Roaming San Jose De Buenavista

Arrived!

And, I stealthily made my way out of that airport, while everyone was still busy with the arrival ceremonies. I knew where I was going, Bantayan. No no, not the island in Cebu heheh! Just a main (longest) thoroughfare of San Jose De Buenavista (SJDB).

The arrangement was: to drop my bags at a hotel (I choose not to name it for now), because I was still very early, then come back at 12NN for check-in (overnight stay).

Tricycles Fares Are Prominently Displayed
It was even this hotel that taught me how to commute from the airport, via tricycle.

I like cities that have transparent transportation fares, and that are strictly enforced.

They're cities that seriously embrace honesty and fairness, that travelers love. Bawal ang nanlalamang na driver. That, is a mark of mature and progressive communities.

There are not many of them in this country. I can even only remember Cauayan and Puerto Princesa. Now let's add San Jose De Buenavista, Antique. Worth emulating!

So, time to roam around, interspersed with meetings with some dear ka-meetings! I told my self I needed to roam and see as much as possible, since this was like my 'first time again' in SJDB. My last and only visit was years ago, we drove from Iloilo.


Antique Provincial Capitol
First I went to see was the Provincial Capitol, which, I knew was at center of town.

I requested the driver to drop me off at about 50 meters from the building so I could walk, to 'see things around'. When he did, I was a bit confused and asked ito na yun?

Well, he said 'yes sir, doon sa loob', yet it didn't seem to look like what I remember as the capitol of this province hehe. I proceeded anyway, thinking 'matagal na kasi yun'!

Okay, I entered what looks like a wide circular park of concrete (red bricks actually).

That right side panel of my picture collage (the bamboo-like monument) is the first Bantayog-Wika installation in the country. I'm glad I came and chanced upon it. Yey!

Ehem, do you even know what a Bantayog-Wika is? And why? Ako rin di ko talaga alam yan, until I came and just accidentally saw it in this park called Evelio B. Javier Freedom Park, in front of the Provincial Capitol Building of Antique, in San Jose DB!

Again.., travel is education!

So what is it? Ah eh... hehehe... teka! Bantayog means Monument, and Wika means Language. So that's a Language Monument! Me ganun? Meron, ayan na nga eh 'no?

I searched online and learned that this monument is the first of many (130 yata), to be installed all over the country. It is even still new, installed just last March of 2018.

Its aim is: "to further raise knowledge & awareness as well as promote continued use of indigenous languages in the country". Ok yan, so our languages won't be forgotten.

Good that I came to see this place. Learned something again!

From that Bantayog-Wika, I looked right and saw their stage with a beautiful roof!

I can't be mistaken, that roof is a representation of the golden salakot I learned in high school history! Yes, one of the gifts the Bornean Datus offered to Marikudo, the chief warrior of Panay during those times. 'Di ko na sila inabot ha? Nabasa ko lang!

Anyway, even at a young age, I already doubted the belief that the salakot was made entirely of pure gold, for how can one wear a saduk that's made of metal? Bug-at ah!

But it's nice seeing representations of history when we travel, di ba?

I gazed again at the capitol building. I really couldn't dig it from my available memory!

This may have been the area, but this wasn't the capitol building I saw decades ago.

Ah, to appease my faltering memory yet thirsting for ever more knowledge, I asked!

Yep, I asked that jolly group of green-and-white youngsters. Ay, they didn't even have to say much. Inginuso lang ng isa sa kanila! The old capitol building was to my left!

Yeah, that was the structure that lingered in my brain! So I excitedly approached it...

Awrrr, unfortunately it was boarded up (closed to the public) during this visit, as it is undergoing renovation. From one of the signages I was able to read, it's going to be "the future home" of the "Provincial Museum/Archives and Library". Babalikan ko yan!

Another good reason to come back to this town, right?

Planned or unplanned, I like visiting/encountering heritage-related things/matters at places I happen to be. They provide additional information/learning about our past.

Oy, knowing our past, makes us able to better deal with our present and future. Sabi nga... ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan... ay matigas ang leeg ahehe!

Next I went to find the church. Tara let's go there...

Banana Market (Sunday Mornings Only)
On the way there however, I saw this interesting row of vendors at a corner building:

There are many of them, although it looked like the "fruits & vegetable section", only!

I smiled thinking: they might as well call this a banana market since there are a lot!

Well, I saw papaya, radish, langka, pepino.., but mostly there was saging everywhere!

I asked where the rest of their pakengke are, and they told me those would be at the "Business Park", two blocks away. Yep, their "palengke" is called a "Business Park"!

Sosyalin this place ha?! Business Park, o di ba?! Walang basagan ng trip!

I learned further that they (vendors), by special concession of that building's owners and local government, may only stay at that sidewalk during early Sunday mornings.

Oh, Sunday nga pala ngayon. I asked the banana vendors for directions.


St. Joseph Cathedral of Antique
They told me it's on the same block, just around the corner. Let's go to church then!

