Northern Samar: Visita Iglesia Northern Samar

There are still a few number of colonial churches left in Northern Samar. So you could go on a visita iglesia around the province.


On top of the list is the fortress church of Capul Island. The Capul Church is dedicated to San Ignacio de Loyola. It was built by the Jesuits by the 18th century and renovated by the Franciscans in the late 19th century. For more information, on how to get to Capul Island, read Capul Island's lighthouse and old fortress church.



Visiting the rest of the churches is very straightforward. Most of the churches only have their exteriors relatively intact. You can begin at the Bobon Church (dedicated to the Sto. Nino) and then proceed to the Catarman Cathedral. Nothing much is left of the original church except the main retablo.



Next on the list is the Pambujan Church. In the next town is the Catubig Church which probably has the most interesting facade and exterior among all Northern Samar churches. The last stop should be the Laoang Church. But since we visited Pinipisakan Falls in Las Navas, the sun had already set before we made that ferry crossing from Rawis to Laoang.

Northern Samar: Capul Island's lighthouse and old fortress church

Capul Island in Northern Samar is most known for its lighthouse and old church. There are daily pump boat services from Allen. There is usually one trip early in the morning and another early in the afternoon. The boat ride is a little over an hour.

Unless you’re hiring your own boat, you definitely have to stay overnight in Capul Island. A trip to Capul is definitely not for those who are not adventurous. There aren’t that many places to stay in Capul. In fact, we went on homestay while we were there. You can easily ask the habal-habal driver to take you to one.


Before proceeding to the lighthouse, we checked out the town’s fortress church. The walls that comprise the fort are still intact, a stark reminder of how pirate attacks were a major consideration and problem during the Spanish colonial period.

The Capul Church is dedicated to San Ignacio de Loyola. It was built by the Jesuits by the 18th century and renovated by the Franciscans in the late 19th century. The fortified church is in good condition but the interior and convent were renovated after damage by typhoons.


The Capul Lighthouse is several kilometers on the northern tip of the island. Again, we had to hire a habal-habal to get us there.

Sadly, the Faro de Isla Capul is very rundown and badly in need of attention. But the view from the cliff where it stands is so picturesque, with strong waves crashing on large coral rocks down below. It’s actually perfect for a picnic.

There aren't that many places to eat dinner, just one or two carinderias. And make sure you eat early since the food supply does not last long. Remember also that by 12 midnight, electricity is shut down. So make you charge your phones before midnight.

Part 1: Busay, Veriato, Pinipisakan and more waterfalls from Northern Samar

Northern Samar: Busay, Veriato, Pinipisakan and more waterfalls from Northern Samar

Northern Samar is one of those rarely explored provinces which have so much to offer. For those on a bus ride all the way to Davao, the town of Allen, Northern Samar is, more often than not, merely a gateway to Southern Philippines. But given the chance, there's a lot to see and do there.

For one, there are a lot of waterfalls, attractions which are also plentiful in neighboring Samar, particularly Calbayog City, the City of Waterfalls. Some of the waterfalls are accessible by road. Others require treks. While others require boat rides upstream to get to.



Busay and Veriato Falls in San Isidro are among the falls accessible by road which I got to visit during my recent trip. I had visited Veriato Falls as well during a previous trip to Calbayog City. Another waterfall in San Isidro which requires trekking would be Kangpongkol Falls. Looking at photos, it reminds me of Bangon-Bugtong Falls.



On the opposite end of the province, in Las Navas, is Pinipisakan Falls. If you arrive early, you could consider a trek to it. But you can hire a banca and go on a 45-minute boat ride to the falls. It's not really that impressive. I guess it's the canopy of green around it which makes it feel quite refreshing when you're there. If you have more time to trek, you could go even higher up the river to Ginagatusan Falls.

There are more waterfalls in Northern Samar which includes Lulugayan Falls in Bobon, Matikawol and Bag-ot Falls in Gamay, Bangon and Malarag Falls in San Roque, and Victoria, Budoy and San Abner Falls in Victoria. You can contact the provincial tourism office to find out how to get to the different falls.

