Anda winner is...

¡Vamos! ¡Ándale! ¡Ándale! And then I reached Anda! Undoubtedly, the best beach strip in all of Bohol.

Yes, I will stand on that. Not only in terms of "sand and sea" quality, but mainly, the general R&R vibe!

But let's 'consign' that topic to 'later in my story'. Let's 'save the best for last' as they say.

This was the eastern-most point on my joyride among the southern towns of Bohol, and I arrived into Anda from Candijay (only about 8kms away), - though that was after having been to 9 previous towns!

At this point, I already logged something like 160 kilometers on the road, and traveling all morning, but my driver told me, Anda is only 100kms from Tagbilaran via the scenic coastal 'Tagbilaran East Road'.

Coming from Candijay, the road actually passes by a portion of Guindulman veering east to Anda.

That's the main highway (Bohol Circumferential Road). We were coming from the north (Candijay) and must turn left at that corner where that car is parked. The signage at right is your only directional hint!

And yes, that signage did not escape my "atrevida" mind. My driver even chimed-in! We had fun talking how weird the highway authorities of this country think. You see, the "left arrow" and "Anda" are of real help. But why "Valencia" as indicator if you go straight? One might think it's a shortcut or bypass road!

What if you were just going to Guindulman town center (about 2kms away from that corner)? Or going to Duero, Jagna or Garcia-Hernandez? Where do you pass? It is the same road - actually hehe! So why write "Valencia" when it is still after four towns? And we laughed really hard when my driver said "kung ganun rin lang bakit hindi Dimiao Lila Loay Albur Baclayon o Tagbilaran mismo ang isinulat nila dyan"?

All I could say was "oo nga"! And we really had a good laugh at the "arbitrariness" that can confuse.

Anyway, look at that picture again. If you were coming straight from Tagbilaran (unlike my joyride that passed by many interior towns), chances are you would be coming from that opposite direction. Then you'll have to turn right at that corner. There's signage there, arrow pointing to the right, and the name Anda. Below that, the arrow going straight is labeled Candijay, which is just right as it's the next town.

Now... if you love beaches and sea-views, your excitement starts. You'll start seeing the many seaside resorts plus breathtaking views to your right. That is still part of Guindulman, until you reach this area:

That is the boundary between the towns of Guindulman and Anda, thus they are welcoming us! Those flags and welcome tarp won't last long, right? But I'm sure they'll keep that portion of the road marked.

Who knows.., next time we happen by that area, there may already be a huge concrete "welcome arch" bannering the name of an epal politician, as is the usual scene all over this country, right? Just saying!

Oh, to manage your expectations, that welcome sign is 5kms from the corner mentioned above, AND, still 8kms to the town center of Anda! I'm telling you that, since you can become excitedly restless (it hapened to me), impatiently asking waiting "are we there yet"?! Just savor the fantastic views instead!

There are ample tastefully-made directional signs, and I think they helped drum up my excitement!

Don't you wish there are those kinds of signage at Alona Beach or even the whole of Panglao Island?

I'll be honest, I think I totally lost my 'objective' on this joy ride, as soon as I started seeing those strips of white sand, the myriad of inviting resorts and the sea view. Eh, out of nothing and 'half-protesting', I actually asked the driver, "why don't we just stop at any of these resorts and chill"? Thankfully for me, he was "circumspect" to remind me "e sir, di ba sabi mo visit all the town centers"? Da! Oo nga naman!

But he followed that with "actually sir, the best beach of Anda is at the plaza". I was dumbfounded!

We arrived as I was mentally ridiculing my self saying "munisipyo, simbahan, palangke, plaza, ok fine"!

That's the public market at right. There's a big open space behind the building and it looks like the hub of busier palengke activity is in there, with many ukay-ukay-like tents. We also saw a lot of bamboo or wood portable tables stacked on one side. Driver told me those are used during the evening when that place transforms into a night market, barbecue area, inuman and hawker food center. Hmn promising!

I noticed that even at center of town, the uniform directional signages also exist without regard if it's a private business or not. Orderly clean, unlike at many resort towns where varied signs make you dizzy.

We followed this road (left) for the church, though driver told me its front is on a parallel street (right).

