Simbahan a Bassit Cemetery (Vigan City, Ilocos Sur)

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From Plaza Saalcedo, I next drove to the Simbahan a Bassit (meaning “small church”) Cemetery, which contains the graves of the town’s eminent families.  It has a cemetery chapel, one of the interesting religious heritage structures in the country.  Located within a camposanto, very few of these remain in the country today and many are in a sad state of deterioration.   This well-preserved chapel, done in the Neo-Classical style, has a facade supported by rectangular columns and adorned with a pair of Baroque-style volutes and some floral details.

Simbahan a Bassit Chapel

Started in 1610, it was probably the first church built with permanent materials in the Ilocos. Blessed on November 9, 1852, it it also has an espadaña (a wall with holes in which bells are hung), the only one of its kind in the entire Ilocos region.  Its floors, made mostly of granite slabs, were mostly used as ballast by Chinese trading junks left behind on the return trip to China.  The chapel houses a statue of the Crucified Christ behind the main altar.  Almost as old as the church itself, the image is reverently called Apo Lakay (Ilocano for “old man”) and is renowned for its miracle cures.


Simbahan a Bassit Cemetery: Quezon Ave., Liberation Blvd., Vigan City, Ilocos Sur.

Arzobispado (Vigan City, Ilocos Sur)

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From Bantay, I returned to Vigan and dropped by the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul and its adjacent Arzobispado, the official residence of the Archbishop of Nueva Segovia.  The latter, the only surviving 18th century archbishop’s residence in the country, was built from 1783 to 1790.  In 1898, it served as the headquarters of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo and, in 1899, as headquarters for American forces under Col. James Parker.  

The Arzobispado

The Arzobispado features sliding capiz windows and cut out decorations with floral motifs. The Museo San Pablo, beside the Arzobispado, showcases ecclesiastical artifacts, antique portraits of bishops, a throne room, archdiocesan archives and other religious paraphernalia gathered from various colonial churches all over the province.  

Museo San Pablo: Open Fridays-Wednesdays.  Admission is PhP5 for students and PhP10 for non-students.  Pre-arranged tours are allowed.

 

 

Our First Visit to Vigan City (Ilocos Sur)

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I, together with my wife Grace and my kids Jandy and Cheska plus my brother Frank, sister Tellie and their families were planning to go on vacation at Pagudpud in Ilocos Norte.  However, we didn’t go all the way there, opting also to stay overnight at Vigan City.  We left Manila by 2 AM, April 3, the week prior to Holy Week (to avoid the traffic). By land, it is no easy feat getting to Vigan City and we made the 437-km. long haul drive in about 10 hrs., including breakfast and nature calls, with me and Grace taking turns driving.  The kids were mostly asleep the whole time.   Our arrival at the beautiful Quirino (Banaoang) Bridge heralded our entry into Bantay and Vigan City.

Quirino Bridge

Upon our arrival at Vigan City, we parked our Toyota Revo somewhere near the narrow Mena Crisologo St. as cars are now allowed along this street to protect the cobble stones and preserve the ambiance of the place.  This street, located south of Vigan Cathedral, was the Chinese mestizo quarter, popularly known, in the olden days, as Kasanglayan.  We checked in at Cordillera Inn, one of many ancestral homes in the city turned into cozy hotels and pension houses. Our group occupied 3 (out of 23) airconditioned family rooms with private bath and cable TV (PhP1,500).

Check out “Hotel and Inn Review: Cordillera Inn“

Cordillera Inn

After settling in at Cordillera Inn, we all left to join the others for a late lunch at nearby Cafe Leona, walking along the length of cobblestoned Mena Crisologo Street to get there, passing some of the country’s best remaining colonial architecture.

Check out “Restaurant Review: Cafe Leona“

Leona Florentino House

Café Leona, as well as the Provincial Tourism Center and the Vigan Heritage Commission, are housed at the Leona Florentino House.  Built in 1797, it is the former home to one of the country’s first woman playwrights and poets to gain international recognition.  One of her 5 children, Isabelo de los Reyes, would later become a writer like her as well as a champion of the Philippine labor movement and a senator.

