
Bantayan is fast becoming one of the top summer destinations in the south. In contrast to the festive ambiance of Boracay, it is very laid back and still holds a lot of potential for development. Its sand may not be as white and as fine but its clear waters is equally amazing. I hope I can come back. And I hope Bantayan will retain its clean, unpolluted nature. But that, only time can tell.
Tags: Bantayan, Budyong Beach, Cebu
After what seemed like eternity, Mark and I finally set foot in Cebu and pay ‘his/my/our’ family a long overdue visit… the last one was 2 years ago and this comes as a fresh interlude to our busy schedule. Since marrying Mark, Cebu has become my second home.
A lot has changed. Talamban which seemed before like a secluded area is now a booming community with increasing residents and business establishments. SM Cebu and Ayala Malls each added their annexes. Cebu Doctors University built a new building in the reclaimed area. New bank branches, motor dealers, restaurants, small and medium sized stores sprouted everywhere. And consequently, traffic builds up in direct proportion to the people living and working in these areas that going around the city is a strenuous physical activity in itself. Add to that the scorching heat and ever prevalent air and land pollution and it becomes not just strenuous but health threatening. Cebu is not as clean as when I first came and fell in love with the city =(. This is what everyone classically calls, The Price of Progress.
But wherever our families are, that’s where we call home. We’ll keep coming back because of them. And regardless what happens to this land, we will continue to love it because of them.
Tags: Cebu, family
With his vaccines complete and sporting a new haircut, we took Wilson to MOA for his first doggie day out. Lucky, we celebrated it with a bang! That day, It so happened to be the last day of the Pyro Olympics. I wonder how’d he like that explosive welcome…. I’d soon find out.
The World Pyro Olympics had become one of the most awaited events since it started in 2005. The fantastic display of fireworks from the participating countries did not need a lot of advertisement to draw throngs of people… as they say, all roads lead to the Pyro. But this time around, people have to pay an entrance fee to get into the Esplanade, the bayview park right beside the mall. It may be a way to control the attendance since the previous years’ events seemed to have the entire metro’s population in the vicinity that finding a good piece of earth to slouch on was quite a challenge.
The Pyro ran for a month, with 2 countries participating every Saturday night. The first show started around 7:30pm. We were among the early birds and got ourselves a nice niche by the breakwater. But that also proved unfavorable because the explosion can be heard loud and clear. Here’s the equation: Good View + Loud Noise = “Frantic-To-The Bone” Dog. Wilson was furiously wrestling to get away from it all and sadly, I had to leave and watch the second show from a distance. The air display was still amazing but I missed the lights’ water reflection that added dramatic effect to the fireworks. Oh well, it was better than restraining a scared dog in my arms.
Tags: Esplanade, Fireworks, Pyro
