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This year, I'm celebrating my birthday on a Good Friday - a major day of reflection, fasting, and abstinence for most people in my circle. So that means, I'm no longer obliged to plan a dinner/throw a party for my friends. The Ilocano in me is overjoyed. Haha! I have plans, though, to head south to charming San Pablo to immerse in the local culture.
This is not the first time I'll spend the holy week in this town. The first one was in '06 for a very spontaneous Easter weekend trip with Anj and Rose to gate-crash the annual Danila family reunion. Green-water rafting at Lake Pandin was one of the highlights of this trip. The second and last one was our Visita Iglesia - Viaje del Sol edition in '08, and that's when we visited 7 beautiful churches in the towns of Los Banos, Calauan, Bae, San Pablo, Nagcarlan, and Liliw. The highlight, of course, was neither the visit to the churches nor the scrumptious buffet at Kusina Salud. It was my leaving Kat's car keys insider her car and locking ourselves out! The Catholic faithful believe that God grants one wish to anyone who completes the visita iglesia, and I proved it when we found Dindo, a super locksmith from San Pablo, to unlock the driver's door with a metal wire. LOLOLOL
This year, I need this to be truly stress-free, so R and I have decided to stay overnight at the quaint and artsy Casa San Pablo. I find the place conducive for rest and meditation based on pictures. Just no close encounters with reptiles and amphibians, please. :P I'm also happy the inn-keepers maintain a blog, where I got to know not only about the place, but also the town's history, holy week rituals and their just as interesting back-stories. I look forward to meeting them and joining their Good Friday tour.
So many things to look forward to within the next couple of weeks. It's been months since I got this excited. :) Here's to hoping that I really get to reflect on things I need to do to become a better human being. Adv Happy Easter, y'all!
This is not the first time I'll spend the holy week in this town. The first one was in '06 for a very spontaneous Easter weekend trip with Anj and Rose to gate-crash the annual Danila family reunion. Green-water rafting at Lake Pandin was one of the highlights of this trip. The second and last one was our Visita Iglesia - Viaje del Sol edition in '08, and that's when we visited 7 beautiful churches in the towns of Los Banos, Calauan, Bae, San Pablo, Nagcarlan, and Liliw. The highlight, of course, was neither the visit to the churches nor the scrumptious buffet at Kusina Salud. It was my leaving Kat's car keys insider her car and locking ourselves out! The Catholic faithful believe that God grants one wish to anyone who completes the visita iglesia, and I proved it when we found Dindo, a super locksmith from San Pablo, to unlock the driver's door with a metal wire. LOLOLOL
This year, I need this to be truly stress-free, so R and I have decided to stay overnight at the quaint and artsy Casa San Pablo. I find the place conducive for rest and meditation based on pictures. Just no close encounters with reptiles and amphibians, please. :P I'm also happy the inn-keepers maintain a blog, where I got to know not only about the place, but also the town's history, holy week rituals and their just as interesting back-stories. I look forward to meeting them and joining their Good Friday tour.
So many things to look forward to within the next couple of weeks. It's been months since I got this excited. :) Here's to hoping that I really get to reflect on things I need to do to become a better human being. Adv Happy Easter, y'all!