One of the Philippines' Oldest

St. James Church
Bolinao Church Compound

Bolinao, Pangasinan

25 April 2010

After eating our lunch at a karinderya inside Five Star Bus Co., all of us stayed at the amphitheater to wind off time. My cousins Ailene and Dang did their own business - purchasing different items they could sell in their own sari-sari store, and thinking they would take time, I asked Aunt Jo and cousin Leah that I will just visit the church to say my prayers. It was practically an eyeshot away, so they just let me do my own business, too.

Facade. It has been said that this church is one of the oldest in the country, which celebrated it 400th anniversary as a parish.


Blessed Odorico Memorial. In 1324, Father Odorico (of Italy) landed and took refuge in Bolinao during a storm. It has been said that he performed his first mass in the Philippines, and he also baptized several locals, making him the first evangelizer in the Philippines.

To read more about the church's history, click HERE.

St. James. Saint James the Great was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of Saint John the Evangelist.

Aisle. May 2009, the province was hit by a very devastating storm ruining many establishments, including this church. Up until now, the people of Bolinao is still restoring the church.

The Altar. I used an old picture for this because the time I visited the church, there were people who seemed to be preparing for a wedding. Actually, I felt a little annoyed when the wedding photographer stood in front of me while trying to frame a shot. Well, I wasn't intruding in their celebration - the couple wasn't even there, so I was a bit shocked when the photographer just blocked my way and seemed to not notice me with my camera. I didn't want to cause a commotion so I just left and whispered a prayer for him.

It was a very short visit... I just said a short prayer of gratitude and I also asked for guidance. I am happy to see the church getting back on its feet - In 2009, I saw pictures taken by an online buddy showing the church without any roof! Well, being one of the country's oldest churches, I am sure the people of Bolinao will help the church back to how it looked like.

*** Jenn ***

Road Shots to Pangasinan

It was the first time I traveled to Pangasinan with my Aunt Jo, and even if she is having difficulty speaking fluent tagalog, I was thankful I could understand bits and pieces of their dialect. Although I would answer her in tagalog, she knew she could communicate with me whichever way she wanted.

Anyway, the road to Bolinao in Pangasinan is different from the road I always take whenever I travel to La Union. Whenever I travel, I would always make sure my camera is handy so I could take a picture of something that would take my interest. Somehow, this has been a habit of mine - taking road shots, and this trip was no exception.


Camp Servillano, Tarlac. A monument just outside of Camp Servillano... I am not sure if this is it, but in 2008, I traveled to Tarlac with two scrapbooking friends, and Lee pointed that this monument was made by her husband Toym Imao. Correct me if I am wrong, because I couldn't get in touch with Lee at the moment and that this was taken while inside the bus, so obviously I couldn't see any information. :)

Tarlac City Public Market. By the time the bus reached its "pit stop" at Siesta, it would then take the Camiling Road to Pangasinan... and this side of Tarlac I don't often get to see, so when we were stuck at a traffic jam and saw this from the window, I just took a snapshot.

River. One thing I love to see from the bus window was the view from the bridge. This wasn't a long bridge - and I nearly missed the view actually - but I am so happy to be able to capture this. Sure the cables were in the way, but can you see the contrast on both sides of the picture?


Mango Farm. Am not sure if this was still Tarlac or this was already part of Pangasinan, but as soon as I saw the mango trees, I just wanted to take a picture of it. This one's a bit overexposed and quite blurry, but this was the only good shot I had of this place, so I am using it.

Going to Bolinao was a great road trip because there are a lot of interesting places to take pictures of. Unfortunately, I bought a bag of chicharon and let the vendor pour some vinegar in it, so even if there are places I wanted to take pictures of from the bus' window, my vinegar soaked fingers prevented me. Well, I just sit back and watch and eat my chicharon as if it was my popcorn.

*** Jenn ***

April 2010 Food Trips

As what I for March 2010, I am compiling food trips made into one post. Should you want to read the full story behind the food trips, just click on the links directly below the pictures.




