Cebu Weekend Adventure (3D2N)

Oh! Cebu is known as the “Queen of the South”.  I have been hearing a lot about Cebu, their beaches, their food, their people, etc. During a small gathering with my friends on June of last year, I decided to ask them if they would want to travel to Cebu, since there are on-going seat sale in Tiger Airways during that time . We looked it up, and found out that it was indeed cheap. It was roughly 1,500 pesos/ pax for a round trip ticket, with both having a checked in baggage of 30-40kgs, with the travel date on the first week of February of this year.  And right then and there, we booked the tickets and slowly planned where to stay and where to go.   

The day has come and finally, we are flying to Cebu! We are all smiles and excited when we all met at the airport, everyone is really looking forward for this trip, especially me. This is not only my first time to be traveling with friends via plane, but it is also the farthest location that I will be traveling with friends. Our initial flight was 10AM, but when we got inside the waiting area, we were all shocked and pissed off to know that our flight will be delayed for 3 long hours! We went to the costumer counter to ask why and how did it happened. The person-in-charge told us that there was delay during their first flight, because of aircraft problem or some sort of.  We were all saddened by this news, merely because of the 3 hours that would be wasted by being stuck here in Manila, and we couldn’t do anything about it! While waiting, we tried to entertain ourselves by chatting around, goofing around and just enjoying each other’s company.

It was only almost an hour travel period from Manila Domestic Airport to Mactan International Airport. Just outside the airport, we saw taxi service being offered. And since we are a group of 5 people, we decided to just avail their service and they offered a van to take us to South terminal. If I’m not mistaken, the van service is 700 pesos. Since we are going to travel together and pay almost the same amount for our transportation fees, we decided to let one person hold our money- we called it sort of our community fund, and he will be the one responsible for any transportation payment need. In that case, we need no to always sum up and divide our expenses amongst ourselves along the way since we have our initial funds already.We arrived in the South terminal and chose to ride the Ceres Bus Line in going to our first destination: Oslob, Cebu.

Whale shark watching in Oslob, Cebu

The travel time from South Terminal in Cebu to Oslob, Cebu was around 3 ½ hours, and the bus fare is 145 pesos. It was already 7 or 8 in the evening when we have arrived in our stay in Oslob in Garden Stay . We paid 410 pesos/ pax  for an overnight stay. The room was big enough for our group, it was fully air-conditioned room that has 1 double deck bed, and 2 king size bed with one common restroom.  We played monopoly until midnight and turned-on all our alarms to wake us up. It was around 5:20AM the next morning when we left the Garden Stay, and the owner had us one of his helper assist us for the entire day. We were waiting for almost 20mins for any bus to pass by, but there was none. So when we saw tricycle, we asked driver to bring us to the resort where we can have our whale shark watching activity. Since it is a special trip, he demanded for an additional fee (50 pesos) and we all agreed.

 

After 20 minutes ride, we arrived at Aaron’s Beach Resort. We paid 50 pesos for the entrance fee, and 500 for the 30 minutes whale shark watching fee, which also includes the boat ride, tour guide/ photographer, snorkel  and life jacket. For the underwater pictures, you need to give them your memory card, and an additional fee of 150pesos/ group but it is unlimited shots for 30 minutes stay with the whale shark. Your time of 30 minutes will only start when you’re in the designated spot for the whale shark watching. But before that, we were first guided to the briefing area wherein the snorkel and the life jacket were distributed to us. During the briefing, two important things stuck to my mind. FIRST, putting on sun block is prohibited as it can contaminate the water and natural habitat of the whale shark. SECOND, there is a 4 meters safety zone that needs to be observed while taking underwater pictures with whale shark. 

After a few minutes, we are now heading to our designated spot for the whale shark watching. You will see a boat and a fisher feeding the whale shark and if you would take a look from above sea water, the whale shark looks small, as it was only his snout that is visible. But when are on the sea water and try to look down under the sea, my oh my! It was not small at all, its length can be compared to 2 to 3 jeepney that was put together. I even got the chance to have a picture taken during my closest encounter with the whale shark, and I can clearly remember the feeling when I accidentally kicked the whale shark because I panicked when I felt that I am really, really close to it. After that, I was pulled away, and I heard someone shouting “4 meters!”.   And that was my most exciting adventure I’ve had so far!

