It's Not Dark In Guindulman

After overstaying at Anda's Quinale Beach, we moved westward, to the next municipality's town center - Guindulman proper. I noticed my driver was 'flying' on the road, but I didn't say anything, as I knew we spent too long a time at Anda - I even almost snoozed at the beach cottage. Newly found paradise eh!

True to his being also my guide, driver pointed (even described) to me, some of the resorts we passed by - including funny details such as "walang buhangin dyan" or "Pinay owner nyan, asawa ng German"!

I learned that all the best beaches and resorts of Guindulman can be found "only" on this strip of road after veering off that corner of Bohol Circumferential Road, unto Anda Provincial Road where we were.

Oh, if you know what "Guindulman" means, there is no indication in town. This is a bright place!

Anyway, after traveling about 15 kilometers, we arrived and stopped on the highway, at this...

Yes, that's the Guindulman Town Hall. The 'white' monument is the country's national hero Jose Rizal.

Of the towns I have seen on this joyride, this is so far the one with the smallest (narrowest) greens.

But it looks good anyway. The lighter building at right is labeled 'municipal training center'. It does not say what for, so it's most likely a training center for anything that people have to be trained for! Ganun!

Before this municipal hall, by the way, to the left of the picture, is a 2-level new long building (probably 100 x 50 meters) that looks like a shopping mall. But it is clearly labeled "Guindulman Public Market". Just like in other towns I earlier saw, public markets are now mall-like in front - wet areas at the back.

Across the public market is St. Mary Academy. This is one of their old buildings...

I was just fascinated that such a big old wooden building still stands (and fine, I hope). It's not easy to maintain or take care of, especially if hundreds of restless jolly feet keep running at second floor daily!

We had to skirt around the big campus of St. Mary Academy, so that we could find this...

That is the Our Lady of Consolation Parish Church in Guindulman, Bohol. Oist, I do not hear this often: 'Birhen sa Kalipay' -which is how the church is usually referred-to by local residents, so says my guide.

I further learned that what we see now is almost a total reconstruction of what it had been before the 2013 earthquake. The façade did not totally crumble, but that bell tower was purportedly "obliterated".

Now that explains why I felt like there were so many new things in this church, especially the insides.

My guide told me though, this church wasn't part of those that Ray Francia had painted the ceilings of! Anyway, I said buti naman, because this one seems too long and wide, it would have been too tedious!

Here's a bonus info from my guide (I think) - because it sounded like he just suddenly remembered...

That area (where the motorbike is headed) would be to your left, if you were facing the church façade. Behind the houses is a foresty hill, where a colony of giant fruit bats (kabog) still thrive. He says some locals also go up there to watch the harmless (but noisy) bats during late afternoons to early evening.

Alright, some trivia: Guindulman was the 10th in terms of the number of affected persons by the 2013 tremor. One of the Pinoy boxers who fought in the 1968 Olympics was from this town. He did not win!

Oh, Guindulman means 1) a place where darkness fell upon due to something [in Tagalog: kung saan nagdilim, kung saan dumilim]; or 2) it can be a person caught by darkness [Tagalog: inabot ng dilim].

As for the pronunciation of Guindulman, it is "gin-dul-man" where the first syllable is pronounced like in how you say the first syllable of "Guinness Record". In the second syllable "dul", the "u" sounds as in "bull" or "full", not as in "fun" or "sun". Well, for the last syllable "man", you already know, right? There is no soft "a" in the Philippines, as we said earlier! Merriam Webster says it is "ä" as in "out" or "brother"!

Let's move westward to the town of Duero. Next!

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