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At Anhawan Beach in Oton Iloilo

The Feminist Church

Santa Anna Church of Molo, Iloilo City is one of the most famous churches in the city. The church is dedicated to Saint Anne, the mother of Mama Mary. It is located right in front of the Molo Plaza in between Jocson and San Marcos Streets.

The first thing that makes Santa Anna church stand out is its beauty. Its architecture theme is Gothic-Rennaisance. It does not look like any other churches in area as it is the only one of its kind in terms of design that can be found outside Manila. Its two belfries is said to have 30 different kinds of bells in it.

History is another thing that makes the Santa Anna Church stand out. Yes, you may say that all churches are historical. You are absolutely right about that. But not all churches has been visited and called by Jose Rizal as “Iglesia Bonita”.

They call this church as a “feminist” church because of the 16 female saints on both sides of the church’s interior. These 16 saints are all placed on the pedestal in a Gothic-inspired canopy.

The Santa Anna Church is just a few minutes away from the airport. You can take any Molo Jeepney from Iloilo City Proper as it will in one way or the other pass by the area. Villa Jeepneys as well as Molo-Manudurriaos pass by the church too. Taking a cab is another comfortable but not so cheap option of getting there

Trenas Boulevard/ Exercise Avenue

The Trenas Boulevard  is located near the Iloilo River. Its a long road as it is from Forbes Bridge in Lapaz  all the way up to Carpenter Bridge in Mandurriao.

The road is not that straight, but the local government is working hard in trying to beautify and rehabilitate the area. While the Gaisano City part of Trenas Bulevard may not be that frequented as compared to the one in Mandurriao, both are good for joggers and other health buffs. As a matter of fact, a  lot of people would come there in as early as 4 am to jog. Taebo classes are held in Lapaz Area from 5 am to 6 am while Aerobics Sessions are held in the Mandurriao Area at around 6 pm.

Personally, I feel safer on the Boardwalk area of the Trenas Boulevard as compared to the Gaisano City area. There are a lot of people in the former as compared to the latter. Some are jogging, some are dating, some are people watching. No cars, motorcycles and pets are allowed, so be sure to leave your furry friend somewhere else if you plan to check this area out while in Iloilo City.

Last year or was it two years ago, bikes, skateboards, pets and the like were allowed here.  I don’t know who tells you what you can or can not bring. There are no Security Guards in the area. If there are, they’re probably dressed as regular people, undercover security guards.

This area is actually a 24/7 hang out corner for most people as this is open for public anytime of the day or night. There are no entrance fees, no caretakers, no administrators and the like so be sure to take care of your own belongings.

If you want to sweat it out but is too lazy  to go to the Iloilo Sports Complex, the Trenas Boulevard is surely an alternative that you ought to consider.

Getting to this place is easy. If you want to jog at the Mandurriao area, take a Leganes jeep ang get off at Marina.

The Carpenter Bridge

This is the Carpenter Bridge. Technically, it is not a bridge now but some sort of park.

It is located in between Tabucan, Mandurriao and San Jose, Molo. The park/ bridge  is somewhat linked to Trenas Boulevard, the jogging and aerobics capital of Iloilo City.

Getting there is easy. You can take a cab and tell them to take you at the Carpenter Bridge. If they do not know where that is, tell them to take you to Saviour Hospital then. The bridge is just a stone’s thrown away from the hospital. You can also take a regular jeepney in going there, the common jeepney routes are “Tabucan Mandurriao”.

The bridge is short. I’m poor in Math so don’t expect me to give you ballpark figure in KM or whatnot. But I am certain of its shortness, from one end to the other end, it will probably take you less than 5 minutes walk. That’s how short it is.

Benches are scattered here and there on its left side. On its right side are concrete benches with some plants, a pass-able garden. At its center is the marker. It will give you a short history of the bridge, who and why it is named after Governor Carpenter and the like.

Iloilo is in need of clean, well-maintained and safe parks. While each and every town and district may have their own plazas, some of them are not that safe and clean. It is a good thing that the local government decided to rehabilitate and transform the Carpenter Bridge into a small park. I just hope that they put a security guard or  personnel in charge who will maintain the park’s beauty, safety and cleanliness.

Isla de Gigantes: An Adventure of Gigantic Proportions

The northern part of Iloilo is where the best beaches are. Our trip to Isla Gigantes in Carles Iloilo is made possible with the help of Maane and Christian. There are 18 of us plus Christian and his 3 friends. I did not count them in because the 4 of them stayed at a different house, the used a different boat so basically they were a different group.

Isla Gigantes is not a beach resort. It is an island with 3 Baranggays, I think. We knew about this as we had several meetings before actually coming there. This is why we prepared for the “worst”. We thought there’d be no potable water there, we thought there would be no electricity there, we even thought there would be no “people”  there.

Imagine our disappointment when we arrived at a small fishing village with houses, sari-sari stores and the like. It’s not really disappointment but more like a relief. There was potable water, there are generators and there are people there, lots Of them.

Maane’s cousin Small served as our guide. He met up with us at the Estancia Fishing Port. Everyone of us were in our “summer clothes”. By summer clothes I mean shorts, t-shirt, slippers, tank tops and the like. Imagine our surprise when we saw Small was coming our way in Black Polo Shirt, Jeans and Rubber Shoes. Either he was overdressed or we were undressed.

From Estancia Fishing Port, the boat ride took about 2 hours. By the time we got there, I was badly burned. The Sun in Northern Iloilo is probably more cruel as compared to the Sun in the city.

We stayed at Maane’s Uncle’s House. They had a small kubo at the back of their house, we left our belongings there. We had tents so sleeping would be no problem at all. We are free to pitch our tents at the shore. Other than storage purposes, we used the house of Maane’s uncle for bathing, his kitchen for cooking and the like.

Summer season in the island is synonymous to El Nino, fresh water is scarce but hospitality isn’t. Neighbors with wells and water pumps allowed us to bathe in their place. They even let us use their bathrooms. There’s this one woman who would even pump water for us. Of course, we declined her offer.

If you know someone from this place, bugging the living daylights of him or her to take you to this place is worth it. If you do not know anyone in there, it is best to go to Carles as there are a lot of resorts in there. They offer island-hopping tours. If you really want to camp like we did, it is best to befriend Maane or Christian.