After our whale shark encounter, we decided to have our breakfast in the resort and we are on to our next destination: Tumalog Falls.

Tumalog Falls, Oslob, Cebu

You need to ride their “habal-habal” or motorcycle ride in going up the mountains for the tumalog falls. After the 10 minutes of motorcycle ride, we chose to walk for 15-20 minutes going up and down the road. And we reached our destination! Tumalog falls is like a hidden gem in between mountains in Oslob, Cebu. It has  like a bunch of mini waterfalls within a waterfall. With cool breeze of fresh air blowing on your surroundings; cold and clean fresh water with visible  little fish swimming freely; free-flowing fresh water gushing through the water falls like they are music to your ears; birds chirping on a breath-taking view of mother nature, it is definitely on the list of must visit places in Cebu!

Sky Adventure in Crown Regency Hotel

After packing our baggage, we rode the Ceres Bus Line going back to Cebu City. We rode taxi going to Crown Regency from South terminal. If you have lot of baggage like us, you can look for the information counter located on the ground floor and ask if you can leave you baggage and since we will be availing for the Sky Adventure, they agreed and gave us our baggage number. We chose the package of Sky walk Adventure + Edge Coaster + dinner buffet which is 900 pesos. You will be given a certificate for each ride, but photos are sold separately which is 150 pesos for a photo that is taken by their photographer. We first rode the Edge Coaster. I actually have a fear of heights, but seing the pictures posted; I thought that it would be scary for me. And so I sat together with my friend, and the ride started. At first, it was fun because you will be able to see the city view, but when it started to slowly tilt to a certain degree, I started shouting. I may sound crazy but I really did felt scared. It is not only because we are tilted on a certain degree that makes me feel like I was falling, but also the speed of the ride was really slow that we stayed for that position for a minute or less, but I felt that it was quite long time already. I couldn’t stop shouting to ease my fear. After we got out of the ride, I couldn’t stop laughing at myself for being over-acting by shouting, but hey! I have fear of heights, but I was able to manage it well, so that’s a thumbs up for me, right?

Next ride: Sky walk! It was raining that night so the wind is cold and the path walk is wet. So I was really very careful not to get slipped or anything. Both our guide were nice and full of humour. As a defence mechanism, I think I talk a lot during that time, to calm myself down. The view is really nice, since it is night time, you can see the city lights and night scenery of Cebu City, just do not try to look down if you have fear of heights like me.  It was still a fun experience! It is dinner time! We went down to their dinner buffet. They have a wide variety of food cuisine you can choose from. And I am not a good food critic, as long as my palate likes it, it will be a two thumbs up for me!

 

Mövenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu 

From Crown Regency, we rode a taxi going to our sanctuary, Mövenpick! Mövenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu is a five-star beachfront hotel located in the luxurious and tropical island of Cebu. It is said to be only 10 minutes away from the Mactan Cebu International Airport and 30 minutes from the city of Cebu. The room that we booked has 2 rooms( 1 with one king size bed, 1 with 2 separate bed), 2 bathrooms  and it has living room and dining area. It has 3 balconies. And we just had our dinner, we decided to look around the hotel. The view in the swimming pool with the lights on is really nice! We stroll down and went to the Ibiza Beach Night Club whose view is really captivating!

 Zubuchon

 

 

We stayed in  our hotel for the the entire day. But before we head back to Mactan International Airport, we had our dinner in Zubuchon – they are well-known for their Cebu Lechon, a must try food in Cebu. Without sauce needed, the lechon is still flavourful with crispy skin. As for the drink, their Kamias Juice blends best  with their cebu lechon.

Bacolod and Iloilo Food Adventure

My Bacolod food list that shouldn't be missed!

1. Calea’s Cake

“You must try their cakes, especially their chocolate cake!” This is what my friend to me not to miss during my stay in Bacolod.  They are the household name for pastries, so being known to have a sweet tooth; I definitely didn’t want to miss the opportunity to taste their well-known cakes! They are located at Balay Quince, Lacson Street, just across of the L’Fisher hotel.

2. Napolones

What is napolones? It is a small squared -sized layered desert that is glazed with sugar with custard like cream in the center. There are 2 well-known shops that sell napolones in the city. They are Merci and Bong-bong’s --  they are both well-commercialized establishment with may branches that sells “pasalubongs”,  from otap to different flavoured tarts to different kind to piyaya. They even have branches in Silay International  Airport if ever you forgot to buy “pasalubong”. One less commercialized establishment is Virgies that  can only be located in 59 San Sebastian Street , Bacolod City. They are also well-known for their napolones.