Wait, teka, by the way, and hey you traveler!

Do you already know why road signs are colored green, sometimes blue and why some are brown?

Wala lang, just asking! Baka kasi hindi mo pa alam. Wheh? Di nga? You do not know yet? As in? Okay, I'll tell you but in another blog story that I'll post soon. Pramis! So keep checking this blog for updates.

Let's proceed with my Anda visit...

This is the back of the church. Driver said it is better to enter this way if you have a vehicle.

Hmm, I didn't understand why it's easier to enter here (turning right) with a car, eh it's just a small road by the side of the church, and you still end up parking up front, at the park/plaza! But so be it. Sige go!

Here's a perspective view of the Holy Infant Parish Church of Anda, Bohol - established in 1885.

Of course that's not the original structure since 1885! I'd guess that would have already been standing by 1923 since I saw a black slab by the entrance saying 'the ceilings were painted from 1923 to 1925'.

Do you see what looks like the edges of a roof, on the left side of the picture above? It is this...

That is partly the rectory and parochial office (kumbento), and partly Holy Infant Academy of Anda.

Here's a look at the interior of the church. This is, by the way, also called Sto. Niño de Anda Church.

First thing I noticed (and appreciated) is that the "BEC announcements" are not in the altar. Better!

The altar. Too many crisscrossing lines, it's even already hard to notice there's a crucified Christ!

Ang daming nakalagay nakapatong, yet I don't even see the Sto. Niño, the patron of this church. Nge!

Oist, all of the ceiling is painted. Well, kudos for the effort. It must have been hard doing them.

Even the dome of the transept crossing is also painted with biblical scenes...

Left transept ceiling...

Right transept ceiling...

The priest's view. Notice the paintings are all the way to the ceiling above the choir loft.

The black slab at the entrance says those paintings were done by one Ray Francia from 1923 to 1925. My driver/guide added that Francia, a Cebuano, also did paintings of 20 or so other churches in Bohol.

I wonder if Ray Francia is/was considered a hero, or perhaps a noted personality in history or the arts. Those paintings are vividly realistic. And if he did the ceiling of this church (which is not small) for two years, how long did it take him to paint the ceilings of all those other churches? Wow, he was probably just doing ceilings all his life! Now I also wonder, how many times ever kaya did he have a 'stiff-neck'?

Okay now... let's go outside!

If you stand at the church entrance, facing outside, in front of you would be a spacious plaza, almost the size and shape of a sports oval. On the other side is already a white sandy beach. Quinale Beach.

My guide was serious when he earlier said the beach is at the plaza!

To the left, fronted by basketball and tennis courts, on that beach, is the Anda Municipal Hall!

I have seen municipal halls that are by the water's edge too. But I think the stark difference would be... this one is on a clean white-sand beach, of resort standards, visited by local and foreign tourists alike!

You see those Talisay trees at the back? They provide shade at a narrow promenade, and, dagat na!

We'll get to that area soon (below)! Meanwhile, beside the municipal hall is the police station.

I mean the blue building at left, that's the police station. Why is my picture like so? Takot ako eh! Baka me 'happy trigger' sabi nga ni Tatet. Aba, baka ma-ratatatatat ako o di kaya pusasan at ikulong. Hiyay!

But I was probably just overthingking it. Because in fact, as I stood staring at this area, one policeman came out smiling and said "annyeonghaseyo" then asked me (in English) "may I help you, sir"? Oh ha?!

I answered in my Taglish-Bisdak, saying "wala lang, bilib ra 'ko naa sa beach ang inyong building"! His reply was still in English as he said "our backyard is the best white beach of Anda, Quinale Beach sir"!

That white monument at the end of the photo is religious. Sacred heart I think. And the soldier is this:

I think that's a monument dedicated to the veterans of this place. It's just so modern-looking I thought it was something else. Tan-awa, the soldier looks so fair-skinned. Oh, that little 'cottage' at the back?

That's the Anda Tourist Information Center. Yes, they have something like that, and I entered to see it!

Just like the police officer, the cheerful lady in that office greeted me with "annyeonghaseyo, how may I help you, sir"? Silently I was saying "hmm, malapit na ako mapikon sa mga greeting nilang ganyan"!

