Quaere Verum

Went on a 400+ km back-and-forth road trip last weekend to Manaoag, Pangasinan, to visit the shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag . The trip took about four hours or so in one direction (including stopovers) via NLEX, SCTEX and Tarlac. Had my car blessed, attended mass, and after taking a few photos, turned around and went back to Manila. It was a fairly pleasant road trip, and the car held up pretty well at highway speeds, managing a frugal 17 km/l. Went back home with a few souvenirs, a few kilos of green mangoes, watermelons, garlic, a bottle of fish sauce (patis) and some shrimp paste (alamang) . All-in-all we spent more than 12 hours on the road, but it was all worth it just to be able to make the pilgrimage. It's a trip I probably wouldn't mind making again. Facade of the Our Lady of Manaoag Church. Nuestra Señora del Santissimo Rosario de Manaoag. Patroness of the sick, the helpless and the needy. This statue dates back to the early 16th century. Image of the Blessed Virgin c...

I needed a break. So yesterday, on a whim, my son and I sought out the La Mesa Eco Park which I was told was located close by, in Fairview in Quezon City. Little did I know that it was only about a ten minute drive from our house. The way to the park is a bit unassuming, since you have to enter East Fairview, which is actually a private residential subdivision. Though we haven't been to the place before, it wasn't actually that difficult to locate. We traversed the main street named Marlboro street (all of the streets in this subdivision are named after cigarette brands) and after following the signs, we ended up crossing the top of the La Mesa Dam before going downhill to the park area itself. For some reason, picture taking wasn't allowed along the length of the dam itself. Of course, that didn't really deter us. :-) One of the reservoir's risers. Current water elevation. The Eco Park is situated at the foot of the dam, smack dab in the middle of the La Mesa water...