The first napolones that I’ve tasted is from Bob Pastries that is located inside Robinson’s place Bacolod. I really don’t know how to describe the taste and the feeling, all I can remember is that it really taste good for me.  

3. Guapple of El Ideal

While strolling around Robinson’s Place Bacolod, I came to pass by a mini branch of El Ideal. Their main branch is located in Silay City, wherein I wasn’t able to visit due to bad weather. So I was really happy and excited when I saw that they have a branch inside Robinson’s. I even asked and confirmed from the sales clerk if it is the real “ EL Ideal”, and indeed, it was! I ordered for the famous guapple pie. It has chunks of guava, wherein you can really taste the guava favour, and since I have been eating guava since young, two thumbs up for the taste!

4.  Erv's Cane Juice

The first time I tasted this sugar cane drink was during our tour inside The Ruins. It is freshly squeezed from sugarcane without adding any flavors or sugar on it. It is 100% pure sugarcane. The biggest size is 50 pesos, and I was surprised when I saw the same clerk from The Ruins selling this inside Robinson's Place. He still remembered and greeted me nicely. And since I really enjoyed this drink, I think I was able to buy 4 big size cup during our last 2 days stay in Bacolod!

5.  Aleah’s Tuluhan in old Pla- Pla Market

The concept of Aleah is the same as dampa here in Manila, you need to buy your food to be cook from the market, and then look for a store and ask them to cook it for you.  Aleah tuluhan is located just across the Pla- Pla Market. But beside the market, there are few more stores that cater the same service of “paluto”. I chose Aleah because I’ve read that they cheaper than the others.

Since it has been raining for the whole week in Bacolod, there are only few sea food choices. We bought ½ kgs of crab, ½ kgs. Of shrimp and ½ kgs. Of Lapu-lapu which cost 600 pesos, and “paluto” in Aleah is around 229 pesos, the bill altogether is 829 pesos. Pricey, eh? But I love how they cooked all the sea food, it was all sumptuous and good, especially the shrimp that was cooked in peanut-like sauce.

5. Manokan County (Please see http://abhuy.blogspot.com/2014/02/bacolod-iloilo-getaway-part-1.html )

Iloilo food list to try on!

1. Batchoy

The only batchoy that I left a spot on my taste buds is the misua batchoy from Netong’s. Netong’s Batchoy is located only inside the La Paz Market. It is clean with wooden furniture inside.  They even had mural painting on their wall. Great affordable food with clean surrounding and nice staff, what else could you ask for? Other stores that sell batchoy are Ted’s Oldtimer La Paz Batchoy and Deco’s La Paz batchoy which has more branches and some are even located in malls.  I tried them both, but nothing beats Netong’s Misua batchoy for me!

2. Roberto’s 

If not for Kuya Paulo( a random guy that we met during our visit in Molo Church)  I wouldn’t have known this place. Roberto’s is situated in Calle Real, near City Hall. Kuya Paulo told us that they are well-known for their jumbo siopao without any sauce needed. And so, we tried to look for it before heading to the port back to Bacolod. If you saw a store that has a long line, then you’ll know you’re on the right direction. We tried to buy one for each 4 flavours, but we only have bought 2 because the rest is already out of stock. The price ranges from 60-90 pesos depending on the flavour. The size is somewhat the same size as “Tai pao” that can be seen on Chinese restaurants in Ongpin. The taste is flavourful and when you checked the inside, it is really full of meat and other ingredients. It is worth all worth it! We even bought 2 more as our snack along the way back to Bacolod.

Bacolod - Iloilo Getaway 2014

I haven't been anywhere in the Philippines aside from my hometown and here in Manila, so I was really clueless of how the Philippines really looked like. I also saw a lot of post of my friends in social media about their travel here and there, and it makes me wonder, when will I be able to go to that place? But aside from when, more questions pooped into my head, like how much will it cost me? How can I go to those must visit places? Will my parents allow me too? ( Yes, oh yes! First, I need to ask for their permission and if that won't work, then I will try my very best to persuade them.) and lastly, will it be worth it? These mind bugging questions kept on and on, my heart really keeps beating hard for the excitement and adventure that awaits in every travel, but my mind would tell me that I don't really need to travel, it is just a waste of time and money. All of my perspective changed after I came back from Taiwan from a 5 month long study. And I told myself, IT'S NOW OR NEVER!

