ILOILO PROVINCE... Feb. 11 - 13 2012

                             Iloilo City
                     Molo. Jaro. La Paz. San Joaquin
                     Miagao. Tigbauan. Guimbal.


                      Feb. 11 - 13 2012









We daparted Naia 3 around 11AM of Feb. 10 2012 and arrived at Iloilo City at around 12NN and proceeded to SM City for lunch and went to GUIMARAS for 2 days of countryside tour.


Day - 1 Feb. 11 2012

We arrived at Jordan Wharf, Iloilo City around 215pm from Guimaras Province and checked in at One Lourdes Dormitel.

Our room comes with an elegant designed on a very reasonable price at around Php1000+, with 2 queen size beds, cable tv, hot and cold shower, personal ref. and  wifi access.

It is located at Ledesma St. cor. Fuentes St., nice location because it's accessible to all PUV's flying the route in the City, walking distance to ROBINSON'S MALL and going to public market called SUPER.


After taking a little rest at the hotel, we visited the Molo Town.



Molo Church....

The Molo Church is one of the most familiar landmarks of Iloilo. Built in 1831, the church stands as a reminder of Iloilo’s rich history and a monument for Ilonggo artistry. The Molo exudes a blatant expression of Gothic-Renaissance architecture, the one of its kind outside Manila. The interior is a fusion of Gothic and Romanesque architectures, there is a constant alternation between the overpowering features of Gothic and the recessive characteristics of Romanesque.

Town's Plaza...

We just spent a short hour strolling at the park and visited their century old Church which is just infront of the Plaza.


On the other side you will find a Mall and supermarket. So, we went there and bought some groceries we needed for the rest of our stay.


HOW TO GET THERE:

 1.  From Jordan Wharf to Hotel... taxi fare P70-80
 2.  From hotel to Molo Town Proper.. jeepney fare P8
 3.  From Molo to Hotel.. fare P8.




Day 2 Feb. 12 2012


Our first itinerary on this day was to visit the town of LA PAZ.

And our first stop was at La Paz Church... Since it was sunday, we attended the holy mass at around 8AM.

La Paz, called Lobo, Llaunon or Ilawood, then Iznart after Gov. Manuel Iznart, was a newly established as a parish in 1868. In 1847, Fr. Candido Gonzales built a temporary church and convento of wood, bricks and tabique pampango. The present church was constructed from 1870-74. The church is a squat and less elegant version of the San Jose church in Iloilo. Neoclassic features, and rustication stand in sharp contrast to the bricks used in the church. Two engaged columns supporting a triangular pediment bear the date 1970, apparently recent additions.

After the mass, and before we continued our tour, we had breakfast at Deco's. Of course we wont let the day pass without having tasted the famous noodles in town the BATCHOY.. being served by this well known restaurant.

I tell you it was so good... yummy at a very affordable price. (php65 @super special).


After that good breakfast, we went to the town of San Joaquin and visited one of the oldest and historical church.

The main church in town, a Roman Catholic parish was built in 1869 by Spanish priest the Reverend Tomas Santaren.^[4] The church is unique among those in the Philippines for its large pediment featuring a military scene, the Spanish victory over the Moors in the Battle of Tetuan.^[4][6] The National Historical Institute listed the church as a National Cultural Treasure.

It took us 1.5 hours traveling time to reach the town of Sn. Joaquin from Iloilo City. Along the way, you will pass at the towns of Tigbauan, Miagao, and Guimbal and you will be amazed on their beautiful churches, and maybe you will be attempted to stop to see those.  On our case, we went first to Sn. Joaquin and on our way back to the City, we get off at every town that we passed by.


At the town of MIAGAO...


Municipal Hall...

a

Town' Plaza...

The historical Church...

Constructed in 1797, the Miagao Church stands as a living legacy of the culture and way of life of the people of Miagao centuries ago, anchored in a strong foundation of Christian faith. As most travelers would agree, the Miagao Church is one of the country’s architectural gems because of its unique and imposing designs, ornaments and motifs.

At the town of GUIMBAL...


Municipal Hall...

Historical Church....

Town's Plaza....

The Guimbal Church is one of the oldest churches in the country. This yellow sandstone church is made made from adobe stones called igang and coral stones quarried from Guimaras. It was built in 1774 by Father Campos.                   The facade is a two-story affair flanked by twinned round pilasters decorated with floral carvings. Its vintage belfry is 4 stories high and doubles as a watchtower during the Spanish occupation against pillaging Moro pirates. It has undergone some reconstruction after it was destroyed twice, during the Second World War and during the 1948 earthquake. Recently, it was rehabilitated to its original structure.

At the Town of TIGBAUAN...


Municipal Hall...

Historical Church...

 

The Tigbauan Church is unique in the country because of its Latin American churriquesque architecture. The church was constructed in 1575 and destroyed during an earthquake in 1948.The church interior was gutted during the Second World War. Today, it has one of the most beautiful modern-type interiors made up of colorful stone murals. The mosaics adorning the church interior, including the altar and the Stations of the Cross, were created by a local artist in the last two decades.

 

As we reached the city after that tiring but very amazing trip, time for some snacks, again the tastiest BATCHOY, this time at TED'S one of the old timer who serves La Paz Batchoy.

Hmmmm. it was so really good... delicious... no one can really served this kind of Batchoy....but only the Ilonggo's...


After that nice snacks, we went back to our hotel to freshen up, and then,back to our feet again...

We went to the town of JARO... at JARO CATHEDRAL.

After hearing holy mass for the second time we went back to our hotel at around 8pm to celebrate... Because!!! it was my wife's birthday.... Yahooooo!

HOW TO GET THERE:

 1.  Take jeep from hotel to La Paz Church... fare P8
 2.  jeep from La Paz to Super... jeepney terminal bound to sn. joaquin... fare P8
 3.  super to sn. joaquin (forgot the fare)... about more or less50km... travel time 1.5hrs.
 4. sn. joaquin to miagao town.... jeep
 5.  miagao to guimbal town... jeep
 6. guimbal to tigbauan town... jeep
 7. tigbauan to robinson's mall... jeep
 8. from robinson's walk to hotel.
 9. from hotel to Jaro.


Note: In all of our destinations, jeepney is a source of transportation... you can also opt to take a cab. sorry we forgot the exact fare.



Day - 3 Feb. 13 2012

It was quite sad this day because my wife needs to be back in  Manila ahead of us due to some work at her office that she needs to attend to.  So we accompanied her to the airport at 6AM for her 8AM flight.

From the airport, we started our journey as to what we could see around Iloilo City.

At SM Iloilo City..

University of the Philippines...

Old City Hall Building...

The new City Hall Building....

An old Building...

San Jose Placer Church...

San Jose Catholic School...

Plaza Libertad....

At Museo Iloilo...

At SUPER....City's Public Market...

Best place to buy some Dried Fish for pasalubong...

We checked out at our hotel at around 1PM and headed to the airport for our 430PM flight to Manila.

At the Airport...

Boarding time... bound to Manila via AIRPHIL EXPRESS...

We arrived at NAIA 3 around pass 6PM.

We really enjoyed and had so much fun at ILOILO.. We felt so lucky to saw those beautiful places, specially those century old and historical churches  we inherited from our ancestors that marked our history.  Truly a national treasure that we must take care and  protect so that we can pass it on to our next generation.

Our trip was so AMAZING! We love you ILOILO... we will see you again... soon...