Foot and Fire

Perched beside the national highway, the Church of Boljoon, its Rectory and Escuela Catolica are all a wonderful stopover when one is from Cebu City going to Oslob; it is just about two hours from Oslob. Aside from its oldness, the church ground has been an archaeological site for Japanese goods that dates back before our pre-historic period. (I will be featuring the museum in the next entry.) When one is in the side of the church one can look beyond the highway and lavish at the sight of the blue oceans and white sand aside from the giant karsts and hills standing in protection and beside it.  *** Inside the Boljoon Church. *** The history of the Church of Boljoon *** I don't know if this shot will still make the code effective.  Please try and let me know. *** *** *** The Escuela Catolica which is still used  by old women teaching catechism today. *** *** *** The church and the ...

The people of Oslob are early risers because the whale sharks locally called "butanding" are hungry and feeding them is the easiest way to the snorkeling tourists and the ever-ready camera! For a fee of P550, one can swim with the whale sharks and have his unlimited photos taken by the assigned photographer and later bring them  home in a cd. This is the flourishing tourist attraction in Oslob. When we got there one long holiday of April 2015, there were hundreds of tourists, local and foreign. But rising up earlier than the tourists is the key. The sun may not have shone from the mountain's side this time but seeing it rising from the ocean is phenomenal for me as seeing meteor showers are for other people. I joked that in this side of our archipelago, my kindergarten drawing of a nipa hut against the backdrop of two mountains with the rising sun and fluffy clouds in between them is not correct. Amazing grace it is to feel the early sun on my face, to receive the li...

Bolhoon -- A Cultural Sketch By Paul Gerschwiler 2009, 172 pages including annexes For five hundred pesos, this coffee table book authored by a Swiss Paul Gerschwiler who is married to a Filipina and published in 2009 by The Boljoon Heritage Foundation, Inc. went home with me. It is sold in the Museum annexed to the Church of Boljoon.   The book has ten chapters that revolves on the cultural development in the quiet southern part of Cebu; they are the pre-Spanish settlement, the pueblo of Bolhoon, the Moro defence, Nuestra Senora del Patrocinio - the church, saints, of houses and men, livelihood, education, customs and traditions, roads and transportation and the 11th part are the annexes. I have yet to progress to chapter three on Moro defense because I lavished on the quoted portions from the diary of Antonio Pigafetta and Antonio de Morga. Our world history in high school mentioned them but only in passing and I have yet to read the full translated versions....

During our visit last April 2015, the monastery has been undergoing renovation as well as additional construction, as evident in the side bridges and towers being added. Hence, my photograph of the same is not that enchantingly beautiful as I have first seen it in photos. But of course, the photo is just one of my reasons to see this monastery built in honor of a four-feet miraculous Mary (I am not sure whether it is the one in the roofing or the one standing after the gate entrance). It is a place to say prayers for the sick so we said our prayers while traversing easy steps up the hill towards the chapel. *** *** "This crown structure is memorial of the victorious and powerful intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mother thru the Penitential Rosary Walk in 1998, against the killer epidemic that struck the place, where several lives of poor children and infants had died." "Built to honor Mary on the 8th year anniversary of the Monks' arriva...

A Visit to the Philippine Taoist Temple in Beverly Hills, Cebu City is one of the highlights of a city tour of Cebu province. One can pray there and make their wishes there as per instruction made at the door of the temple. I didn't get to try because I do not want to disturb the peace of the pilgrims, the atmosphere in the Taoist Temple is very much unlike the Buddhist temples I had been where they welcome everyone inside. Photos of the Altar Temple is also prohibited. I had been here in 2009 and even before that but still I enjoyed the visit because I am showing it to my aunt whose visit was the first time. (Free entrance)                                                                                      *** This is the Cebu Zoo which still undergoes reno...

The Cellist of Sarajevo By Steven Galloway 227 pages, Novel There is nothing spectacular about this novel. I almost decided so because we all feel bad when there is violence or war; I believe that empathy is embedded in our genes. But I was wrong because empathy is not automatic in all of us, but still, I concluded that this book is spectacular because the writer presented to us many moral issues when we are placed in the middle of violence or war. While I am reading this novel, the present violence occurring in Libya, Ukraine and Syria appear in my mind; the hardship and constant fear of the people caught in between the violence. I just wish those who hold firearms would get hold of this novel too. This novel was inspired by a story of Serajevo's renowned cellist Vedran Smailovic who in real life played Albinoni's Adagio in G Minor for 22 days in honor of the 22 people lining up for bread in the market died after several mortar shell struck. But the story does not ...

Malalison Island is only a small island with a population of 750 and registered voters numbering to 400. The only populated area is concentrated at the back of the sand bar which serves as entrance to  the Island. There, the barangay hall is located as well as the basketball court which serves as their plaza as well. It was a quiet afternoon in November when I visited Malalison the first time and I can sense that the water was not as high as when I revisited the cave part in April shortly just after noon. What I immediately noticed about the rock is the a human head bust in the rock formation. Also, I sensed immediately that the summer sun dried out the same and it looked lifeless, unlike the rock I first visited. See the difference here.  At any rate, here are the quick snaps I managed to get featuring the cave! *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***