Northern Samar Tourism Office
info@northernsamartourism.ph
+63 55 2518292
+63 55 5009124

Longaniza Leyte (Bato)

The Leyte version of longaniza is sweet (or matamis). Each link is further divided into three shorter links shaped like balls. This Leyte longaniza is from the Bato Public Market. The one being grilled in the lower photo is available at stalls beside the Bato Port Terminal.

Main article: Longanizas of the Philippines

Leyte: Stranded in Leyte! Some tips if you do get stranded

Yesterday, despite it being a relatively sunny day in Leyte, all ferry services were canceled because storm signal no. 1 was raised over the area. I had to be back in Cebu in the evening so I was desperate. I had made a reservation on the 12:30 p.m. trip back to Cebu and was in the port at 9:30 a.m. in time for the 10 a.m. cut-off for reservations. Golden Breeze Shipping sells tickets at 8 a.m. on the day of the trip so they implement a reservation system for people who want to book early. This would later turn out to be a lifesaver.

After confirming with the ship company that the fast craft was no longer traveling that day, I got their contact numbers and decided to try my luck in Ormoc. There are ship services in Maasin, Bato, Hilongos, Baybay and Ormoc going to Cebu but they usually leave in the evening. Ormoc has several daily fast craft trips as well.

What aggravated the situation was that it was a very heavy travel day. It was the day when students, workers, and everyone else was trooping back to Cebu after the long vacation. So everything was fully-booked! Those with tickets on Sunday were unlucky because they had to rebook their tickets to the next available day. In Ormoc, the next available day was Tuesday!

Now I know how it feels to take public transportation during the end of a long holiday. I had to go from one shipping company after another to check for space. But they were all fully-booked! When I realized there was no way I could travel yesterday, I remembered my reservation in Bato. So I called them up to find out what would happen to the reservations. It turned-out those who reserved on Saturday will be given first priority today. But again, I had to be there before the 10 a.m. cut-off. So this reservation was my earliest option back to Cebu.

So after finishing my rounds of downtown Ormoc, I took a van back to Bato. Again, we waited in the van and didn’t leave the terminal until they stuffed us like a can of sardines, four people to a row! It was good several people went down along the way so I was able to transfer to the front and was comfortably seated for the rest of the trip.

Bato is a relatively small town so accommodations are very basic. Someone had taken the only air-conditioned room in the pension house (which I expected with so many people stranded so I had to make do with an electric fan and stuffy air). I could have opted to stay in Maasin for the night but didn't want to risk staying far anymore.

I was told that there was a ship leaving from Bato that night so I rushed to the port to see if I could get on it. But as expected, it was fully-booked and the only way I could have gotten on board was to battle it out with the horde of stranded passengers all hoping to get a seat on the ship. Even at the ticket booths, lining up did not exist. I think the port authorities should start instilling discipline by strictly enforcing queuing for tickets.

So I decided to just go to bed since I was sure of getting a ticket on board the fast craft trip today. I called at 6:30 a.m. to make sure that there was a trip today. At 8 a.m., I was at the port. I noticed the other windows had people pushing their way to buy tickets. It was chaotic! I was comfortably seated but after seeing that, I decided to stand near the window of Golden Breeze so I was there before it opened which turned out to be a good decision.

By the time they opened, there was a big crowd behind me and people started pushing to give their IDs or pieces of paper with their names on it. I thought they were giving it for new reservations but it turns out it was for the tickets. The lady was comparing the names on the IDs to the reservation list and would issue tickets if they were there. So I argued to the lady that I was second in line and she should issue my ticket first. Good thing she gave in seeing me in front of the window when she entered and recognizing me from the day before and immediately issued me a ticket. Port authorities really have to enforce order and discipline by requiring people to line up!

After getting my ticket, I had to push and shove my way out since those at the back were jostling to get to the window. Since the trip was still at 12:30 p.m., I rested a bit at the hotel, explored Bato and discovered a local cassava-based puto cooked like puto bumbong.

