Getting Lost With Names - Dolores

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There are three towns! Two are in Luzon and one is in the Visayas.

The first Dolores is a town way high up in the province of Abra (Region 15 – CAR). While this is a sleepy highland farming community (as with all of Abra), don’t miss this town if you will be in the area. Everyone will surely point you to a cave and underground river called Libtec. Of course, the Abra River is also a different kind of high for the adventurous explorers. Ironically, a lot of well-known people from the past to the present have come from this town. And many a Filipino community in the US will have someone who hails from Dolores, Abra!

The next Dolores is a town in the province of Quezon (Region 4A – CALABARZON). At the foot of Mt. Banahaw, this town seems to be remembered more by many people for caves with spiritual healing and other spiritual powers. This place teems with rocks, caves, falls, springs and everything mountain till you reach the peak of Banahaw. But everything also is given a spiritual meaning or curse – like this cave has healing powers, another cave you can only go though if you have a pure spirit, little dropping dews from a spring has curative effects and so on. This is the main reason why thousands of people flock to this place during holy week.

The third Dolores is way far down in the province of Eastern Samar (Region 8 – Eastern Visayas). Though there also are caves and waterfalls, this is the only Dolores that is not in a mountain range. In fact, it is a coastal town facing the Pacific Ocean with fine sandy beaches and you can cross to two or three islands lined with white sand. This town sits in one of the poorest provinces in the country, so don’t expect any touristic amenities. There are some inns yes, and I heard there has been some kind of a resort built just recently. The beaches in this place and neighboring towns are untouched and the islands are pristine. But don’t go there without the company of someone from the place or someone who has previously been there. Make sure you have a lot of time to spare too. If a public transport is scheduled to leave at 8AM, it can depart at 11AM! Who decides that? The driver of course!

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