Pilgrimage to Manaoag

My friend, Ate Kat; my brother, Paul; and I joined our parish's Pilgrimage to Manaoag.  Manaoag is considered to be the Pilgrims Center of the North since it's in the province of Pangasinan.

I feel really blessed because when I attended the first Friday mass for May the announcement about the pilgrimage was announced by the commentator.  I would not have learned about the pilgrimage had it been announced on a Sunday because I attend mass regularly at the Feast in Quezon City.

It was not hard to convince Paul to join me because it has been ages since we went to Pangasinan, actually, we just passed by Pangasinan on our way to Baguio City years ago.  We of course have never been to Manaoag and we all know that May is the month for Flores de Mayo which honors our Blessed Virgin.  Plus the fee for the whole trip was only P700.00 and there's a side trip to San Fabian PTA Beach also in Pangasinan.

We were at the St. Joseph's Shrine as early as 3:40 a.m. on May 19, 2012, to join the other excited parishioners in waiting for the seven chartered buses that will take us to Manaoag.

Our bus arrived at 4:30 a.m. and we left Quezon City a few minutes after. We prayed the rosary and read some bible scriptures inside the bus.  It was a long and tiring 5 hour trip to Manaoag.  We could have come much earlier had we not stopped two times for comfort room breaks  :)

my brother on board the chartered bus to Manaoag

We were instructed to explore the church grounds, buy pasalubongs and souvenirs and be inside the church for the 11:00 a.m. mass to be celebrated by Fr. Mon Eloriaga, our parish priest.  The place was full of devotees.

The facade of the church

The Shrine of Nuestra Senora del Santissimo Rosario de Manaoag  (Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag) was established by the Dominican Order in 1605.  The present church structure was built in 1901.  The ivory image of the Blessed Virgin Mary came from Spain.  Documents dating back to the 1610 attest that a farmer saw the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary holding a rosary on her right and the baby Jesus on her left hand on a tree top instructing him to build a church in the spot where she appeared.  The site of the apparition is where the church now stands.

The feast days of Our Lady of Manaoag is every third Sunday after Easter and First Sunday of October.

The place was known before as "Sapa" and became known as "Manaoag" in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  The word Manaoag comes from the word "tawag" or "calls."  Because the farmer heard the call of Our Lady before the apparition.  And every pilgrim who comes to the site is called out by the Our Lady of Manaoag.

I really feel that it was the Blessed Virgin Mary telling me clearly in my heart that it is the time for me to visit her.  I hope I can go on a pilgrimage to Manaoag yearly.

The church is full of devotees 

Our Lady of  Manaoag is the patroness of the poor, the sick and the helpless.  

Aside from the beautiful church, you can also visit the wishing well building and the candle lighting area outside the church, as well as the rosary garden, the museum and the religious shop.

This image can be found at the wishing well building

At the rosary garden, life-size statues depicting the mysteries of the rosary.

Inside the museum, various church artifacts were on display.  There's an area inside the museum where you can write down your petitions to Our Lady.

There was still so much to see at the Shrine of the Nuestra Senora del Santissimo Rosario de Manaoag but we were pressed by time that we were not able to explore everything thoroughly.  We had to be back at the bus after the mass because it was still an hour drive to San Fabian Beach where will be having our lunch.We were just grateful that we were able to hear mass at this sacred place.

I'll be back soon for my San Fabian Beach post.:)

A Day At The Avilon Zoo

It has been ages since the last time I went to the zoo.  I was only four when my parents brought me to the Manila Zoo and never been back to the zoo until now.

My siblings and I usually go out of town every time there's a holiday or long weekend break, and May 1, 2012, being a holiday, our itchy feet just can't seem to spend the day at the house.  The holiday being on a work week, we had to go to a place nearer to Quezon City so that we still have ample time to rest after a visit to whenever we want to go.

So Avilon is the place to go for this day trip.

