Toboso

Out of Bonista, time to move further south of Escalante. And this brought me to a town called Toboso.

Yeah, I was already (physically) on the eastern portion of the island, but this is still Negros Occidental!

I noticed, the road started to undulate up and down, if I may call it that, but there were still no real hills nor mountains along the way - which is always what I like to watch! Although lesser in vastness, there were still sugarcane fields, mostly still "as far as the eyes could see" -- usually greener than rice fields.

Oh, their town proper is not along the national road, because I noticed, our bus veered left (eastward), then traveled some kilometers more, before actually reaching center of town. More views, so I liked it!

From that corner where I hopped unto this Ceres Bus though, I knew it was not going to take very long to reach Toboso - resort crews and the habal-habal driver told me it won't even take half an hour. True!

That, is the Toboso Town Hall a.k.a. "munisipyo'! Viewed from the street, It looks a bit "more imposing" (as municipal halls should, I think!) as it is perched on a slightly elevated portion of the natural terrain.

That big paved area on the picture's foreground isn't the 'town plaza'. It's just an open space concreted so it becomes multi-functional - for various events/programs or as 'sepak takraw' or badminton court.

To the right (not seen in photo) is a full tennis court. Notice those stairs also extend all the way to the right, painted green as bleachers shaded by those big trees. To the left is a basketball/volleyball court.

So is there even a public park or town plaza? You'll be surprised if I say "yes", across the street, behind me, as I took that picture! It's an equally big space facing the entire length from the basketball court to the tennis court, but even wider in width than you see above, including the area of that municipal hall!

But let's go there later. I had to see the church which is to the left and beyond the basketball court.

This is the St. Anthony De Padua Parish Church of Toboso, Negros Occidental.

It sits in a triangular block of town, that's why it looks like so since I took the photo while on the street. The basketball court bleachers and the town's firemen headquarters are to the right, across the street.

Well, here is a better view of the church façade, after I entered the gate..,

It's nothing much especially if compared to the expansive public areas and big municipal building that I just saw. But this is a small town, plus, maybe many have different religions, so it's probably just fine.

Ah, eto kwento.., as I took that picture, I knew a dear little lady behind me paused to watch what I was doing. I just knew it, since I purposedly stood there for a while and she did not proceed to overtake me hehe! When I looked, she promptly asked "do you like our church"? I said "opo, it is cute". She laughed!

She said "cute means small, yes it's very small but it keeps changing". So I asked "so padak-an pa diay ni"? And she all the more laughed saying "awsus, bisaya man diay ka"! And we talked a bit more. Thus, I learned there are going to be changes to this church, again, that she hopes it will become bigger, etc!

So I entered, and I believed the little (Englisera) lady when she said "cute means small". Because it is!

And OMG, this was the farthest inside I could go! Ayun sa harap, meron "last trip na mangyayari"! They were (I think) just waiting for the priest to start the service. And, I told my royal self "labas na, now na"!

Tip: as a curious traveler, I now usually avoid being around special church services like that one about to happen above (burial of the dead - libing), baptism, wedding and the likes. Why? Because 1) some people might find it rude of me moving around and taking pictures [though this has not happened yet]; and 2) some folks might mistake me to be one of the attendees [which happened a number of times]!

Alright.., out of the church, I walked to the town plaza / park that is enormously wide it has this..,

Yeah, the Toboso Sports and Cultural Center - which means this little town also has indoor basketball, volleyball, badminton etc. courts - aside of course from being an indoor activity/program/event venue!

Despite the above big structure, what remains is still an enormously ample public park and plaza.

Just for perspective, the municipal hall and open-air courts are behind those trees and the blue stage. A wide contiguous area of open public spaces. Nicely thought out, I must say - at least until this point!

I took the above pictures with my back facing the public market, which, at first glance is okay naman.

Everything is generally orderly, including vehicle parking and traffic flow. Plus, everywhere looks clean.

But this public market is by the water's edge - yep, the sea called Tañon Strait is behind it..,

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the view from up the munisipyo, down to the park, goes straight to the sea?

This public market is orderly, well-provided with new structures, and as said above, it is also clean. But I would cherish it to be somewhere else, than block the amazing seaview from the park. Wish lang ba!

By the way, just walking around, I learned that Toboso was a barrio of Escalante and was created as a separate municipality sometime in the 1940s. This town is just across Tuburan, on the island of Cebu.

I also just noticed, since Silay, this is the first I visited, where the poblacion or town/city center is right on the water's edge. All of them, cities or towns are considered coastal, but only Toboso's central area is 'really' by the sea. Maybe it had something to do with what most people did for a living, in the past - related to the sugarcane haciendas, the azucareras. Oh yes, I noticed too, Toboso has a hillier terrrain!

Let's see what I'll encounter in Calatrava. That's next on my itinerary!

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