Miag-ao: The separation of church and state [university]

12 May 2011. After the med mission at Igbaras, we can’t miss going to Miag-ao, which is just a town away. The rocket-paced jeepney dropped us off at the Church after 15 minutes. A bit of trivia, the Sto. Tomas de Villanueva Church in Miag-ao, built in 1786, is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Baroque Churches of the Philippines” , together with San Agustin Church in Manila, Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur, and San Agustin Church in Paoay, Ilocos Norte.

And now the intricate details:

Igbaras | Bridge over mini-rapids and the price of manhood

12 May, 2011. I went to Igbaras, Iloilo with che and her med circle for a free circumcision mission in a remote barangay. To reach the center, we had to traverse through rough terrain and along the way, we passed by a hanging steel bridge over some mini-rapids. Standing on the wobbly bridge, Mt. Napulak looks magnificent and commanding from afar.

Travel Trivia: rafflesia, the world’s largest flower, also grows in Igbaras

Pundaquit Weekend Getaway | Nagsasa Cove: Of Bonfires, Treks and Private Beaches

Aside from being a great camp with a lesser volume of people in the grounds, Nagsasa Cove provided us with a private beach. yes, away from the mad crowd, we traversed atop sharp rocks to reach a secluded mini-beach with a native spear-fisherman whose spear turned out to be a fishing rod, and whose underpants, to jenny’s disappointment, was from Bench. Goodbye to thoughts of discovering a lost civilization. haha.

Jenny pitched the tent. Uno daw siya sa camping e. 🙂

We gathered round the bonfire, listened to indie folk, belted out adele tunes, and shared 2 bottles of vodka with salt on the side (as the planned tequila proved to be too elusive, thanks to the city ordinance ban on purchase of liquor from 10pm to 8am).

We retired early (we knew it was still early though we had no sense of time nor urgency nor hygiene) and arranged ourselves inside our humble tent and shared our lousy concept of a sleeping bag, my malong.

I got up to the angry dog’s version of a trumpet wake-up call, all recharged and ready for the promising day ahead.

We climbed the mini mountain behind the camping grounds and beside the lagoon with a size twice that of Anawangin’s. The climb looked easier than it really is. Some rocks were not anchored and one wrong hand or foothold would send you tumbling down lalaland. We thought about our song of triumph, as the group who climbed before us had one. But we all hate Miley Cyrus. (sorry for the shortage of photos. i vow to bring an extra batt next time i go on a 2-day trip to a place without any source of electricity.)