Philippine Travel Notes

My Negros Oriental Tour: Santa Catalina Arriving at Bayawan from Basay, I just went up Casa Rosario to take another shower, grab my things and checkout. Then I walked to the Ceres terminal to catch a bus. When I approached his desk, dispatcher (who by now seemed to be familiar with my face) told me to immediately get on the bus up front, as it was ready to depart for Basay onwards to Hinobaan and even Sipalay. Smiling I said, I am going to Santa Catalina. I laughed at his reaction, his face was a mix of “as if he had seen a ghost” and “as if someone was trying to fool him” hahaha! Laughing with me, he asked “gikan na ka Basay sir?” (have you just come from Basay, sir?) and I said yes. He checked his list and the next bus on the way to Dumaguete (therefore passing by Sta Catalina) was not due in 30 minutes. But he suggested that I might as well take a “pedicab” to “Santa” since it is just about 8 kilometers. I asked again “pedicab to …”, and the reply was “Santa sir, Santa Catalina...

This topic started with this article There are “officially” just two towns in this country named such. One is in the province of Ilocos Sur (Region 1) and the other is in the province of Negros Oriental (Region 7). But… The town of Santa in Ilocos Sur was formerly called Santa Catalina in honor of Santa Catalina de Alexandria. So, that technically gives us three towns named Santa Catalina, albeit historically, right? In time, probably because people found it inconvenient pronouncing the long whole name, they kept referring to their town as just Santa. Until they altogether decided to drop the “Catalina” and the “de Alexandria”. As you would have known from the previous entry , Santa is just to the north of Vigan, the province’s capital. Now now… the first “official” Santa Catalina is alas also some kind of suburb of the same city, Vigan. Just about a town in between them to the south by the way. Remember that long bridge connecting two mountains by the mouth of a big river? That one is...