Roxas City Trip

For the longest time I’ve been wanting to take Mama on a trip somewhere. It’s high time that she starts enjoying the fine things in life. She’s always been hardworking, always bent on providing for and serving the people in her lives. It’s high time that someone starts thinking about giving her what is due her. Oh, I’ve always been mindful of her and all the sacrifices she did and is still doing for the family. But I never really had the chance to treat her big time. For one thing, I did not have the resources before. And when there were instances that I did have the resources, she would always decline the offer, saying it would just be a waste of money.

So this time, not to give her the time to refuse, I booked her plane ticket in advance. So I just broke it to her gently that she had to take a leave from work for two days as her ticket is non-refundable. I had booked her ticket two months in advance so she would have the time to have the whole idea sink in and well, to prepare for the trip.

For two months, there were times I would sense her excitement for the trip. But there were also times when she would express her misgivings for the whole thing, for the expense and for the time it would take her away from work. She bemoaned the fact that she would be away from her work and how the money that I would spend for her and Janin be used for a more worthwhile project. When she would get into this mood, I would immediately turn away lest we would again get into one of our arguments. In the end she lightened up especially when it was settled that Mama Fely will be joining us as well. It was one of her worries – who would be left with Mama Fely when we were away. I worried about that as well. Good thing Ate made arrangements for her to join us.

Choosing the Place. Baguio and Ilocos was one of the trip options. Actually I had a hard time deciding where to take her. But since Bolo and I had recently been to Baguio, I had certain misgivings about going there again. Ilocos is another thing though. The last time I’ve been there was some four or five years ago. So I was kind of toying with the idea. I could no longer remember how it came to be that I finally decided on Boracay. I think it had something to do with the available flights and the promo.

Boracay. I’ve never been fond of the place before. I’ve been there twice and I used to think being there once is enough. I’m fond of Panay as a whole though. I love visiting Iloilo and all its churches (especially those I have not been to yet). And I’m particularly fond of Kalibo or to be more apt, New Washington because of Sampaguita Gardens. And I had yet to visit Antique, Guimarras and Roxas City.

I’ve always been wanting to visit Roxas City. The last time I had a chance to visit Panay, I’ve been able to go to Miag-ao (one of my must-see places) despite the tight schedule I had. At that time, we were actually staying at Sampaguita Gardens for several days. Since we were real close to Boracay already, we decided to go there. But I would have rather visited Roxas City since I’ve never been there yet. Aside from the fact that I’ve always wanted to visit Pan-ay Church and its historic Bell (Biggest in Asia and third in the world). So when we finally decided on Boracay at this time, I fully intended to go Roxas City.

It was a little difficult deciding on the itinerary given the limited time we had. We only had 5 full days and I had intended we cover Roxas, Miag-ao, some other churches in Iloilo, New Washington and well, Boracay. Guimarras and nearby Bacolod sounded appealing and I know I would have squeezed them in if I only had enough time.

The trip. Landing in Iloilo on our first day, we immediately made a segue to the terminal for the bus that would take us to Roxas City. We passed by a portion of Jaro District on our way there and we saw the devastation left by Typhoon Frank. Yes, our trip was scheduled right around that time. Fortunately for us, our schedule was not on the week when the typhoon hit but around two weeks after its onslaught. Frank left such a big damage though so there were talks that Panay and Boracay would not recover in a month. Imagine that! Everything was plastered in the news and what was shown was not exactly a pretty picture. The olds were starting to voice out their concerns and so did our close friends who knew of the trip. But the owner of the resort we booked in Boracay was reassuring and so we went ahead with the trip.

It took some time before the bus left for Roxas and the ride was not exactly smooth. We arrived at Roxas at around 1 pm and we were actually starving having no decent breakfast but some packed cheese sandwiches. So we immediately hailed a cab. In Roxas, translate that to – tricycle. We headed straight to Gaisano Metro and into Mang Inasal. Ah, Mang Inasal is another story altogether. I intend to devote a separate entry just for it.

Anyway, since we intended to go around Roxas very quickly, given the limited time we had, we decided to hire the tricycle we hailed for the entire afternoon. So we practically went around Roxas city in our “tri-wheeled limousine” :)

Pan-ay Church was our objective in Roxas but since we were already close to the “Roxas Mansion” – Sen. Mar Roxas’ residence – we decided to visit is as well and take a few pictures. After which, we went straight to Pan-ay Church.

The church was located at some distance from the city proper. It took a while before we got there. I was happy to find out that the church was open. The olds and I immediately knelt down to pray. The kids however have different ideas. They were running about and shouting, much to my consternation.

I almost moaned out loud when I found out the belfry was locked. I was there for the Bell and it would certainly be a shame to miss it this time. Who knows when I’d have the time and the resources to visit again. I urged Bee to inquire at the cumvento whether we could have the belfry opened. We both did but we were informed that the caretaker left and would not be returning for some time. My heart sank but still I did not lose hope. And true enough, soon after the caretaker arrived and we were allowed entry.

The climb. It was quite a climb to the top. I got pleased and at the same time fearful when Mama displayed her enthusiasm to go up the belfry. Pleased because I was really happy for her. It also made me realize she is really hungry for such adventures and I’m glad to have been given the opportunity to give that to her. Fearful because not only was the climb long, the stairs were real steep as well. Even I had a hard time maneuvering the stairs (especially in going down!) And of course there was her hypertension to consider.

On the way up, I kept reminding her to take her time and not to rush to the top. I assured her we had all day to conquer the bell and that she should not worry about her slow ascent. Of course we did not have all day but I can’t have her sick just because I was very much a stickler for time.

And then before I knew it, we were all on the top of the belfry. The bell was huge alright and the 360 angle view of Roxas was heavenly as well. I just got a bit concerned with Baby. The place wasn’t exactly “fall-proof” and it was quite a drop from there to the ground – a no-no place for a toddler who has boundless energy. So we made sure we always had a hand on him.

On our way down, I urged Bolo to make a donation. I urged him to make a bigger donation when I saw him take a bill of low denomination. I pointed out to him that we do not know when we will be able to come and visit the church again. That could very well be the only chance we get to make a donation.

We took a few more pictures of the church when we got down. Afterwards we headed back to downtown so we could catch our ride for Caticlan. Next stop – Boracay!

Some trivia: There are several bells at the belfry aside from the big bell. If I’m not mistaken, there were 9 bells in all. The caretaker told us that during special occasions such as weddings, all 9 bells will be rang and that the sound would be heard far and wide. Hmm… talk about declaring to the world that you’ve finally tied the knot : )