Enchanted Kingdom

04 April 2010

I got an invitation for the opening of Enchanted Kingdom's newest attraction - Zoori's Adventure, and for lunch, we went to Amazon Grill and they served us roasted chicken, button mushroom sidings, a brownie with walnut, and a cup of salad.

Later in the afternoon, my friend and I went to the souvenir shop because it has a little snack shop inside where I ate a slice of their ice cream cake. It was very comforting!

Koorah-Koorah Restaurant
13 April 2010

My friend and I were budget travelers that time, so we just went out to look for a food place that serves cheap foods. This pork barbecue meal wasn't something to rave about, but it was filling.

One Tagaytay Place
14 April 2010

Part of the GC package I had was free breakfast, and I had their Filipino breakfast, with the longganisa (sausage) as my meat.

Congo Grille - SM City Fairview
25 April 2010

Aunt Jo and her granddaughter Grace were vacationing in our place... it was just a week actually, but because I had other commitments, they decided to wait for me so I could travel back to Pangasinan with them. A day before we left, we celebrated Aunt Jo's birthday by eating dinner at Congo Grille. She really appreciated the dinner, especially when the restaurant's staff sang her "Happy Birthday" and gave her a piece of mango refrigerated cake.

Taking hint from my last paragraph... we traveled to Pangasinan the next day, but stories from that trip will be shared on the next post, starting tomorrow. :)

*** Jenn ***

The Park Atop A Mountain

People's Park in the Sky

Mt. Gonzales - Tagaytay City, Cavite

14 April 2010

Decades back, the government planned to build a palace here to be the vacation house of the former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. However, construction had to be stopped because the former president was ousted. With the help of local government unit, the place is now a popular park in Tagaytay.



I only knew two places in Tagaytay (this and the picnic grove), and I felt not seeing this place would somehow defeat the purpose of me traveling here, so I persuaded my friend if we could just check out the place for a few minutes. My friend had to be in the office by noon time (if possible), so after eating our breakfast, we packed our things and head straight to the park. Tricycle drivers were willing to take us there for p100, but my friend (who is paying everything for this trip) thought it was quite expensive, so we asked if there are jeepneys that would take us to the park. Fortunately there are, and fare was around p17, if I remember it correctly.

I forgot how much was the entrance fee, but it wasn't much. From the entrance, tourists have to hike uphill, and the park had jeepneys that can take the tourists up for p40. We figured hiking using our own feet and legs would be a good exercise, so we decided to decline the jeepney ride.

It was way too foggy that morning (Tagaytay, after all, is the second coolest place in the Philippines, next to Baguio City), so we weren't able to appreciate the trip, but I still was able to take some pictures:

The Chapel. As what's written on the plaque, this Shrine of Our Lady, Mother of Fair Love was formally inaugurated 14 February 2003. Being up on a mountain, not only was it a good place to say prayers, it was also a great location to see the city from above... if only the fog wasn't hindering the sights.

Souvenir Shop. Like most parks and tourist spots, there are some shops here selling all sorts of handicrafts and knick knacks, but I already bought a key ring the previous day, so no more shopping for me.

Fog. I so wanted to explore more of the area, but the fog was really becoming a big hindrance, so my friend just suggested we leave so my friend could go back to the office asap. :(


Picnic Cottages. It was still early that day, so there were quite a few tourists and the cottages weren't used yet. For sure come noon time the place will be flocked by tourists.

From there, my friend and I took the jeepney back to Olivares where we took the bus back to Manila. The jeepney passed by the public market, and I so wanted to check it, too, but yes, time wasn't my friend that day. As sad as I might be, I was of course thankful for having a nice Tagaytay trip. I learned many things about this trip, and hopefully I can go back to visit more places, try out different restaurants, and take more pictures. Tagaytay is only a few hours away, very easy to go to, so maybe this year, if I can, I will go back and explore more.

*** Jenn ***