I was at the port at 11:30 a.m. knowing that getting a good seat would mean making sure I was first in line (I have motion sickness which is why I want comfortable seats every time I travel). By 12:30 p.m., the scheduled time of our departure, the boat had not arrived. So I called the office to check what happened. The boat was delayed since the first trip was delayed.

There was a morning trip from Camotes to Cebu before the boat traveled from Cebu to Bato. In Camotes, it was chaotic because even those without tickets rushed on board causing the Coast Guard to hold the ship. All passengers had to get off again and get on board properly and it took quite a while before the Coast Guard gave them the go signal to set sail. Talk about discipline! I guess people were desperate since Camotes was also included in the storm bulletin of PAGASA. But that was no reason to act stupid. Anyway, the new ETD was now 3 p.m.

So I decided to have lunch at a sugba (ihaw-ihaw) hut at the port. I had isaw, barbeque and the local longanisa which they refer to as soriso. By 2:30 p.m., still no ship in sight so I called again and they said the ETD was now 4 p.m. It started to drizzle, so I decided to stay at the pension house and watch TV. I went back at 3:30 p.m. and took a nap on top of sacks of parafin wax while waiting at the port. At 4 p.m. still no boat.

To make the long story short, it started raining when the boat arrived at 6:15 p.m. and I had to join the crowd of people all overly eager to get on board. We were all drenched! And as if to spite us, it stopped raining when everyone was on board. It was indeed an adventure and looking back, it was stressful while it lasted, but exciting and fun thinking about it.

Here are things I learned and which you might want to keep in mind when traveling by sea:

1. Having the contact number of the shipping company, or even better, the person at the ticket office or the company representative at the port, can come in handy in emergency situations. So if you think a storm is brewing or if it’s the end of a long holiday and everyone will be traveling back, you might want to ask for phone numbers to contact in case of emergencies. Since I had the mobile number of the port representative, it eased my anxiety and I was able to plan my options better.
2. List down time schedules of various shipping lines so you can plan your options. It works well if you get delayed going back to the port. You’ll know if you can still catch a trip back or if you’ll need to come up with an alternative.
3. Make sure to reserve or purchase your return ticket in advance, especially during long holidays. You don’t want to get stranded, believe me!
4. Always check the weather forecasts. Remember that there is a new rule in place. The Coast Guard will not allow any marine vessel to travel when there is a storm signal raised even if it is sunny.
5. Avoid traveling at the start and end of long weekends and holidays since everyone else is traveling. I usually avoid it. But I somehow forgot it in this situation because I was too excited and paid dearly for it.
6. When taking a ferry service, it’s best to come early, especially if there are no assigned seats. Chance passengers will be waiting for no shows. So show up before the designated boarding time if you don’t want your slot given away.
7. Expect the worst, hope for the best. You’ll always have to maintain an open mind, keep your composure and be patient if your trip does not go as planned. You’ll achieve nothing by being emotional and it will just add to your stress. Be ready to come up with a contingency plan.
8. At the end of the day, when there is nothing else you can do, just make the most out of your situation. My time wasn’t wasted because I was able to explore more, discover some local fare, and got more than what I bargained for.

Southern Leyte: Malitbog, Maasin and more from Southern Leyte and Leyte

There are more churches to visit in Leyte and Southern Leyte. But given my limited time, I had to select the best-preserved ones. Since I had to be back in Bato by 10 a.m., I had to start the day early to visit Malitbog, also in Southern Leyte, which is a little over an hour from Maasin by public transport.

The first bus passed by shortly after 4:30 a.m. and I was there a few minutes before 6 a.m. just in time to hear the church bells calling people to church for Sunday Mass. The church is one of the best-preserved churches in Leyte Island since even the main retablo and side altars are intact. Centuries-old acacia trees lined the street leading to the church.

The town has several ancestral homes still standing and a watch tower that had been converted into the municipal police station and jail. Now that’s adaptive reuse! But I think the exterior should be improved since the old stone was painted over to sport that standard white and blue PNP look which looks bad on heritage structures.