 
Then I got the courage to really wait for any seat sale and book anywhere that I haven't been to, and my first stop - Bacolod! This my first ever domestic flight ( Yup! This is my first!) I was able to book a promo seat sale in Cebu Pacific and I asked my mom to join me in my trip.Why Bacolod? Mainly because I saw my friends's picture of "The Ruins" in her desktop, and I was really captivated by its beauty. Another friend of mine went there recently and she gave me a lot of pointers and advices. I even asked her to check my itinerary plan for any additional pointers. My mom and I are all packed and ready to go! But days before our flight, it had been reported in the news that it would be a rainy week as there is a typhoon approaching. But still, with my fingers crossed, we flew to Bacolod.

 
It was an hour travel time from Manila to Silay International Airport, and we arrived at around 11:40AM. It was rainy so I need to change the tentative itinerary that I made. We decided to just go straight to Bacolod City. You can see vans parked just outside the airport and we asked for the van whose route is Bacolod. We hoped in and it cost us 150pesos/pax. We asked the driver to drop us straight to our hotel ( GoHotel ) located just beside Robinson’s Mall. We palnned to check-in then leave our bags. But Gohotel has a strict policy on their check-in time (2:00PM onwards) so we asked if we can bags since we are staying in their hotel. The staff agreed and so, we went onto our first destination: Manokan County! 

 
Manokan County

I first heard of this place on a TV show - Biyahe ni Drew, wherein they featured that it is a must try places to dine in Bacolod for the Inasal Chicken. We rode a Bata route jeepney ( BTW, the minimum jeepney fare in Bacolod is 7 pesos, which is a peso cheaper than in Manila), and asked the driver to drop us off in the Manokan County. It is located near SM Bacolod, and it is consists of few stores that are all catering Inasal Chicken and others. And since Bacolod is well-known for this viand, so it is A MUST TRY dish. We went inside AIDA'S MANOKAN COUNTY (since it is a well-known establish in Manokan County) . My friend told me that you should use your hands in eating for you to really enjoy the food, and so I did. They have 3 sinks and soaps inside the establishment for public use. I also observed that all the people eating really used their bare hands in eating, so I really don't mind doing it.

San Sebastian Cathedral and Negros Museum

After having lunch, we drop by San Sebastian Cathedral. The Cathedral is simple, old but well- preserved. Then we head out to the Negros Museum that is located in Gatuslao Street. We rode a jeepney going there, I totally forgot the jeepney route sign, but you can ask around. There is a 50pesos entrance fee, and it is only open on Tuesdays- Sundays at 10AM. I saw a blogger that went to the Negros Museum and posted pictures cute collection of  toys from different parts of the world. So in my excitement, I really look forward to take a look of the collection and take pictures as well. At first, we tried to tour around the museum by ourselves, and we saw vintage things from different colonies that colonized the Philippines – Spaniards, Americans and Japanese. You can also see some big paintings of locals way of living before they were colonized. I tried to look for the toy collection but we couldn’t find it, I was about to lose hope and a lady working in the museum approached us and asked if we needed a tour.  While she was touring us around, she asked me if I knew what and why they have the Masquerade Festival celebration. To my surprise, I really don’t know why. And here is WHY. She told me that during the year 1980, a boat sank and there were many Negrense died, and of that same year the sugar cane production went down. Negros Occidental is famous for the sugar cane, and it is their main economy.So the government come up with the idea of Masquerade Festival in order to uplift the spirit of their locals.

Good trivia! After sometime, I asked her if there is really a toy collection inside the museum that I read about. And indeed, there was! It was placed in a big room, located somewhere in the inside. Before we even can go inside, we were told not to take pictures, as those are all personal collections of Mara Montelibano that she had collected while traveling around the world, which she decided to donate some to the museum for public viewing. It was a bummer, but at least I got to see in the flesh of those toy collections. I was really amazed by the number of collections that she had. These are just SOME of her collection. And it is not just a piece per country that she visited, but pieces of different kinds of toys were exhibited. I really couldn’t count how many were there, and the places that she had been through. I remember seeing toys, dolls, and cute stuffs from Egypt, Russia, Monaco, Europe, US, etc.

