It has been a while since I last traveled and I was a bit sad when I was not able to travel during my birthday. I have just been so busy with work , studies, relationships and life in general, that I just needed to focus and forget about traveling. But now, that I have gone through all of them, I finally had the chance to plan for a trip. Yay! It was nearly December when AirAsia had promo fares for Cagayan de Oro. So, I immediately asked my friend, if she wanted to visit Bukidnon with me- and she said yes!
While we were at the airport, already checked-in, it was announced that our flight will be delayed. Bummer. I was the one who made our itinerary (as always) so I knew the consequences right away. If we land in Laguindingan airport past 3pm, there's no way we can do a sidetrip to Ma.Christina Falls anymore. From the airport, it would take us an hour to reach NPC power plant in Iligan by bus. Surely by that time, the plant would be closed. We also did not want to stay overnight in Iligan because we already booked an early trip to Bukidnon on our second day. There was no room for a Ma.Cristina Falls tour on our third day either because it's our last day and we only have a few hours left to spend before our 1pm flight back to Cebu. So it was either we go to Iligan on our first day or we don't go at all. With heavy hearts, we boarded the plane past 2pm and convinced ourselves that we won't be seeing the majestic falls this time. But on the back of my mind, I secretly hoped for a miracle.
When we touched down at Laguindingan airport, we hurriedly approached their tourism counter and asked if we could still see Ma.Christina Falls. And the answer was a big fat NO. It was already 4pm-- it was indeed closing time. With Iligan out of our itinerary, we decided to proceed to CDO and find something else to do on our first day. So off we go to the parking area of the vans/coasters and asked around for a ride to the City of Golden Friendship. Inside the van, I searched for our printed itinerary in my bag and saw information about the Divine Mercy Shrine in El Salvador City. A place that was accessible on the way to CDO. Perfect!
El Salvador City, Misamis Oriental
[Dec.13, 2013]
When we arrived at the Shrine, we realized, we were meant to be here. Yes. We needed to visit the Divine Mercy Shrine before going any place else. I seemed to have forgotten that it was customary (for me at least) to visit a church as soon as I land in my travel destination. It was always better that way. Thank you Lord for leading us here and for keeping my friend and I safe.
We had to ride a motorcycle from the main road to take us to the shrine.
At the gate, we were asked to don long skirts that goes down to the ankles.
We obliged and ascended the stairs leading us to.....
this solemn garden with a great view!
It was a wonderful sunny afternoon with not much people around.
Later, we discovered that there was an ongoing mass inside this crown of thorns-inspired church.
Outside the church were stories on tarps that spoke of the miracles of the Divine Mercy.
This statue of Jesus was huge and I was surprised to see a staircase leading up to its chest.
Then I knew, there was a prayer room up there. However, we were not able to come up and see the room ourselves because it was closed at that time.
Amazing landscape with different hues of green. (I blend in!)
We took our time and explored the whole place.
It was really serene and very suitable for reflection and prayer.
This was my favorite spot. Isn't it very lovely? I just stood here for several minutes and reflected on a lot of things that I recently went through. This view also made me hopeful about the things to come and made me ever more grateful about everything.
Candles colored according to your intentions.
Lighting of candles were only allowed outside the shrine. So we lit a few candles before we left.
This trip is just getting started. Off to Bukidnon the next day!
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