Since I was running after time, I took the first jeep going back to Maasin. Along the way is the town of Padre Burgos. I noticed a lot of dive resorts which is also frequented by foreigners. There are ruins of the old church in the town center but there is nothing much left so I didn’t stop over anymore.

Back in Maasin, since the sun was out (it was drizzling yesterday), I decided to walk around and check out the old houses. I was depressed to see one of the better looking old houses giving way to another ugly nondescript building. We really should protect these architectural gems since they add character to our otherwise boring cities.

I stopped by the Cathedral again before proceeding to the transport terminal to get a van back to Bato. They really stuff those vans like crazy! Each row had four people in it! I think the appropriate government agency should regulate these vans for overloading.

Vans are much faster since the drivers like crazy as well (and not much stopping). So I was in Bato in a little over 30 minutes. I arrived at the port in time to find out that trips all over Leyte were canceled due to the typhoon. Although it was sunny in Leyte, PAGASA had declared signal number 1 all over the region. And with the new rule grounding all shipping services when there is a storm signal, despite it being a sunny day, all ferry services to Cebu from Maasin to Ormoc were not allowed to leave. So I was stranded! That story deserves another post.

Anyway, I thus got to visit Baybay City which also has a well-preserved church (again with a modernized altar) a classic Gabaldon school and several ancestral homes. In fact, I reached Ormoc City trying to look for a ride back to Cebu and got to explore a good part of the city center.

Nothing much is left of the Ormoc Church except for a remnant of a bastion that was part of the church fortifications. Behind the City Hall is an old Spanish-colonial bridge which I was happy to see was preserved for all to see. I went back to Bato, an hour and thirty minutes by van from Ormoc, where I decided to stay for the night.

Part 1: Visita iglesia in Leyte and Southern Leyte

Leyte & Southern Leyte: Visita iglesia in Leyte and Southern Leyte

Few people realize that Leyte island has a lot of centuries-old churches. Since I was in Cebu, I decided to make a sidetrip to Leyte and Southern Leyte since there are convenient ferry services to various points on the island. I had wanted to go straight to Maasin, Southern Leyte but there were no fast crafts available. So after walking from one pier to another (the port of Cebu has several passenger terminals that service various areas), I found a ferry service to the nearest port to Maasin which is Bato, Leyte.

I spent PHP300 for the fast craft trip that was scheduled to leave at 9 a.m. It was a bit rainy and I was told they were still deciding whether to set sail or not since the water was a bit rough. But we left, albeit a few minutes late, and arrived in Bato at about 12:30 p.m. We had to pass a slightly different route to avoid rough waters so the trip was 30 minutes longer.

From Bato, I backtracked to the town of Hilongos which has a fortress church. I immediately noticed the bastions and ramparts and walls of the fort. Don't be fooled by the current church. The good thing about Hilongos is that when they built the new church in the 1960s, they did not demolish the ruins of the old church which was destroyed during the Philippine-American War. It's the orientation which changed, the remnants of the old church now forms the transcept of the new church. And the old facade can be seen inside the school grounds.

My next stop was Matalom, the town after Bato. Its church is also well-preserved except for the altar. It also has a detached convento which is equally-preserved. Behind the town hall is a square watch tower.

Maasin City is right after Matalom. But it's quite a distance. And on the usual rickety public bus, It will take you about an hour to get there with all those stops to pick-up passengers. One thing you have to take into consideration when taking public transport in these parts of the country is the waiting time for a bus or jeep to arrive.

I was in Maasin before sundown and got to visit the Maasin Cathedral (again, the altar has been altered) before looking for a place to stay for the night. Before calling it a night, I visited a store that sells bocarillo (dried coconut candy) in Barangay Ibarra, several kilometers from the city center.

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Leyte: Binagol, moron and other Leyte treats

Day 7, my last day in Eastern Visayas... I stayed in the hotel the whole morning since it was raining cats and dogs. It was a pity since I wanted to explore Palo. Anyway, after lunch, my brod Gil passed by for me at the hotel and we stopped by an area along Zamora Street near the corner of Rizal Street where vendors sell binagol, moron and sagmani.