But what can I do? Hahaha, people judge a book by its cover! Anyway, I said "wala lang, manan-aw ra". And she all the more became livelier saying "oh you already speak"? Hehe, and I said "yes, I speak, kay bisdak waray ilonggo ra 'tawn ko dai"! She laughed and started telling showing me things about Anda.

Ah, I liked it that I could see the beach from any window of their little office. But when I got my phone to take that pic, the dear tourism staff ducked! Yeah, she was hiding behind that counter on that shot!

She was very enthusiastically helpful though. Ayaw nya lang kasali sa picture, even my driver/guide (I think they know each other) was laughing loudly! I learned they also have caves, waterfalls, dive sites, Lamanok which is not an island but can only be reached by boat or on-foot, cave pools, beaches, etc!

Hey, that girl can even make a litany of the resorts, their prices and amenities!

Next we walked a few more steps further right, to this place called Quinale Beach Bar (Restaurant)...

Our lunch was waiting, pre-arranged by my driver/guide, though it was nothing outlandish nor gourmet whatever heheh. This is a 'normal' eatery with 'normal' Pinoy favorites. But I was still shown the menu.

Quinale Beach is a public beach open to everyone. That 'welcome arch' is not a gate or something. It's just some kind of aesthetics 'epek-epek' of the local government. I think they own and operate Quinale Beach Bar. Open as it is, there is a nominal beach entrance fee, I don't just know where my driver paid!

There are a number of this uniquely-shaped huts on the sand, though I think too near the water's edge:

I mean they're not really reached by the water level even at high tide, but for me, they somehow get in the way of a very good view at how wide the beach area is. Hehehe photo-op naman ang inatupag eh!

We stayed on that hut, just me and my driver/guide. I don't know if that guy was from another group or if he was part of the crew, or if he was a life guard. I just noticed, he vacated that hut when we arrived!

The sand? I'm not so sure if my phone's camera did justice to it, but it looks something like this...

But, easy to claim that it's finer than at Alona Beach or Bolod Beach (Bohol Beach Club or Dumaluan).

This area faces east, probably the Surigao City area. When I looked to my left, this was the view...

A Quinale staff told me, this beach reaches about a kilometer or two to its end at Brgy. Suba fishport.

If you notice that tip of a building on the left edge of the picture, that is the police station. Its backyard is really the white sandy beach. Under the Talisay Trees is the municipal hall's backyard / promenade.

Looking to my right, this was the view...

The same Quinale Bar staff told me that part of the beach is longer and could be up to 4 or 5kms. Cut only by a few ridges, sand extends to Guindulman - where resorts started appearing as we drove past!

There are more private resorts and beaches at some coves along the strip, but at Quinale Beach (even if very public), what I liked most was that I could stroll "in peace and quiet" anywhere along the shore, without being approached (or crowded) by a battalion of vendors, like what always happens at Alona!

Another wonderful thing at Quinale Beach (remember, this is part of the public plaza), there are not so many commercial establishments na pagandahan, pa-bonggahan, pa-sosyalan (like at Alona, Boracay or Puerto Galera), to the extent that the entire seaside atmosphere sizzles and shines just like Ermita!

I mean I also love to party, but if I get tired/bored of the throbbing Alona, now there is Anda! Yeah!

Well, if I may contradict my self.., I heard/saw at least two croaking karaokes on the beach! Pastilaan! Ang videoke ba kelangan talagang nasa public na dinig ng mga taong walang kinalaman sa kasiyahan nyo at hindi nyo rin naman imbitado? Hindi ba pwede itago ang mga boses na yan sa karaoke rooms?

Or kung magpapasikat sa madla, eh di doon sa stage ng public plaza! Para isa-isa, sunod-sunod, hindi sabay-sabay kasi masakit sa dalunggan! Namatay pa kasi si Miriam! I knew she had an anti-noise bill!

Hahaha, naglabas na ng hinanakit hehehe! Anyway, I still love the "barriotic" atmosphere of Anda!

Tara na nga! Let's go to the next town!

By the way, the title of this blog came from a joke of my driver. He said "use Anda in a sentence"!

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