Philippine Travel Notes

The Tigbauan Municipal Hall. Looking good, and reminiscent of American Era structures, though my guide says this has received quite a number of facelifts hehe. I thought, eh dapat lang! From an aged brass marker I saw in the building, the original of originals of this building was born in 1960. So this thing is more than half a century old! 55 na! I had a little bit of an issue rounding this building. There were too many eyes all focused on me, and they seemed not friendly at all. It felt like they were watching for one false move and they'd pounce on me hahaha! Kulba! Oh well, Monday, maybe they were all fresh and hyped up to work. But they were not guards, they were ALL employees of the munisipyo. Why were they all out at the lobby at 2:26PM, some even sporting toothpicks in their mouths? Aba, nagpaka layu-layo ako! If I could not take pictures inside, oh eh I turned to the outside. That is their Rizal Monument! As you can tell from the borders of this picture, I took this ...

The St. John of Sahagun Parish Church. A "mosaic-mania" if there is such a thing! Yep, almost everywhere in this church has been re-done in mosaic! Quite different from other churches in Iloilo, even the whole country. I cannot say its beautiful (beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, okay?), but I cannot also say its not beautiful. It is just unique! Guide told me that this church was almost totally flattened by the same earthquake that ruined Oton Church and many others. The facade however, and parts of that bell tower on the right remained. So they kept and refurbished it. But inside, everything is mosaic! This was my view from main entrance. Look at the walls, the posts and the retablo... (Retablo btw is that wall of the altar that faces us.) Everything is mosaic, right? Halfway thru the aisle, I turned back to see this... the "priest's view" as they say... That is main entrance. The whole "other side" of the church facade. Everything is mosa...

Less than 5 minutes (I think not even 2 kilometers) southwards from Sol Y Mar is the town plaza of Tigabauan, Iloilo. Yep, Sol Y Mar Resort is part of this town. Tigbauan, says my guide, is a "fishing" town. Hmm, what I know is... virtually any coastal settlement in this country is a "fishing" town, di ba?! But I did not tell him that. I just nodded hehe. Then he told me that this town produces most of the "guinamos" and "bagoong" in the province. And that there are a lot poultry farms that get their supply of feeds from Tigbauan. Oh okay, so this is a "fish-processing" town, not necessarily the town with the most fishermen hehe. I corrected my mind there! "Fishing town" naman kasi eh hehe! So, malansa ang buhay sa bayang ito?! But I did not smell something fishy! Anyway, destination church and municipal hall was not hard to find. As is common in many places, they are usually just near each other - at center of town - by...

Noontime. I was not that hungry yet. So was my driver cum tour guide - sabi nya! I could not tell if he was telling the truth and nothing but the truth so help him God hahaha! I did know it was the 'biscocho' and the 'tsokolate' at the Avanceña house that made my stomach feeling still full at 12:45NN while roaming the Oton Plaza. But somehow, I felt guilty not yet feeding my royal self, and the driver. A hungry pilot is trouble, OMG! I looked around and did not seem to get attracted into any of the eateries in Oton town proper - how can they, eh hindi nga ako gutom! But I had a nice idea. I asked the guide to bring us (him and me) to a beautiful quiet airy beach resort with nice views of the sea and good food - so we can while away the noontime heat, and, perchance catch hunger at such a place. Da! Ang daming criteria 'no?! But he smilingly obliged! Driver-guide asked if I heard about "solemar". I said no. He said its a good resort and might fit my...