Binagol is a mixture of talyan (a type of root crop similar to gabi), coconut milk and sugar placed in coconut shells or "bagol" and steamed inside. This is made in the town of Dagami. Chocolate moron is suman made of ground rice cooked in coconut milk flavored with cocoa. Sagmani is another suman made of cassava, gabi or sweet potatoes cooked with coconut cream, sugar and sometimes coconut meat.

We also passed by the Leyte Capitol and the Sto. Nino Shrine. As much as I wanted to enter the shrine, the tickets cost P200 for the first five people. Talk about pricing! We should fry the PCGG for this!

Anyway, my flight was still at 4:50 p.m. but we decided to go to the airport early since there was nothing much we could do given the weather. I'm sure to go back to Eastern Visayas if time and funds permit and when the sun is out most of the time. I heard rainy season here starts in November. There's still a lot to be seen and its a pity I missed Southern Leyte too.

Biliran: More waterfalls in Biliran

Biliran is an island province at the northern tip of Leyte. And just like Samar, it's connected by a bridge so there's no need for a boat ride.

From Tacloban, I took a van to Naval which was about 3 hours away. I took some photos at the Biliran Bridge. They don't make infrastructure with character nowadays. If there's one thing I liked about Marcos, he made infrastructure grand such as the San Juanico Bridge, and not like the ugly, kitsch infrastructure our current DPWH churns outs.

The next day, I took a habal-habal ride to Tinago Falls. The drivers charge so much here in Biliran, it's so difficult to get to these out-of-the-way places without creating a big hole in your pockets. The local government should enforce standard rates to get to these places to save tourists from the hard-bargain, especially since they are vigorously promoting their many attractions which are most definitely worth the visit.

There are more waterfalls such as Casiawan Falls, Casabangan Falls, Bagongbong Falls, etc. and the Mainit Hot Springs in Caibiran. Just like Camiguin, they also have a sandbar in Higatangan Island here in Naval. I'm saving them for my next trip. The weather cooperated with me while I was in Biliran since the sun was out. But when I got back to Tacloban, it was raining again. More photos in Multiply.

Samar & Northern Samar: Chasing waterfalls in Samar

Day 4 of my Eastern Visayas trip was around Calbayog, known as the City of Waterfalls. So it's a shame if I didn't visit at least one. After going around the city's historic core, I proceeded to the terminal to take the jeep to Allen. The jump off point in Brgy. Tinaplacan is an hour away, halfway between downtown Calbayog and the port town of Allen in Northern Samar. Looking at the map, Calbayog is almost twice as big as Biliran Province!

I ended up in Brgy. Bugtong, a few meters from Tinaplacan. The waterfall is in the territory of Bugtong but you need to pass through Tinaplacan. It's 3 kilometers from the road. And the locals suggested I hire a habal-habal so I have a guide to the falls which turned out to be a good idea since the path was very muddy. The motorbike actually slipped and we fell off on the way there. Luckily, I escaped with minor scratches.

To get to the main falls, you had to walk on several cascades. There were some slippery parts so I had to take off my shoes. I injured my toe when I slipped on one of the rocks which left me limping for several days. Good thing I had the guide with me since it was really difficult to walk on the rocks.

I asked around if there was another falls nearby and the driver brought me to the next town (the next province too) San Isidro, Northern Samar. Veritao Falls, is in Brgy. Veriato, one of the boundary barangays.

I was planning to stay over in Allen so that I could visit Capul and Biri Islands. But since the weather wasn't cooperating, I decided to abort that plan since I didn't want to ride a pump boat for over an hour with strong waves. I took a jeep back to downtown Calbayog and since I was wet from the rain, I decided to ride on top. That was a great experience and it was fine until it started to rain again just when my clothes where getting dry. What the heck! So I just stayed up the jeep while it was raining cats and dogs.

From Calbayog, I took a bus back to Tacloban City. For dinner, we went to Calle Zaragoza Cafe owned by my brod Gerry Ruiz. The meals were very cheap. The bulalo and ribs were under P100 each. We also checked out the ihawan that are set-up along Rizal Street in the evenings. Reminds me of Larsian in Cebu City. I'll definitely get a bite there when I arrive Cebu next week.