Cordillera Inn: 29 Mena Crisologo cor. Gen. Luna Sts., Vigan City, Ilocos Sur. Tel: (077) 722-2526. Fax: (077) 722-2739 & 722-2727.  Mobile number: (0927) 313-5616.
Cafe Leona: Mena Crisologo St., Vigan City, Ilocos Sur. Tel: (077) 722-2212.  Fax: (077) 722-3089. Mobile number: (0920) 906-8144.  E-mail: cafeleona@yahoo.com.

Fontana Waterpark (Clark Special Economic Zone, Pampanga)

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The next day, we all donned our bathing attire and visited the adjoining Fontana Water Park, the ultimate cool spot in Pampanga and the finest of its kind in the area. I brought along my 2 kids Jandy and Cheska.  Joining us were my balikbayan aunt Tita Cita, my brother Frank and his wife Ate Cherry.  This tropical jungle-themed park features a world-class wave pool that can electronically produce 6 types of simulated waves (ranging from mild to strong) up to 3 ft. high.

Tita Cita and Ate Cherry at the Wave Pool

We waited patiently for the waves which came every 30 mins.. When they did arrive, we kept on jumping about so that the waves, which last for 15 mins., won’t lash our faces.  This,  plus three giant aqua thrill slides, provided all the spills and thrills we wanted in a water amusement park. They also have kid-friendly pools with water level from 1 to 2 ft..  A replica of a pirate ship (the “Admiral”), with 4 mini water slides, continuously spouts streams of water into the shallow pool.  Lifeguards were everywhere, providing for a safe environment for adults and children alike.

Jandy tries out one of the Aqua Thrill water slides

A meandering  Lazy River swirls around the water park and one can ride around it in huge, animal-shaped (crocodile, snake, dinosaur, etc.) yellow life savers.  At the Mad Scientist Water Factory, so called because of the contraptions found in a horror movie, a wrong turn here will cause water to splash all over our face.  Adorning the water park are huge statues of elephants said to have been imported from Malaysia.  There are also statues of monkeys, an octopus, frog, dolphin and a swan.

L-R: Cheska, Kuya Frank, Tita Cita and Jandy

Fontana Water Park: Fontana Leisure Parks & Casino, C.M. Recto Highway, Clark Special Economic Zone, 2023 Pampanga.  Open Mondays to Thursdays, 8 AM-6 PM (entrance fee: PhP375) and Fridays to Sundays, 8 AM-6 PM (entrance fee:  PhP475). Tel: (045) 499-1179.

Fontana Leisure Park (Clark Special Economic Zone, Pampanga)

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My brother Frank invited our balikbayan relatives (Tito Vit and Luz Mamawal, Tita Cita Reyes) to an overnight stay at a rented villa at Fontana Leisure Park, an early celebration of their upcoming silver wedding anniversary (December 17).  My family and I, as well as my siblings Tellie and Salve, were also invited to join them.  We left for Clark in the late after and arrived there in time for the anticipated mass officiated by my uncle Fr. Ben Mamawal.

The 3-bedroom villa we all stayed in

Fontana Leisure Park, operational since 1998,  has row upon row of duplex bungalows (called villas) with 2 to 3 bedrooms per unit.   We all stayed in a 3-bedroom unit. All units have all the amenities of upscale living such as centralized airconditioning and cable TV.  An “investment option” entitled one to membership and its attendant privileges such as 7 free tickets to the Water Park every month and an annual week’s stay at the villa in which you only pay the maintenance fee.

Tita Cita and Cheska dancing the “Otso-Otso”

The resort also has a 9-hole short golf course, a sprawling clubhouse complex with lobby lounge and coffee shop/restaurant; a convention center, and a Fun Park and Lagoon Area. The convention center has a 1,200-pax hall, a 600-pax ballroom a 150-pax theater plus meeting rooms and function rooms.

