laguna trip: nagcarlan

our last stop was nagcarlan to see the underground cemetery. let me tell you, although it has not functioned as a cemetery for many years now, it is still a creepy place!

the chapel. this is where the last station of the funeral rites happen before entombment. the priests gave their last blessing here. the wood on the ceiling are the original ones, which were placed after the restoration of the roofing years ago. the colored tiles on the floor are also the original but the best feature of this chapel is its door which is made of hard, thick wood with the original locking mechanism behind it.

 view of the entrance of the cemetery from the main door

 below, at the crypt. tombstones that were left behind here dates back from the 1800s. the crypt was also used as a meeting place of the revolutionary leaders of Laguna during the war with the Spanish in 1896.

laguna trip: magdalena

my least favorite church in the tour despite it's beautiful stained glass and place in history. maybe i was just turned off by two kids who waited for us by the inner entrance, intent on soliciting money from us. when we told them to wait, they looked disgruntled and wouldn't have let us pass, but we were a big group so they couldn't take us all on at once. i trust my instincts and i felt they weren't good kids and would have used the money they were asking "to buy food" for other stuff (e.g. playing in the fair right beside the church). that's a sorry fact.

 

the magdalena church was finished in a span of sixteen years, in two batches, in 1855. it was followed by the belfry in 1861 and convent in 1872. according to its marker, the sand and rocks that were used in constructing this church was taken from the river by the townspeople. 

 the inside of the church is very simple with old wooden pews but the ceiling is and altar looks well-maintained. i cannot say that the church is quite solemn compared to the others. it just have this open, and yet confined, feel for me. or maybe i just had the creeps because of those two kids i mentioned earlier?

 one of the best features of the church for me are the stained glass. the glass above is located on the left side, just right after you ascend the winding steps to the choir loft. it makes for a good picture against the light, too!

at one corner of the church, just as one enters the side entrance of the church, is a philippine history landmark. this is where one of the influential katipuneros stopped to rest after being wounded in battle. general emilio jacinto was called the Brains of the Katipunan, having writtten the Kartilya, which equals to the constitution of the Katipunan. he also wrote for the revolutionary group's newsletter, Kalayaan, under the pen name of Dimasilaw. he died at the age of 24.

history! this is why i love to travel!

laguna adventure: majayjay

the best church in the laguna trip i've seen so far. the air is fresh, the church is quiet and solemn. what more can i ask for?

the majayjay church looks like it sits atop a hill. one can feel the cool breeze coming from down the mountains and i think, it's the best atmosphere to pray

 according to it's marker, this church has gone through a lot of fires starting from when it was just built on bamboos and nipa palm. it apparently also changed hands from augistinians to franciscans and has gone through a lot of renovations. the americans also made this their base once during the Filipino-American War.

 a beautiful entrance 

(although i guess the entrance at the other side is frequently used)

the church is so quiet that one could probably hear a pin drop

another solemn church with a beautiful altar

laguna adventure: lilio

liliw, the home of shoes and slippers

 liliw (lilio) church under the scorching heat

the church was seriously damaged in the 1880 earthquake

quiet inside the church

 

one of the side streets of liliw

*ate lunch here at a place where they say food is good. however, when we ordered things we want to eat, almost nothing was available. we ended up eating the normal food you can also find in local carenderia. the best thing though was being able to buy super fresh pako (which i later made into salad). yummy!

laguna adventure: pila

spent my first weekend going with friends to tour some of the beautiful churches of laguna, philippines.

first stop: pila

 

construction of the pila church was finished in 1849 but it's first ministry started in 1578

a view of the inside of pila church from the choir loft 

 

play with lights

inside the second story of a house across the church. one can ask the owner to go up their house to get a good view of the church. the inside of their house remains that of wood and old stuff. this kind of reminds me that houses built around churches during the spanish period are owned by the wealthy.

unexpected fireworks

this blog is not in reference to the fireworks scare that happened a few days ago in my hometown, leaving lots of injured and a hospital that needed evacuation... for even just for a few seconds, let's think of happy thoughts.

* i pray that the injured fully recover and nothing like that happens again.

here's an unexpected picture of the fireworks display in one of the malls in quezon city on new year's day. we happened by it while we were about to go home.

goodbye, 2010. welcome, 2011! :)

*using nikon L22 fireworks feature

eat all you can buffet

last evening, i met two of my friends to this new place they discovered at a mall -- yakimix. i thought i was already late since i was coming from the office, which is one and a half hour away. when i got there, they were still on the waiting list as many have come to eat there. luckily, it wasn't long when they called to take us to their table and upon seeing the buffet table, my goodness! what a feast it was. my friends decided to take little servings of all that was offered so we could try most of them. i decided to sit down at the table and watch out for our bags.

almost all meat were raw and had to be cooked at this grill in the middle of the table. i am so overwhelmed since almost all the foods that i want, my friends took -- and we started cooking and eating to our hearts' content. it was all yummy!

but i guess all things must come to an end, including my happiness over the food. as we were on our final stretch, i couldn't eat anymore because i've eaten too much. eating the dessert took me more time than what it usually takes me to eat one. i had difficulty breathing and couldn't walk properly. truly, gluttony is bad for our health. LOL.

just one of the foods we prepared

(photo credit: allanmandy)

on to the next day

patapat viaduct

we left pannzian resort early in the morning to be able to make it all the way back to manila by ten in the evening. this was our first stop for the day - patapat viaduct. my mother was so impressed by this place and wanted to take a lot of pictures. unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating and the pictures didn't turn out well.

a quiet resort

a cold, rainy morning at pannzian resort at pancian, ilocos norte

after a full day's travel through region II, we finally arrived at ilocos norte. we stayed at pannzian resort where my cousin once poured her time and effort in helping paint and design the place. the owner is really nice and very committed to her passion in creating a place for family and helping the community to be self-sustainable. i also got the biggest smile during dinner when the owner, while talking to us, referred to me and said "bagay ka dito with your happy disposition!" (thank you, tita bing!) i guess if i need a new job, i could stay here even without pay. that was how peaceful that place was and how soothing for a heavy heart like mine. work was still weighing heavily in my heart during the holidays. the dreary weather during this period was a balm to a heavy heart and for a time, i felt quiet and peaceful. but still, we have to be happy, right? turn to the Lord and everything will be alright. :)

i wish i could re-live that peacefulness here in manila. i can't wait to be there again, just to be quiet --- and happy.

passing by an outcrop

 

one of the few outcrops i have seen during our December trip. 

i have no idea where this is except that this is found in what our family call the Marlboro country of the north because the grazing land is so unbelievable - majestic and beautiful!

happy new year!

i have been remiss the past couple of weeks. i had planned on updating this blog but never did get the chance to, considering that i had no inet access during my christmas vacation and work just got too much for me...

anyways, to start the new year right on this blog, i am going back to the reason why this blog was created in the first place -- a photo :)

 

one of the mountains that surround my parent's hometown. 

 it's a valley where they grow rice. this was taken last December while walking towards a distant relative's house to celebrate a christening.