Iloilo - Heart of the Philippines | Miagao, San Joaquin

To continue our Iloilo tour.. Last in the towns we'll be visiting are Miagao and San Joaquin.

MIAGAO CHURCH

Was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 1993. It is one of the few remaining Baroque churches in the country. In baroque-romanesque style, the church sinks six (6) meters deep into the ground with walls one-and-a-half (1 1/2) meters thick and buttresses thrice thicker in size. 

Only the construction of the church took 10 years to finish. According to the caretaker/lay minister of the church, during that time, the locals were asked to bring block of stones and eggs as their contribution for the construction of the church.

Amazing carvings on the facade of the church.

  Baptistery with Mary's image in Filipiniana.

 Image of Mary made of pure wood. 

 Can you see the image of Sacred Heart?

Meron pa daw ibang image pero di ko na matukoy kung sino at nasaan. :)

With the caretaker/lay minister, Noel.

Then he says: Noel in church means Christmas. Noel in politics means No Election but Noel in Miagao means Nothing Except Love!

(like ko to! win! makagawa nga din ng meaning ng name ko. chos!)

GARIN FARM
Purok 2, San Joaquin, Iloilo
http://www.garinfarm.com/


Entrance fee is Php150.00. No student, senior citizen or children-below-4feet discounts. The other activities such as the use of swimming pool, zipline, horseback riding, kayaking, fishing etc. has its separate payment.

Dahil nashock ako sa entrance fee, I tried to haggle and be extra nice with the lady in the cashier. Haha. Anyway, bawal daw e. So, okay na lang. :)

And as expected, we were welcomed by the vegetables and the farm animals.

Vines plus those hanging vegetables on the way to the pilgrimage

We dropped by the Bahay Kubo surrounded with the vegetables in the song Bahay Kubo, in order! Sing as you pass by each of the vegetable.

After passing through the vegetables and animals, we had a view of their lagoon from above.

Many water activities to choose from!

Swimming pool is just beside the lagoon. Infinity pool ang peg? Hihi.

And the pilgrimage starts...

The Creation

456 steps to the 101 ft. Divine Mercy Cross

The Birth of Christ

The Baptism of Christ at the Jordan River

The Last Supper

 The Agony in the Garden

 The Scourging at the Pillar

 The Crucifixion and Death of Christ

The Resurrection

and the Ascension.

Wow ang view! :)

Ganda lang!

Haggard by those steps but my mind time traveled back to my religion class in elementary and high school.

SAN JOAQUIN CHURCH

Was declared as one of the National Cultural Treasures by the National Historical Institute. The church was built in 1869, under the supervision of the Spanish priest Tomas Santaren. It is made of limestones quarried from the mountains of Igbaras and white coral stones from the shores of San Joaquin.

It is known as the ONLY church in the country with a militaristic facade, incoporating the bas-relief mural Rendicion de Tetuan (The Surrender of Tetouan).

Carved on the church's facade is the story of victory over Moroccan forces in the Battle of Tetuan.

Wasn't able to get in because the gate was locked. I just had a glimpse of it behind the gate.

For the entire tour, we rented a car from Bennch Transport for Php 3000.

http://www.bennchtransport.com/

Rented either Toyota Altis or Honda Civic pero Ford Focus ang nakarating, bagong bago pa! Bongga!!

Related post: Iloilo - Heart of the Philippines | Iloilo City, Jaro, Molo, Guimbal

Next post: Guimaras!!!

Loved the Heart of the Philippines!

Chinx♥

Iloilo - Heart of the Philippines | Iloilo City, Jaro, Molo, Guimbal

Booked a flight to Bacolod last January though I don't really have any idea what to expect and where to go to. My friends didn't stop bugging me to book promo flights until I was able to book this one. They always goes "kahit saan." Muntik pa akong magbook pa-tawi-tawi bilang at "kahit saan" naman daw. :)

Did most of the research about the place, hotel, transpo, food and all. Good thing I learned through my researches that we can actually travel to 2 other provinces from Bacolod. Okay na din! We just need to squeeze those 3 places in 4 days! 