Rizal Shrine (Calamba City, Laguna)

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After hearing mass at the Church of St. John the Baptist in Calamba City, Jandy Cheska and I crossed over to visit the Rizal Shrine, the birthplace of our National Hero Jose Rizal.  This bahay na bato, the first in Calamba, took two years for Rizal’s father to build. Now a property of the national government and administered and maintained by the National Historical Institute (NHI), this reproduction of the original Spanish Colonial-style, 2-storey house has a red tile roof, thick stone ground floor walls, doors wide enough for a carriage to enter, wooden upper walls of narraand molave and balustrades and capiz shell windows.  

Rizal Shrine


However, we weren’t allowed to take pictures inside.  Its controversial stairway (questioned by old folks to be slightly misplaced saying it should have been a little closer to the wall), with its circular base, leads to the caida (the banquet hall which served as library to Don Francisco and is in turned connected to the sala(living room) by an ornate doorway.  On both sides of the sala are the bedrooms. The house contains replicas of Rizal’s antique family furniture, household articles, library and Rizal memorabilia. Antique items include a very old coffee grinder, a punka (ceiling fan) and a water filter that purifies water from the well.  In the garden are various Philippine fruit trees, an empty stable with a square-shaped calesaon the side and a bronze statue of Rizal as a child done by Duddley Diaz (unveiled on 19 June 1998). The shrine also has a souvenir shop.

 
 
 
Rizal Shrine: J.P. Rizal St. (formerly Calle Real), Calamba City, Laguna.  Lectures and guiding services can be arranged. Open Tuesdays to Saturdays, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.  Admission is free.  Tel: (092) 545-2010.  
 
How to Get There: Calamba City is located 55 kms. from Manila and is accessible via the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX).  Take the Calamba Exit.
 

Balicasag Island (Panglao, Bohol)

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Balicasag Island Dive Resort

Panglao Island’s deep waters are home to whales and dolphins that appear all year round, especially between the months of April and June.  Having arrived on the last week of May, we were hoping to do some dolphin watching of our own at nearby Balicasag Island which lies off Panglao Reef, 4 kms. southwest of Duljo Point.   Balicasag is also touted as the country’s second best diving spot.  The island’s north and northwest side has a narrow shelf, 10 to 50 m. wide and about 7 m. deep, ending in 2 excellent vertical walls that fall forever.   In fact, 80 to 90% of the tourists who visit Panglao come primarily for the Balicasag scuba diving.  The first recorded dive of the island on the island was done on May 6, 1984.   

On our way

To get to the island, I hired an outrigger boat.  Grace, my kids Jandy and Cheska and my brother-in-law Mark joined me and we all brought our swimming and snorkeling gear, suntan lotion and some packed lunch.  We left very early in the morning for the 10-km. (45-min.) boat ride to the island. However, throughout the boat tour, we failed to sight any dolphins or whales and so we contented ourselves with snorkeling its beautiful underwater scenery just off the shore. 

Balicasag Island

We later made a landfall at the other side of the flat, barren 21-hectare island which is ringed by a pristine sandy shell, coraline beach. The island’s name was derived from the Visayan words bali, meaning “change,” and kasa, meaning “noise,” in reference to the waves slapping the shore as the wind changes direction.  The island was declared as a lighthouse reservation as early as 29 October 1907.  Jandy and I went around the island in less than half an hour.  On the southwest side of the island is the 1.5-hectare, Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA)-managed Balicasag Island Diving Resort, established on April 6, 1987.  Right in front of the resort is a 3.44-hectare marine sanctuary declared by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). The resort has 10 native-style duplex cottages with bath and porch, plus a main restaurant pavilion with an adjacent alfresco dining area and bar.  It also has a dive shop offering dive courses.

