Visita Iglesia (...pati na rin zoo. haha!)

My Maundy Thursday was supposedly just a rest day, as usual ...till Lou suggested (just the night before!) to do a visita iglesia all around Manila. BY FOOT. I was excited - last time I did one was during elementary - papa and mama were still so into it, we'd go church-hopping around Makati. BY CAR btw. So now, visita iglesia with a boyfriend, and by foot, is certainly something to look forward to isn't it? :P Here's what actually happened though:

We started at taft (Lou's place) -> Vito cruz -> Adriatico. Before reaching Quirino, we passed by the walls of Manila Zoo - Lou shared his childhood days, when his mom would bring him and his siblings there on some weekends, just to see animals. While me, I shared that I've NEVER been to Manila Zoo, EVER. That the first time I saw giraffes and elephants was just 2 years ago, in Malaysia. Shame on me. haha!

Then we reached the entrance of Manila Zoo. To our surprise, it was OPEN! Instantly, Lou suggested to check it out, besides, one - we've walked long enough that we need some shade for rest, two - it's cheap anyway (P40!), and three - I've never seen it. I remember standing at the entrance for a while saying, "wow, so we're going to have a date here in Manila Zoo? now??! you're the best boyfriend ever!!!" - just like a kid brought to a toy store for the first time. HAHAHA!


manila zoo's one and only elephant

my impression - there's nothing really spectacular in this zoo as they say. But contrary to what most say, most animals were actually healthy and interesting (heard rumors before that animals were either obese or too skinny). It's not so bad after all! It's just sad there's no giraffe. hmpf!

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Now back to the main course. From Manila Zoo, we passed by Quirino Ave -> Roxas -> then stopped at the first item on the list, Malate Church.


malate church

We were on time for their Last Supper. We didn't finish the program though as it was already almost 4pm. After a few prayers, we started walking again, within streets of Malate then Ermita. Then we stopped at our list's 2nd item, Ermita Church (Nuestra Senora de Guia)


ermita church

At this point I was already too tired to walk. While Lou still had the energy, we both agreed that it's been a long tiring afternoon, that coz of the energy we used up in Manila Zoo... we'll have to skip the 2 remaining churches in our list, Manila Cathedral and San Agustin Church. Oh well. I can say though it's a big accomplishment considering I'm already used to bumming around every Maundy Thursday. hehe!

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The day wasn't over though. After a few prayers in Ermita Church, we walked back to Malate via Baywalk this time. We enjoyed the sunset and the street foods: squid balls, sweet corn, lumpia, and halo-halo. It was a lot, but I never felt guilty about it. I felt like we deserve it - we've been walking the entire afternoon!!!


sunset @ manila bay :)

At the end of the day I was so thankful as I was given a chance to do this tradition again, thanks to Lou. I'm also thankful I survived the walking and the afternoon heat! This motivated me to do better next year - to wear real hiking footwear (I wore just flipflops. hahaha!), to bring an umbrella ...and to make a list of churches PLUS the prayer intentions for each — with this last goal, I believe we'll make our next visita iglesia more serious, and will therefore stop ourselves from any tempting side trips. haha! :P