Visiting Victoria
Well, I reached it, and this is their church as seen from the street:
Example? I was silently giggling as I imagined how this town brings their dead inside that church during funeral masses! Like, of course the funeral limousines can/may not go up that way as it could careen down to the street and across to a residential house! Ayayay! Or, the car’s dear “cargo” might slide out and skid down to the street! Ayiyiyiiiii! Kalain!
Or if they used the parlors’ funeral biers, the dead might end up crouched inside the casket after ascending that steep rampway hahaha!
So, I imagined, they must carry the casket of their dear departed going up that church. Tall people at the back please, or else the dead might just the same curl down on its knees at the lower portion of the coffin where there is no viewing glass! And when opened at the altar, people might think he/she disappeared. Patay! Katakot hahahaha!
Actually, I thought a hearse could probably drive up to that space (see arrow) in front of the ‘front main entrance’. However, when up there, I noticed the area is too narrow.
Let’s drop the ‘dead-talk’ or I could die laughing!
But I liked it that this church is bright and airy inside...
Hey, take a look at that picture one more time. Right corner by the blue cloth! Ah, that made me smile (nostalgia?). That thing is a very familiar equipment to me hehe.
Okay, highlighted below… in my time we called it OHP!
Gives me an idea. Why not we make a round of metropolis companies about to throw their OHPs. Then let's give to rural areas. If this church still uses that legacy equipment, am sure others at hinter-areas do not even have one. Hmm, good idea.
The altar… nice and simple…
And as if without hearing me say “hindi po”, he continued with a sermon telling me that the group that was here yesterday, about 10 of them, opened all the church lights and electric fans, then left without turning all of them off, and blah blah blah, that it was very inconsiderate, that it was too irresponsible, blah, blah, blah”.
I was actually already feeling irked why he was as if lambasting me when I already told him I was not part of that group. Irritating why he was telling me these when I did not and could not care any bit. Labot ko, di ba? But as a courtesy, I listened to him and even if I already wanted to go out of this place - because he was in my way!
AND THEN, when he felt he was done with his yadadadada, he made a very stern instruction saying “sabihin mo sa kanila pag nakita mo” and left me alone in the middle of the church irritatingly bewildered. All in my mind was “tangina nito, magtataray na lang, barking at the wrong tree pa”! Yes, I was inside a church but I really sincerely thought of telling him ‘tangina mo, bakit ako tinatalakan mo, anong pakialam ko sa mga hinanakit mo”!
Feelings aside, the process reviewer in me started ticking… why would he think a lone visitor to his church be incidentally part of 10 people who visited yesterday… Ano, bumalik yung isa? Bakit, is there something fantabulous to be seen or witnessed here that one in a group need come back? Priests are taught deductive thinking in college/seminary, right? This priest was obviously sleeping during that lesson. Besides, it is statistically highly improbable that one in a touring group would come back! Then again, he does not probably even know what statistics is.
Ah, naghahanap lang ng mapagbubuntungan ng hininga ang vakla na yan hahaha!
One last look at the OHP, this time from the right side extension.
I went out of this church rolling my eyeballs hahaha, so I went to a corner store and asked for Coke – to make me happy again, ahhhh! And as I stood there guzzling the cold bottle of soda, I saw this “Rev. Fr. Taray” again, getting ready to go wherever.
Anyway, I earlier asked that boy what is the best way walking to their municipal hall. His quick reply was something like ‘just go straight, follow me, then turn left over at the end near the pantalan’. I did follow (he walks very fast), but caught up with him when he passed by one house and talked a bit with someone in there.
As we walked together, I asked this boy why he was not in school. He smiled and told me he has to finish a school project and was on the way to a classmate's house so they can work on it. Indicatively bright boy, btw. He did not even talk Waray to me, even if I did. All his replies were either in Tagalog or English. And he was quick to say “you are welcome sir, my pleasure po” when I thanked him! So, I turned left here.
This is their Munucipal Hall…
This one is not a residence, it’s their “legislative building”
Their multi-purpose building...
And I loved looking at this park. Grand! Yes, aptly named Victoria Park. Sosyal!
The Maharlika Highway is just a few more steps to the right. So, I headed there to wait for a ride to Allen. Why?
Because my real destination was a beach! Jaw-dropping! But let’s do that next!
For a chronology of this trip's stories, click these numbers:
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