Dauis (Bohol)

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On the way back to the resort, we proceeded to Dauis town in Panglao Island and made a short stopover at the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady.   This church, the fifth on the site, was started in 1863 by Recollect Fr.  Julio Saldaña (1861 to 1898) but the façade’s first level was only completed in 1879 and the second level in the early 1920s by Fr. Natalio del Mar. The church’s façade is a mixture of Gothic and the ornamental Neo-Classical styles.  The bell tower was built from 1938 to 1939.   The church was built on a site of an old cemetery from which high quality China tradeware, used as grave furniture, has been recovered.  I didn’t see the church’s interior as it was closed during our stopover.

Church of the Assumption of Our Lady

Our last stop was at Dauis’ Hingadanan Cave in Brgy. Bingag, located 10 kms. from Tagbilaran City.  After paying a PhP5 entrance fee, we descended the cave via a small, narrow opening, with paved concrete steps, leading to a dark, cavernous chamber studded with stalactites and stalagmites.  The air within was pungent and humid.

Check out “Hinagdanan Cave“

Once inside, we beheld its natural, refreshingly cold swimming pool fed by an underground spring.  Two natural skylights, on the cavern’s roof, illuminated this eerie setup.  Kids, obviously delighted with the cool dip, were frolicking in its waters under the watchful eyes of their guardians.

Church of St. Peter the Apostle (Loboc, Bohol)

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On my own, I made a short visit to Loboc’s Church of St. Peter the Apostle, listed by the National Museum as a National Cultural Treasure.  Built in 1602 by Fr. de Torres, it is the second oldest church in Bohol.  The present church was built in 1734. 

Church of St. Peter the Apostle

Inside are remarkable nave paintings done (from May 1926 to July 1927) on the walls and ceiling by three artists (Canuto Avila and son Ricardo, Ray Francia), the biggest number of murals on religious subjects.  The ceiling was retouched in 1995 by Cris Naparota.   It also has a Neo-Gothic pulpit with a late 19th century sounding board (portavoz) and 5 retablos between the transept and sacristy. 

Bell Tower

Outside the church, near the riverbank, is the separate 21-m. high, 4-storey octagonal stone bell tower, built after 1768.   It has 7 bells, the oldest dated 1863 and 2 others dated 1914 and 1937.  The tower also has a large wooden matraca (a cranked noisemaker) dated 1899 and a clock from Altonaga Co., acquired through public subscription and installed in 1893.   The bell tower was almost destroyed during the construction of the unfinished Loay Bridge, a folly of the Marcos era which was supposed to be part of an elevated expressway just across the road.  Timely objection by the Lobocanons prevented its destruction.  The project was discontinued. 

Loboc River Cruise (Bohol)

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After our short bonding with the tarsiers and my church visit, we all returned to the dock where our double-hulled, flower-bedecked floating restaurant was now waiting for us.  The restaurant has 4 long tables, 8 benches, kitchen, mini-bar and comfort room and is pushed along the river by a motorized boat.   We started our cruise from Loay Bridge. Cruising along, we dined on grilled pork or fish, fried shrimps or steamed crabs, all with chopped tomatoes and onions on the side; pansit plus other native fare, all served with generous servings of pandan-scented rice on wooden plates lined with banana leaves.  We washed these all down with either ice-cold soft drinks or the much healthier buko juice.   

Loboc River Cruise

The idyllic rural scenery is also a visual treat.  Along the way we observed heartwarming daily activities like mothers washing clothes and children bathing nude or diving from coconut trees bent precariously close to the water.  We also passed returning floating restaurants and small native outriggers loaded with passengers.  The endpoint of our 2-km.  cruise was Busay (or Tontonan) Waterfalls.  The falls drops 15 m. in 2 stages and is used to generate electricity for the town.   Here, we dropped anchor and guests were given the option to go for a quick, cool swim or just continue chatting or dining.  We just did the latter.  After about 30 mins., the boat made the return trip back to Loboc.   

Busay Falls