Plane from Manila to Bacolod-Silay Airport

The airport is actually in Silay City, maybe they just put Bacolod in the name since Bacolod City is more famous than Silay City.

30 mins travel from Airport to Bacolod City

Rode a taxi for Php500 to BREDCO Port

Uunahin namin sa tour ang malalayo, so first stop would be Iloilo.

Rode a fast craft ferry from Bacolod to Iloilo via Ocean Jet. One way fare is Php345. May discount kapag roundtrip fare ang kinuha but we opted to have the one way since we are not sure on what time we'll be coming back.

Travel time is about 1 hour 10 mins.

ONG BUN PENSION HOUSE - ILOILO
Ong Bun Building near corner Quezon-Ledesma Street
5000 ILOILO, PHILIPPINES

http://www.ongbun.com/pensionhouse-iloilo/

Because of a lot of researches, I found this pension house which offers cheap rates. Plus read a lot of reviews about it and many says that it is clean and cheap. Well, cleanliness is always the no.1 requirement!

One tricycle ride from Muelle Loney (Iloilo Port)

This room is a triple sharing room. It costs Php720 per night but since we're 4, we just added Php50 for the extra person for a total of Php770! 

In fairness! Mura at malinis talaga. Sana may elevator nga lang sila kasi our room is on the 4th floor. (katamaran. hihi.)

Few minutes after we checked in, we immediately proceeded with the tour.

FORT SAN PEDRO

It was a rainy morning in Iloilo City. We passed by this old port which is still under renovation and you'll have the view of Guimaras.

Fort San Pedro was built to protect the city from invaders that threatened Iloilo such as Dutch and Moro pirates. The disrepair of the port started in the early 20th century and was totally destroyed during World War II. It played a huge role in the history of Iloilo.

Yes, that's Guimaras! And that's how near it is in Iloilo City!

OLD PROVINCIAL CAPITOL BUILDING

It looked okay sa front but the back part looked destroyed.

MUSEO ILOILO and NEW PROVINCIAL CAPITOL BUILDING
Bonifacio Drive, beside Iloilo Provincial Capitol and the Department of Tourism Regional Office

I didn't see something special in the museum aside from the few information I've read on the description posted beside each piece. Hello! Katamad kaya magbasa! Ang hahaba pa!! At wala kaming tulog! (reasons... haha.) Sana may tour guide na magkukwento ng stories of each piece. Mas aliw at mas gaganahan kami!! Higit sa lahat, sulit ang bayad namin. :)

The museum is just beside the capitol building.

(c) Gladys Villasaya

Paintings/drawings made by the locals.

They sell some souvenirs.

JARO CATHEDRAL

It is the Parish of Our Lady of the Candles but popularly known as Jaro Cathedral. Usually, bell towers are beside the church itself but it is different in Jaro Cathedral because the bell tower seats across the street, in front of the church, outside the church's gate!

Nilapitan ang guard..

Me: Kuya, ano yan? (pointing to the bell tower)

Guard: (speaks in Ilonggo)

Me: Ha? Kuya, tagalog. Tagalog!

Guard: Kampanaryo!

Me: talagang diyan yan nakatayo? (thinking na baka dating dati pa, ang simbahan nasa tabi ng bell tower)

Guard: Oo. Diyan talaga yan.

The huge baptistery! Pwede na magswimming! Hihi. :)

LIZARES MANSION / ANGELICUM SCHOOL
Tabuc Suba, Jaro

Angelicum School is a private catholic school but was made more popular by the Lizares Mansion just inside the vicinity of the school. The mansion is known for its Christmas light decors during Christmas season but also considered as haunted for many years until the school was built.

MOLO CHURCH

Known as Molo Church but it is the Parish of St. Anne. It is also known to be a feminist church because of the women saints inside which represents women empowerment.

GUIMBAL CHURCH / PLAZA / MUNICIPAL HALL

Guimbal Church is actually one of the oldest churches in the country. It is made of adobe stones from Guimaras and was built in 1774.

church is closed. I wasn't able to get in.

Plaza is just across the church.

Old school look of the municipal hall

Won't squeeze everything in this post.

Next post: Miagao and San Joaquin, Iloilo :)

Chinx ♥