Eastern Samar & Samar: From Guiuan to Catbalogan

From Borongan, we drove to Guiuan which was an hour away. The church there is a national cultural treasure. Before visiting the church, we had lunch at Aling Celing's in the market. We had kind of shell called sambong among others.

Entering the church outside Mass hours is not that easy since they are very protective after incidents of theft. But we got in thanks to some through channels. Aside from being relatively intact, what is unique about the church are the shell ornamentation in the transepts and the baptistry.

If only I had more time, I would have wanted to visit Calico-an Island, the surfers' haven of Eastern Samar. But it looks like I'll have to save that for another day.

After checking out the church, we proceeded to Balangiga to check out the church and monument. We've all heard about Balangiga Massacre and the quest to return the bells to the town. In Balangiga, I boarded a bus to Samar Province.

My plan was to sleep in Catbalogan for the night which was a long way to go. But first, I dropped by the town of Basey to check out the church. The old church in Basey is the most intact colonial church in Samar Province. Outside the church were a group of kids playing and they were excited about my camera and egged me on to take their photos which I happily did to satisfy their curiosity. If I only had time and funds, I would have checked out the caves of Sohoton, also in Basey. But you'll need a whole day to do that.

There's no direct transport to Catbalogan. So I had to try my luck by rushing back to Tacloban's Abucay Terminal to find a van. Another option was to wait at the foot of San Juanico Bridge but it was risky since it was getting dark and I might not find a ride. Good thing I caught the last van which left a little past 6 p.m.

They warned me the roads were bad. But I didn't realize they were that bad. I felt like I was on a speeding moon buggy. From Calbiga to Catbalogan, potholes were like craters on the moon and I pitied the suspension of the van as the driver sped across the bad road.

In Catbalogan, I had dinner at Tony's Kitchen. But I didn't realize that serving sizes were for groups. So I had to eat the sizzling steak all by myself. After dinner, I went around the nicely lit Samar Capitol.

The next day, I went around Catbalogan before taking a bus to Calbayog City. More photos in Multiply.

Eastern Samar: Overnight in Borongan, Eastern Samar

They call Borongan, Eastern Samar the City of the Golden Sunrise. I finally arrived there after a four-hour van trip from Tacloban City. I asked the van to drop me off at the beach house of my brod, Councilor Jesse Solidon, where I was to stay for the night.

After getting settled, we took a pump boat to nearby Divinubo Island where they are currently organizing an eco-tourism project among the locals.

Aside from it's white sand beach, I was told that behind the island (the side facing the Pacific), there were caves as well as a light house. But since it was getting dark, we could no longer hike to that side. What is peculiar about the island is that during low tide, you can walk to it since a land bridge of coral rocks emerges. This I saw for myself the next morning.

Borongan has a lot of potential as an eco-tourism destination. It's a good place to invest for surf camps. In fact, locals were surfing when I arrived. There are several waterfalls in the city inlcuding Tres Marias, Masakpasak, Hinahanginan, Binabalarawan, Cansoriyaw, Mono, Pangi, Tagpuyucan, Bihid, Kaputian and Tumaligis Falls. There are several caves to explore too. You can also go white-water rafting (that's if you have your own raft since no one has set-up there yet). And I was told the coral reefs are also worth the dive.

I slept early since I literally did not have any sleep the night before. Although I got to enjoy some of the night scenes of Borongan such as watching crabs crossing the street or fireflies light up a nearby tree. The next day, I visited the historical core of the city. I passed by the monument and ancestral home of the local revolutionary hero Major Eugenio S. Daza, as well as the Borongan Cathedral and the Santiago Monument in front of it. Sad to say, the old Borongan Church was demolished a long way back and what's left of it is its circular belfry. There are only two other places where I've seen circular belfries namely Tumauini, Isabela and Mexico, Pampanga. But just like Borongan, Mexico's old church is gone.

Anyway, we proceeded to the town of Guiuan one hour south of Borongan, which is at the southern tip of Samar Island.