The Diocesan Cathedral of San Jose De Antique (St. Joseph Cathedral of Antique). Compared to many others in the country, it is rather small, although I like the inside.

It is simple and uncluttered, designed with not so many uselessly intersecting lines, and without unnecessarily contrasting multi-vivid colors, nor the beauty-parlor tiles!

That, is already the entirety of the church. There are only 2 narrow columns of pews that can fit 5 or maybe 6 people each. Well, it's a simple, small but serene cathedral!

I wanted to see more of the insides, but there was an ongoing mass (nagsimba ako oi!) and I already needed to immediately go elsewhere after that. Good visit anyway!

On the outside though, I was amused to see many tricycles waiting for passengers.

Many tricycles here have a distinctively unique look - brightly colored airbrushed art, just like the multicabs in the Cebu-Carcar route. The trikes have a unique shape too!

This, by the way, is the "back of the church". It's on a very busy main thoroughfare.

That (Fullon St.), is part of the national highway. So it is good that the entrance is on the other side! I even think the church may have been facing this way in olden years.

Because it faces the side of the capitol building, and just very recently, this:

I could imagine the traffic if the church was facing this busy main road. Buti nalang!

By the way again.., roaming around after church I thought of going to the seaside or fishport area, as I heard there is a little-by-little ongoing construction of a boulevard.

But I remembered the advise of one friend - avoid the area as it teems with informal settlers and the 'boulevard' is too narrow anyway for anything touristy to sprout. Da!

So, on that same highway, I went to the San Jose De Buenavista Municipal Hall.

Now, that's what I call a big (long) edifice! Too big in fact, that the ground level sides each facing a busy street, are rented out to commercial establishments of all kinds.

Curious, I wanted to go inside and have a 'look around'. Unfortunately for me, today was a Sunday, so no-can-do! There is even an EBJ Memorial Library at ground level.

Oh, diagonally across that Municipal Hall is the Business Park mentioned earlier by the vendors. Again, it's not really a park in the usual sense. It's their palengke being rebuilt into a big 3-storey building that will house all of their, ah, 'palengkeng sosyal'!

Kanya-kanyang trip lang. Walang kokontra ha? If there is Tiyanguehan Sa Jimalalud, or Municipal Emporium in Sierra Bullones, or City Public Mall in Ozamiz, or Mall of the Valley in Tuguegarao, there is also the "San Jose De Buenavista Business Park"!

I wanted to go there, but I saw something more attractive at that point-in-time. Ito!

No hindi si Susana! Itong nasa kaliwa ng larawan! Do you recognize what place that is? Yeah, a 7 Eleven, at the Caltex gas station facing the front of their municipal hall.

Yosi break with Coke, perfect!

Now.., about Susana. As I sat there smoking (at a gas station haha) I noticed this:

That front of the store/building has 9 signboards saying it is Susana Marketing. All I could silently say was: if anybody looking for that store still can't find it, ambot nalang!

And that is not all... actually hahaha!

On that side facing the burger joint - excluding the yellow vertical signage - there are 6 more that say Susana Marketing. 7th is the building's name - Susana Apartments.

Somebody please tell Susana, baka pang-Guinness World Record na yan hehehe! My goodness, I sat there more than I needed to, sa kakatingin at kakabilang ng Susana!

Hahaha, sabi nga ng kanta: Oh! Susana!

Oops, I had to leave center of town, going to a beach for another meeting! But let us talk about that later. Many more scenes downtown demanded 'undivided attention'!

Such as? Such as the tricycles! The body of the cab is interestingly distinctly round.

Of course your inquisitive aka atrevida PinoyTraveler had to ask drivers why tricycles are designed/built like that. Answers were mostly 'ambot ah', 'style lang', or 'japorms'!

The side and roof is spray-painted. And the front is as fun & funny as the driver!

Nice to know there are Naruto fans in this town! The drawing is Naruto versus Luffy!

Hey if you didn't notice yet, do look at the bumper of the trike cab (bottom of pic). It is some kind of a face. I asked the driver what it is. He shrugged, but said 'monster'!

Pointing to the saying ONLY GOD WILL JUDGE US at the top portion of his cab, I told him (with a serious face) hindi totoo yan. A little taken aback, he asked bakit sir? And I laughingly replied with at bakit, hindi ka pa ba hinuhusgahan ng mga kapitbahay mo?

Natawa sya. At least I made him laugh this Sunday morning!

Other Head-turners in San Jose, Antique
Yep, there were other notable sights and scenes as I went around. Such as this:

That is the corner of their Airport Access Road (left) and Bantayan Road, noticeably spruced up, kaya lubos ang pasasalamat nila dun sa mukhang nasa billboard. Bow!

Now I realize.., dapat pala talaga me senador na taga sa inyo. Otherwise.., nganga!

Unkempt Electric Wires
I immediately clicked my phone to take a shot when I saw this dangerous thing...

Not the blue house, but the electric wires. I was even a little late - as those vines are lusher to the right (before the right edge of that picture). Grabe, delikado yan, 'di ba?