The Ruins

After we checked- in and rested for a while, we head up to the famous “The Ruins”. We rode a Bata route jeepney - you can ask the jeepney driver to drop you off  in the tricycle terminal going to the ruins, which is located near the Pepsi Cola Factory, and ride a tricycle going to “The Ruins”. It cost us 100pesos/pax for round trip, you can ask the driver to wait for you and drive you back to the tricycle terminal. In order for me to see the changes of scenery view of “ The Ruins”, we decided to go

there at around 4:30PM. The tricycle ride is about 15-20 minutes. Luckily, it wasn’t raining when we got there, just a bit gloomy. We paid the entrance fee of 80pesos/pax. And there we are! I was mesmerized by its beauty. It is also called the “Taj Mahal of Negros Occidental” because of the love story surrounding the structure of The Ruins. After few minutes of  taking picture, Kuya called and gathered everyone and he lead the introduction of The Ruins. He was really full of  humour and funny. Then we sat and looked for a place to have our dinner while waiting for the sunset. We chose the Italian restaurant whose owner and chef is an Italian. We ordered for Bolognese and the our overlooking view is just perfect!

 

It was a rainy morning in Bacolod, but we still push through with our next destination to visit - Iloilo! We chose to go early in order to be able to leave earlier than planned. We rode the Bata route jeepney and get off in SM Bacolod. From SM, we walked for roughly 3 mins and we saw pedicab driver and he offered take us to BREDCO port. The pedicab cost us 20 pesos/ pax. When we arrived in BREDCO port, we saw few ferries that operate daily with Iloilo- Bacolod route. Sine we arrived earlier, we chose WeeSam Express as they have the 8:10AM trip. It cost us 485 pesos for senior citizen, and 585 regular fare plus 30 pesos each as terminal fee. The fare is round trip already, and the return ticket is valid for a year. We ate breakfast in Merci that is located in the port, and after a few minutes, its boarding time!

Since it is a rainy day, the sea waves are quite busy. It was my first time to ride a ferry on a rainy day. I was really a bit scared and worried, but I try not to let it show, especially to my mom. In order to calm myself down. I just put on my I-pod and listen to my music. And now, I can feel the ferry moving. It was really wavy and I can see the waves slamming onto the window of the ferry. I just closed my eyes, prayed and went back listening to my I-pod. I knew that the ferry ride would last for an hour, and I am really hoping that we could arrive in Iloilo, very soon. After 30 minutes, I felt that it was no longer wavy and the ride become smooth sailing. With lots of tensions going inside me, I decided to take a nap. And when I woke up, I can already see the iloilo river wharf -Muelle Loney, and I became excited again.

The weather in Iloilo is gloomy, with slight rain showers, which is way better than the rainy weather in Bacolod. Now, I am prepared to conquer my must see places listed in my itinerary.  All listed were different churches located in Iloilo, and since we will be staying the night, I am more determined to have all the churches be visited.

The Famous Miag-ao

We rode the San Joaquin route jeepney, and I asked to be dropped off in San Joaquin which is my initial plan to visit first. I asked for the fare and I was shocked to learn that it will cost us 120 pesos/pax. Still, we paid for the fare and went on our journey. I really thought that it was just outside the Iloilo City Proper and it won’t be that far, but we had been sitting for an hour and yet we haven't arrived to our destination. I was worried that we might get lost so when we had a stop over to pick up passenger, I asked the barker if we are almost there in San Joaquin, he replied that it is still very far. I suddenly wanted to just back out and return back in Iloilo City, but we had already traveled far enough and from what I saw, there are few jeepneys’ that are heading to Iloilo City route, and even if there is, it is full board already. At that moment, I really thought hard if I would still pursue my journey to San Joaquin for their church or just change my itinerary instead. I asked my mom's opinion, she said that she was already restless in her sit and she asked me if I would still go for it. After some thoughts, I decided and asked for the barker to drop us off in Miag-ao instead of San Joaquin. The barker agreed and returns 20 pesos/ pax. After passing towns after towns and nearly 2 hours of jeepney ride, we finally arrived onto our destination: Miag-ao!



