Balaan Bukid Shrine
Let me start with this picture, which was/is the last photo in my previous story... the shrine.
Anyway, they soon left, and I was all alone. Who was to annotate what I was seeing? Eh, my driver cum tour guide was more than a kilometer away, just waiting for me at the base of this mountain? Wala! So I roamed around, looking at whatever was there in front of my eyes. Wala rin namang pwede nakawin!
Hahaha, mangungulimbat ka ba sa isang religious place? Hehehe eto... kung me laman hahaha!
In Tagalog it says: Abuloy para sa pag-papagawa (pag-papaayos) sa simbahan ng parokya ng Jordan. In English: "Donation for the improvement of the church at/of the parish of Jordan". I interpreted that as "donation" in the context that it's used here, although I think "limos" is closer in meaning to "alms" for the poor or needy, than "donation"! Something like that, because things do get lost in translation!
So what?! Well, why am I being asked here to "limos" for a church in Jordan and not for this chapel?
Here is the altar of this chapel anyway. Simple, no-frills, nice and bright. Even cute, right?
Okay, once done looking inside this little chapel, I closed the door and took this picture...
And then I stood in this place looking at it, wondering why it was built here, when and by whom. Well, I smiled thinking that, even if my driver came with me, he wouldn't probably have any answer to that question. The very short time we've been together in his multicab, I already sensed he is too "manol".
Ang lakas ng loob ng bading na yon makasabi na ang driver ko daw is also my tour guide!
Oops wait, I've been away too long, my Ilonggo is already evading me. Manol is probably not the word since it only means "ignorant". I think the more appropriate word is Dungol. Basta, I mean gago stupid tarantado ganun. Nag-badya pa sanang maawa ako sa kanya, kaso manloloko rin pala ang "yodi***a"!
Pinaglakad ako from before Station 1 na nag-iisa, eh pwede naman pala umakyat ang sasakyan up to Station 8. Wala daw bantay ang multicab nya, eh ako sino'ng guide at guard ko? Nagbayad naman ako.
Anyway, there's some writing on that pillar-like portion to the left, so I went near and saw this...
Anyway again, I walked to the little grotto at right, which is the vantage point to viewing Iloilo City.
[weh, pwede ba yon, no tour guides in guimaras?] But to tell me that my driver would also be my tour guide, who turned out to be profoundly useless, who sent me hiking up a kilometer of wilderness, not telling me there's no available drinking water on a hot morning sun was not irresponsible but a sham.
Add salt to a gaping wound, the group that just left, heard proper annotation by just their trike driver. So ba't hindi ako binigyan ng tricycle at driver eh I asked for it. Hindi daw kaya, eh those 3 trikes were at Stations Of The Cross 8. While I, who came in a multicab, was made to walk alone, before Station 1. Jordan Guimaras Tourism obviously just wanted a huge chunk of my wallet without giving due service.
The breeze was cool at this vantage point so I rested a while, looking blankly at Iloilo City, thinking of the things that I deserved but was deprived of. I would have waged war, but my tour was just starting!
Erratic mobile signal but I started txtng some folks I know in Iloilo and Metro Manila -in case I already blew my top to really actually wring my driver/tour-guide's neck- they would know where to fetch me!
Well, yes, the breeze and the views helped to calm me down - while sitting up there, alone.
But, what ever I was thinking, I needed to go back to that red multicab called my tour vehicle, right?
But alone, in this wilderness, negotiating skipping jumping a lot of muddy areas...
Near the 4th Station of the Cross, I saw the driver walking briskly uphill. He was lugging my backpack, and was with another man. I said "o, bakit mo bitbit yan" (referring to my backpack) and he said "basi kawaton", while the other man was saying "sir, okay lang kayo"? I said "okay lang", as I took the bottle of water from the side pocket of my backpack and immediately guzzled up its contents. Silence...
I didn't ask, but I knew why my driver was rushing up the hill with my bag. He was very obviously told by any or all of the 3 tricycle drivers and their passengers, that I was all alone up there, dying hehehe!
Which was true at one point in time anyway. The young Warays were even hesitant to leave me.
Let's continue this unbelievable Guimaras Day Tour - in my next story.
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Meantime, here are some lessons from my notes:
- bring water (even snacks). There are no stores up at that hill.
- don't be too early (and don't stay too late) up there, esp if alone.
- as said in the previous story, habal-habal would probably be the best ride.
- don't go up if it rains - it's muddy, no sheds nor houses along the way.
- dusk would be the best to view Iloilo City, with lots of city lights already on.
- then again, do ascertain if this hill is safe during an evening's darkness.
- while its a known pilgrimage site, there's no known miraculous event on that hill.
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