I just said in my mind.., oh well, maybe the people of San Jose DB are just okay with frequent brownouts. I think I heard years ago, that those vines can even cause fires.

Carcare Bistro Garden
Oh, I like the business-style of this place I took a pic of. Not unique but interesting.

It is a carwash and restaurant which is rather common, right? But the name "Bubog" is a headturner, especially for people from the Tagalog regions! Maybe it is a name?

But for the Tagalogs, that term does not run congruent with either car care or bistro! Hindi lang gulong mo ang mabubutas sa bubog. Pati bituka mo pag nagkataon heheh!

Buenavista CaTV Inc.
I also saw this house/building with 6 satellite dishes (my photo only caught 5)!

Although we were moving fast, I still asked my tircycle driver what it is (dahil napaka hi-tech naman kung mere residential home lang yan)! He looked at me and said kebol!

Now that made me smile wondering. Maybe my trike driver thought "diin ni sya halin man" - that I did not recognize a cable TV station! Even I actually asked my self why!

Well, I believe, as we humans grow, our brains tend to forget things that we've taken for granted. That, I think, is what occured in my head. A 'process of natural selection'!

Haha! Justifying... denying... the manifestations of old age!

O ayan ha?! Travel is not just education per se, it also reminds us of things we might have already forgotten!

But really and besides, I think this was the first time I saw six parabolic antennas all prominently standing by a roadside. Though I also think they are smaller nowadays!

Then I saw this gate and clicked a shot, yet blurred, since the trike was running fast.

I still consider that as good enough memento, that I saw the Mensa Domini Sisters' Monastery in San Jose. Something and somewhere to explore in case I come back.

Do you know what they are? In English, they're The Missionary Sisters of the Lord's Table. To many of us, sila yung mga madreng naka-dilaw! Hey, it is not because they are fans of Cory! They started in the 1960s, here in Antique. Baka dyan nga sa loob.

The tricycle driver noticed I took that picture, so he volunteered the information that after another interesting establishment (behind the trees, left edge of photo), in the next gate we'd be passing-by, is the 'bishop house' (the Catholic bishop's residence).

I wasn't able to snap a photo of that 'bishop house'. Camera wasn't ready yet :( But I thought that was interesting to see, that the Catholic Bishop's Residence is beside a big Iglesia Ni Cristo Church! Well, birds of the same feather flock together! Cute diba?

Oh, the 'other' interesting establishment between the gates of Mensa Domini and the Bishop's House is a motorcycle repair shop named Opao. I know it's a surname, but from where I come, hehehe Opao or Upaw means HIV (hair is vanishing). Kalbo!

Haaay Ernesto, there are so many reminders about you when I travel!

Ah, I also saw this old house. No IFs no BUTs, I had to stop and take a photo of it.

It doesn't look old and rare enough to me, but curiosity about the sign on its wall got me interested. It says: MB Bldg., Moscoso-Banusing Ancestral House, Not For Sale!

Da! Kaya kayong mga realtors, magsitigil na kayo hahaha!

Hey come to think of it, maybe I got attracted to that house/building because I read the word "ancestral" and my little brain translated them to the wonderful old houses.

Yes, akin to those I have seen everywhere, like in Vigan, Silay, Quiapo or elsewhere). But just because something is labelled ancestral, does not automatically mean it is a heritage house worth a tourist visit. In short, I guess, nagpataka ra ko this time. Ay!

Oh well, Lesson Learned. Travel is really education, y'know!

Hey I'm not sure if it's popular herearounds, but I saw this: Toto Pold's Soup No. 5!

We all know what that is, right? Well, okay, if you don't, it is that very popular soup in Cebu, made of cow/carabao male genitalia! Many call it Lansyaw, Lansiao, Lanciao!

I'm no foodie, I'm just always on a "see food diet" - when I see food (that I like), I eat! But in the course of time, I have heard many stories or discussions about this 'soup number five' as an "aphrodisiac". Wheh! Ang uwag naa ra na pirmi, soup or no soup!

I also once listened to my expert-friends discussing the name of that soup. 'Was it' really originally Cebuano or even Visayan? Why is the name English or Chinese? Da!

Oo nga naman! "Soup No. 5" is English, while "Lansyaw" came from "lanchiau" that's ang ikinatawo sa laki in Chinese! All I said in that discussion was "a, bahala mo diha"!

Whatever!

Then I went to a beach resort. The tricycle passed this way going to that left road:

This road at right is the national highway going the province's northern towns all the way to Aklan, while the one at left is still Bantayan Road going to the airport, where I turned left before reaching the airport access road, to reach their beach resort area.

Signage at ground floor of that masonic center says Two M's Pasalubong Center. I promised my self I'll come back - just to see what products they sell here, hindi para mamakyaw ng pasalubong para sa inyo 'no? Don't me! Marami pa akong dadaanan!

So, I went to the beach area, but let's talk about that in my next story!

Coming in a while. Pramis!

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