The Church of Saint Thomas of Villanova, commonly known as the Miagao Church, is the Roman Catholic parish church of the town of Miagao in Iloilo Province and was built in 1786 by Spanish Augustinian missionaries. And it was declared as part of the UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE " Baroque Churched of the Philippines" in 1993. It was really a breath-taking scene for me, seeing up-close the details of the structure and how it had been there for years, or for a century, and is still well- preserved. It was windy outside the church and so I sat onto the stone bench located just outside the church, and I take time to inhale the fresh air that is surrounding the church, and appreciate its beauty. It really makes me wonder how it was built during the 17th century, without any use modern technology that can at least aide in construction. It was really one of the best detailed and structured church that I've seen. Travelling to and fro Miag-ao might be tiring, but for me, it was all worth it!

Molo Church  ( St. Anne Parish )

It was already 3PM in the afternoon when we arrived in Iloilo City Proper, and I decided we can still go for one church before heading to our hotel. Next on my list: Molo Church. We asked the driver to drop us off the Molo church, and there we are! It lies in front of the town square in Molo Distrcit.

"The church, which is dedicated to Santa Ana, the mother of the Blessed Virgin Margy, has larger than life images of female saints lined in two rows (eight on each side) inside the church, each standing on a pedestal attached to a massive stone pillar and under the Gothic style canopy. These saints are Sta. Marcela, Apolonia, Genoveva, Isabel, Felicia, Ines, Monica, Magdalena, Juliana, Lucia, Rosa de Lima, Teresa, Clara, Cecilia, Margarita and Marta. At the main altar is the statue of Sta. Ana teaching the scripture to the child Mary with the Holy Trinity at the top. The right side has Sagrado Corazon de Jesus, San Judas Tadeo, San Esteban and Sta. Rita de Casia. As observed by many, while the female saints are kept inside the church, the streets around the vicinity of the parish are named after the male saints, namely San Jose, Antonio, Marcos and Pedro simply showing how the Moleños give protection to the Moleñas.At the ceiling of the dome are paintings of the four evangelists." http://www.thenewstoday.info/2007/07/24/molo.church.her.story.html

Jaro Cathedral

It was Sunday, and my mom decided to have our mass in my next church to conquer: Jaro Cathderal. It was a rainy Sunday. We rode 2 jeepney before arriving in Jaro Cathedral. It is located in Jaro District, Iloilo City. " The Jaro Cathedral, formally Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral and the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Candles ( Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria), is the cathedral for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Jaro. It is located in district of Jaro of Iloilo City, in the province of Iloilo, on the island of Panay, in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. It is under the original patronage of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary. " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Archdiocese_of_Jaro

From the outside, it may look like a simple church, but when I stepped inside the church, I was captivated by
it's interior design. The entire mass I wasn't able to understand anything as they were using their local dialect,

but I was kept awake by my amusement of the cathedral's beauty. It may look like that it was newly painted walls, but the color is just vibrant to my eyes. The edges and corners of the pillars of the altar are painted gold, and the rest of the altar is like a bright pistachio green in color. But what really caught my attention was the mural paint on both sides of the altar. Pardon me, but I'm really poor with saint names and biblical events, so I can't really distinguish what or who. But the mural occupies the entire both walls of the altar, and when you look up, there is a painting of saints wherein it looks like they are looking at from above. I was really fascinated by the mural and paintings above that I wasn't able to feel that the mass is already over.




La Paz Church ( Nuestra Señora De La Paz Y Buen Viaje )

After eating batchoy in La Paz Market , we headed to La Paz Church which is a 15-20 minutes walking distance from the market.

" The La Paz Church is one of the many reasons why tourists visit Iloilo in the Philippines. This historical church, also known as the Nuestra Señora De La Paz Y Buen Viaje, was built in 1870 with the help of the Spanish friars. This church is now known as the "Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage Church", the direct translation of its Spanish name.A temporary church and convent was built in 1847 by Fr. Candido Gonzales. It was made mostly of wood, bricks and tabique pampango. Designed based on a Neoclassical-style, the current La Paz Church stands today as one of the centuries-old attractions in the city of Iloilo. This church, constructed from 1870 to 1874, was made of light materials and had to be renovated several times as the years passed." http://www.markmaranga.com/la-paz-church-our-lady-of-peace-and-good-voyage-church/