Ilo-ilo would serve as our jump-off point to our main destination -- Boracay. We'd have until the following morning to discover Ilo-ilo (or at least the vicinities near Jaro) upon the recommendations of our very hospitable hosts and friends, Rolly and Eden.
We were told by Eden that interesting churches abound near Jaro. She even wrote the name of churches that we should go to and how to get to those places. This, made our objective very clear -- visit as many churches as we can before night falls.
Miag-ao Church
We decided to visit the furthest church first. Our first stop after riding a jeepney for around two hours is the Miag-ao Church. It is one of the oldest churches in the entire archipelago and has a very colorful history.
As quoted in the previous link, "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. A truly 'Philippine Church', it exudes a native touch. Its artistic facade is decorated witha relief sculpture of St. Christopher carrying the Christ child amidst coconut, papaya and guava shrubs. A large stone image of St. Thomas of Villanova, parish patron saint, dominates the center. Carved life-size statues of the Pope and St. Henry with their coat-of-arms above them flank the main entrance. Supporting the facade are the twin belfries, one towering two-storeys and the other three-storeys high."
Guimbal Church
The Guimbal Church was built in 1774 by Padre Campos. It is made of igang (adobe) and coral stones which were quarried from the nearby island of Guimaras.
At present, it has been restored to its original structure, after it was destroyed twice -- during the Second World War and during the 1948 earthquake.
By the way, Guimbal got its name from a drum measuring 30cm x 20cm (height x diameter). It is made from the hollowed-out trunk of a palm tree, and is covered either by goat or deer skin.
Tigbauan Church
Sadly, the Tigbauan Church was our final stop of the day (at least before the sun went down below the horizon), as we were yet a good hour or so from our hosts in Jaro.
We tried to ask one of the caretakers (I think he was a sacristan) if we could go inside and take a look at its interior, and hopefully take some pics. No go. The parish priest was holding a mass in a nearby cemetery and the caretaker said that there would be nobody to take us on a tour of the church's interior.
Upon, seeing that we were not able to get inside, we met a "colorful" man on a bike who kept asking us pretty annoying questions (like "Why were'nt you able to get inside?", "Why do you want to go inside?", and "Where are you from?"); he kept tailing us wherever we went around the plaza. Oh well, maybe that was the signal to get on the public transport again and head back. :)
After dinner at a local Andok's, we were joined by Rolly, Eden, and Rain (their bubbly daughter) and headed for Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral.
Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral
Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria
Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria
The cathedral is so magnificent even at night... and so is its belfry.
There is this story that Rolly and Eden were telling us as I was setting-up my camera for the shot above -- the image/statue of the Lady of Candles, the blue one in the midde, keeps growing. In fact, she used to be situated at the space below the middle crucifix. As the years went by, she steadily grew until she could no longer fit in the space. Thus, the new one in front was made for her.
The Belfry
After taking a few pics of the cathedral, we walked home. It was already quite late at night and there were almost no people in the streets anymore. I looked across the street and saw this structure --
It was said to be owned by one of the more prominent families in the Philippines.
Anyway... Rolly, Eden, Rain, and to the hospitable people of Ilo-ilo... maraming salamat! We will be back!
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