It was cool since yesterday afternoon. Weather’s been wet and its really a welcome break from the scorching days that’ve marked since early this week. Viewing from the weather forecast from CNN, it seems that it will be a nice and cool weekend 
It’s really becoming hot outside. Surely, summer (as far as the Philippines is concerned, we consider March – May as summer) is at hand. One can just feel it. The intense heat. The almost always sunny days. Nights are equally hot too and woe if one doesn’t have an airconditioner. You’re craving for halohalo, ice cream or other cold drinks, Malls and department stores are starting to showcase beach wear and stuff. Talks of vacations, beach outings and Holy Week are the norm.
Holy Week. Less than two weeks from now and it will be Christendom’s widely anticipated event. Not only for one who is religious where visits to the church, penance and repentance are a must but for most, its an excuse to spend the holidays at the beach and do their penance there J.
Its less than two weeks and I still haven’t decided on where I should go to document Holy Week practices. Plane schedules are already full that’s why my original plans of going to Siquijor and later to Bohol were shelved. Bus? I was just informed by a friend that trips are also fully booked for the Holy Week that’s why I’m having second thoughts of going to Guiuan. That just leaves me with just being in Luzon. Will it be Vigan and other churches in Ilocos? Cagayan Valley? Laguna? Batangas? Quezon. Or Bulacan or Pampanga?
Well, I still have to decide on that. The remaining weekends will be spent going to places in Batangas and Pampanga to check these places out.
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This is another ad from Healthy Options that I scanned from a newspaper. Unfortunately, their weblink www.healthyoptions.com.ph doesn’t work.
Others that I’ve posted are here.
Summer is starting to be felt as days here in Makati are getting warmer, hot and humid. That’s why I decided last night to have a bowl of halo halo (literally, mix-mix due to how different ingredients are mixed together) at Chowking Exportbank branch. You see, every summer, I’ve always looked forward to a Chowking halo halo. This very Pinoy cooler is definitely a must have especially during the hot months of the year. Its taste is just heaven as one finds different sweet concoctions (preserved fruits, leche flan, sugared mung beans, and other sweet derivatives) mixed with shaved ice, a scoop or two of ice cream and milk. Different textures of ice, the smoothness of a leche flan, the fibrousness of a cooked langka (jackfruit), the slippery surface of a kaong or the roughness of candied kondol, its always a delight.
Even when we were still children, my mother used to bring us to White Clouds, a snack bar specializing in halo-halo that was located in Colon St. back in Cebu just near Ding Hau, a dimsum restaurant. It was usually served in a tall glass, unlike now that bowls are rather common in most places. This paired with hot egg sandwich daubed with Lady’s Choice sandwich spread was always a treat for us. When I was assigned in Mindanao, during the months of March, April and May, I usually drop by Chowking in SM City Davao when I’m just malling or at Divisoria in Cagayan de Oro. A halo halo is a balm to keep one sane from the hot temperature.
Back to the Chowking branch in Exportbank, I’ve ordered one and when it was delivered at my table, I was just very disappointed to look at it. The price is now P64, compared with around P50+ last year. The sweet ingredients are becoming sparse and the ice thin. After one mixes it, it just became a blob of ice colored with the ube ice cream and bits and pieces, here and there of the already lessening ingredients. What a bummer. A disappointment. I’ve sent an SMS to the contact number for suggestions and comments and all I got was a standard reply of “thank you for the… well check on it… blah, blah, blah.” I’ve also pointed out that the cashier also didn’t give a raffle stub for an ongoing promo. A person from that store called but because of bad signal, it was cut and never called again.
So much for a supposedly pleasant evening and bad service.
CarcarEarly morning yesterday, Sunday and I was on my way to the church of Carcar in the south of Cebu to take photos there. Well, I’ve been to this church many times and have other photos from those trips but usually, the time I was there was already late mornings and the light is not just that good with the sky being cloudy. This time, I was fortunate. Since the hot season is already here, I was rewarded with a somewhat cloudless sky. With the early morning sun in tandem with my circular polarizer, the colors just pop! What blue skies I got and details were crisp.
I’ve always admired this church. An imposing sight as this sits on top of a hill overlooking the heritage town of Carcar and the coastline. Other than the religious significance of the structure, it also served as a watchpoint for the townspeople who were preparing against the Muslim marauders from the south who plied the coastlines of the country centuries ago to raid hapless communities for the slave trade.
I did not bring my heavy tripod with me to take shots of the interior that’s why I have another excuse to visit this church next time.
San Fernando
From Carcar, I proceeded to San Fernando. I’ve been passing by this church many times no but really haven’t got down and taken photos. This time, I really made it a point to drop by here. Its another impressive structure but unlike that of Carcar, this is just level with the road. Its walls and facade are made of coral stones turning dull with time. Haven’t really gone inside since there was still mass being said and the church was full.
Naga
Just like San Fernando, it was the first time for me to visit this church despite it being just at the roadside. Of all the churches in Cebu, I was quite impressed with the details of its facade. Here, angels in various poses abound, flowers, vines and stars are populating the spaces. My ultra wide angle lens 10-22mm really was very useful here as the distance between the church and its fence was just too close.
I’ll be blogging more about the details of these churches some other time.
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