The Opulent Sto. Nino Shrine

April 23, 2011
Sto. Nino Shrine, Tacloban City, Leyte

The Sto. Nino Shrine is not a church, it is actually a rest house (or castle?) built for Imelda (built from 1979-1981). The Marcoses never really stayed in this huge rest house. And according to our guide, it was only used 2-3 times for gatherings. The first floor housed a large chapel, dining area, sala area, and 13 guest rooms (each with different themes). On the second floor one will see the magnanimous ballroom, another sala area, another dining area, and the rooms of Ferdinand, Imelda and the children. Words nor pictures cannot describe how rich and grand the shrine was. One can only imagine how it was in its glory days, and how pricy it must have been. The shrine was dark, lights were only turned on by the guide as we passed through each area of the house. Bear with my pictures, but take a glimpse on the opulence of this rest house.

Each guest room had paintings of famous painters (e.g., Malang, Amorsolo)


One of the guest rooms

Nara wood carving of Malakas and Maganda


Ivory sculptures "gifts" to the Marcoses

China wares, gifts from Mao

One of the many crystal chandeliers

Huge portrait of Imelda in the Huge ballroom

One of the huge Nara chandeliers in the Huge ballroom

The dinning table that was never dined at

(China wares all over)

This big block of jade was placed in Imelda's room to counter
bad feng shui

Tacloban City Tour

April 23, 2011
Tacloban, Leyte

After our day at the beach, Apollo and Liezl took us around Tacloban and nearby places in Leyte. Here are some of the places that we saw:

Leyte Capitol Building (this was taken in the evening of April 22)

We started late the next day, headed out to Rafael's farm for lunch


On our way back to Tacloban, we passed by the foot of San Juanico Bridge


We then proceeded to the McArthur Landing Memorial in Palo


The gang enjoying the sea breeze at the McArthur Landing Memorial Park


Last stop the Sto. Nino Shrine, the Marcos' Tacloban Resthouse
(see separate blog post)

Caluwayan Getaway

April 22, 2011
Caluwayan, Samar

First post of the year :)

The first quarter has passed, and I have not been traveling as much as I would have wanted to. So far I've visited Laiya Batangas (again), here is a post of Laiya from last year. I've also been to Mt. Pinatubo with my siblings. I'll create a different post for that. In the meantime I want to share my Holy Week vacation to Leyte and Samar.

Emil and I went to Tacloban, Leyte to enjoy the holidays. Much to our appreciation Apollo and Liezl were very accommodating. The trip was all more enjoyable because of their hospitality.

Apollo, Liezl and their family took us to Caluwayan, Samar to enjoy the day at the beach. The resort is only around 45 minutes - 1 hour drive from Tacloban City proper (We got to pass the San Juanico Bridge). The Caluwayan palm island beach resort was pleasant, they had direct access to the beach, quaint cottages, pleasant ambiance, clean pool and good food. More than the beach resort, I was taken aback by the beautiful scenery of Caluwayan islet/rock formations. Emil and I went off to a banka ride to take a closer look at the islets. Below are some of the pictures, too bad we didn't have a nicer camera. Enjoy the pictures!

View from the resort

Off to a banka ride (paddle drive)

Limestone formations both on and off the mainland

Can you see the snake skin dangling?


Fishermen trying for their catch