Iloilo Interlude

Living in Iloilo City is just like living a home away from home.  And loving the place is a very easy thing to do.  The place is not just exciting but interesting as well.  Going around Jaro District is enough to embrace the depth of the place full of rich history and seat of past royalty.  Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral which is the Parish of Our Lady of the Candles was built around 1874 by its first Bishop of Jaro Mariano Cuartero and in  front of the Cathedral across the street is the historic belfry which survived the earthquake Lady Caycay of 1948 when the whole country was repairing itself from the damages brought about by the second world war, the Jaro belfry was repaired in 1956, now standing still preserved and adored.

 




Jaro is named a city within a city.  Going around, taking a walk, turning on few corners one can see its splendid past, the beauty of some old houses, mansions here and there. Two great Christian churches, The Parish of Our Lady of the Candles and the Jaro Evangelical church, just like next door neighbor as Jaro is also branded as the cradle of two Christian faith.  A mixture of Spanish and American ancestry Jaro is also known as "Mestizo Town".

Just  a short distance away from Jaro Plaza is the newly opened Robinson's Place which is a best alternative  to SM city which is a ride away.  In Rob you don't have to go farther.

But if you really want to escape, then go take a ride from Jaro to Esplanade.  The Esplanade Iloilo is a part of  another district of Iloilo City called Manduriao. Here people walk, exercise, walk, exercise, pose, walk, exercise in that order.  And then you can take bike rides at PlayHub at 50 pesos for every twenty minutes or take rope to rope at AC on an unlimited rock climb for one hundred fifty pesos from two PM till you drop.  Wait for your turn, grab the rope, then rest for a while then grab rope again.  No worry for assistants as each individual climb is being provided for.


In Esplanade Iloilo you can exercise, you can jog, you can ride, you can hike and you can climb  But most of all you can capture the true marvels of the place, the river, breathtaking!




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Marvelous Life

Image
Most people define the word marvelous as "wonderful, unusual, almost a miracle".  But what really makes up a marvelous life?  In the last few years of my corporate world, I desired to live a life like this.  I searched around how it is how other people live a marvelous life.  Some described it to have lots of money or making money, others stay out of debts and others for them is living in a well-manicured high-end residential house, condo or in high rise places to feel that you are at the top looking down at creations. Others simply have to travel like having breakfast in Hong Kong, dinner in Sydney.  I have not lived in a condo yet, neither in skyscraper nor make lots of money; I have been to Hong Kong some time ago but not to Sydney yet.  But to live in a real marvelous life is not limited to the things I just mentioned.   I was an idealistic yuppie hard working, obedient and respectful.  And I thought that a marvelous life is hard to achieve.  To earn it you have to wo
Read more

Moved on to Marvelous Life

I am the youngest in the family of eight which includes my parents.  I spent my early childhood in two different places, Getafe and Tagbilaran City.  In Getafe we lived in a big wooden 2-storey house and we "own" one room with a stairway that would lead to the basement which serves as our kitchen.  It was a dirty kitchen and there was no flooring. And there was a big dog named War who would sit on the uppermost staircase looking down at us while we ate and beside War was a big orange cat named Oblada. I have several cousins in that big house two boys about my age and they would come and we would play on weekends. And there were also younger siblings of my father whom I have known to be his half-brothers and half-sisters. I also have fond memories of Lola Dora my father's step mother. She was a stern woman, hard-working and whenever I have fever I remember her giving a massage with a peculiar touch of relief. I learned to weave mat in that house she was so skilled on that.
Read more

Divine Mercy Shrine

Image
The Divine Mercy Shrine is just few minutes away from Cagayan de Oro city. It is situated on top of a hill overlooking the city.  To enter the shrine one has to wear skirt if you are a female and long pants if you are a male as it is considered a place of pilgrim.  But even if you are not dressed appropriately the staff at the gate will provide you with skirts to wear sort of piece of cloth for covering. Drinking water is free. Silence should be observed as you enter the premises.
Read more