AVILON ZOO is the largest zoological park to date in the country with a sprawling 7.5 hectares of land for the animals.  Avilon which means "land of the bird," showcased so many beautiful animals.  The place is clean and well-organized; the staff are courteous and the animals are well-fed and well-taken care of.

HOW TO GET THERE - Avilon is located at Barrio San Isidro, Montalban, Rizal.   Avilon is beside Noah's Park.  So if you have a lot of time in your hands you can also visit Noah's Park and take a swim at this beautiful resort.  My siblings and I went to Noah's Park in 2010.

How to reach Avilon?

by car - From Aurora Boulevard turn left towards the Marikina Overpass, upon alighting from the overpass this long stretch of road is known as A. Bonifacio Street. Along this road, you will pass by the Riverbank Mall, Loyola Memorial Cemetery and the Marikina Bridge. After the Marikina Bridge turn left to J. P. Rizal Avenue that will pass through Concepcion, Fairlane, Green Heights , Green Meadows and finally you will see the Welcome Arch of San Mateo, Rizal. Continue transversing this long stretch of road until you spot the Welcome Arch of Rodriguez, Rizal. You will not get lost just follow a jeepney plying the Montalban route.

Once you've entered Montalban (now called Rodriguez) be on the look out for the Total Gas Station. Turn left on the first street after the gas station and then turn right. You will see a narrow road in between a water spillway.


Cross that narrow road, turn left towards the first street, you will see a sign that says this way to Avilon Zoo  You will not missed it because there's a quarrying site near the street.

From here it will become a bumpy ride to Avilon because its just a dirt road. Just follow the signboard for Avilon Zoo and you will not be lost.

by public vehicle - ride either an FX or Jeep with a Montalban sign at Cubao, alight at Total Gas Station and then just ride a tricycle to Avilon. Make arrangements with the driver to pick you up later in the afternoon when you're about to go home because only a few tricycles pass through Avilon Zoo.

ENTRANCE FEE TO AVILON ZOO:

Adult - P300.00

Children - P200.00

Children below a year old - FREE
20% discount for senior citizens
Tour guide service - P400.00

SCHEDULE
Weekdays 8:00a.m to 5:00 p.m.
Weekends and Holidays 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

WHAT TO SEE and DO AT THE PARK - There's just too many animals to see at the Avilon Zoo. There are many species of birds, monkeys,bears,turtles,wild pigs,crocodiles; so I just picked the ones that are my favorite.

1. The wide lagoon where the black swans and wild ducks swim and roam freely, interacting with the visitors.

2. Koi fish pond - the fish pond full of colorful koi fish

3. Capybara - the capybara is the largest rodent in the world.  It is as big as a dog. Yipes! Imagined a rat as big as that inside your house.

4. This huge white tiger - my first time to see this very big tiger, very scary. This one I think is taller than me.  The tiger kept on pacing back on forth around his huge cage; I guess he was hungry and he wanted to attack and eat us. :)  This was bf's favorite. He was just amazed to see this animal.

5. This very calm leopard - The leopard was oblivious to the people staring at him.  He sat near the cage and was never interested at looking at us which was far different from the white tiger.

6. Flamingos - The flamingos were beautiful and they looked really graceful standing on one leg.

7. Black Bear - I failed to take a picture of this bear as he peels and eats the bananas being thrown at him. Visitors can feed him 4 bananas for P20.00

8. Have your picture taken with these colorful birds

9. If you want  you can have a picture with Trixie, the orangutan, too.

10. Feed the guinea pigs at the Petissimo station

Side Notes

1. Wear comfortable shoes or slippers because you'll do a lot of walking while you are at Avilon.

2. You can bring your own food to Avilon.  There's a lot of designated places you can eat around the area.

3. Bring water while touring the area especially on a hot day.  The place is really huge.  There's so much to explore.

4. There's a canteen inside the Avilon so food and water will never be problem.

5. The zoo sells koi fish and guinea pigs.

6. There's a souvenir shop inside the zoo.