The Via Crucis In Sibulan

Today, being Good Friday, we did what nearly everyone in Philippines does - walk in the Via Crucis procession. For those unfamiliar with this tradition, it is a commemoration of 14 "events" (called stations) which took place during Christ's passion on the day of His crucifixion:

1 Pilate condemns Jesus to die
2 Jesus accepts his cross
3 Jesus falls for the first time
4 Jesus meets his mother, Mary
5 Simon helps carry the cross
6 Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
7 Jesus falls for the second time
8 Jesus meets the three women of Jerusalem
9 Jesus falls for the third time
10 Jesus is stripped of his clothes
11 Jesus is nailed to the cross
12 Jesus dies on the cross
13 Jesus is taken down from the cross
14 Jesus is placed in the tomb

Every Catholic parish in Philippines will have its own Via Crucis today and we participated in the Stations of the Cross for San Antonio de Padua Parish.

The procession began at the Church at approximately 4:30 AM. We walked north along Western Nautical Highway - turning left at Calingacion Street. From there we turned right onto Divina Gracia Street until we came to the National Highway south of the Church. Turning right on to the highway, we walked down the highway until we reached San Antonio Street - taking San Antonio back to the Church, for a total distance of about 6 kilometers - approximately 4 3/4 miles.

The photos I'm posting here were taken by my neighbor, Vern as the Via Crucis passed our apartment building in Cangmating after the 12th Station. It was before sunrise when we started this morning and I knew it would be useless for me to carry my camera.

Being in the middle of the crowd, it is impossible for me to get a realistic idea of how many people walked in today's procession. My neighbor, who watched as the crowd walked down San Antonio Street, estimated the number of people to be close to 10,000.

The procession took about 2 hours to complete - we did have to stop at each of the 14 Stations, after all. It was between 5 and 6 AM as we walked down the long stretch of highway, stopping traffic along the way. I had very little sympathy for the cars and buses waiting for the thousands of people to make their way; Filipinos have been following this tradition for hundreds of years and anyone attempting to drive on Good Friday should know what to expect.

Another Photo Takes Number One Spot

I noted in March that my photos uploaded to Google Maps had been viewed more than 1,000,000 times. Now, the total number of views has exceeded 1,300,000. At the time of that post, my photo of Manhattan Suites Inn on South Road Calindagan, in Dumaguete was the one with the most views of any of my photos - 30,104 views. As I noted in that post, I was surprised to learn that my photo of the St. Joseph parish church on Pope John Paul II Ave. in Cebu City had overtaken the number two spot.

Today I learn that the St. Joseph parish church has reached the number one spot with over 32,000 views. Also, surprisingly, my photo of Our Mother of Perpetual Help Redemptorist Church in Dumaguete has become the third place photo. I especially like that result because this is the church where my wife, my son and I attend Mass.

Where Does the Spin Stop?

When I was living and working in the U.S., I rarely found the time to watch the O'Reilly Factor on TV. Now that I'm retired and living halfway around the world, I must say that the show on Fox News has become my favorite morning television program.

Needless to say, I was completely shocked by news that the show may not return after Bill's "vacation". Claims that O'Reilly has sexually harassed a number of women have led many to speculate that his show will be canceled and his vacation may be permanent.

Of course I have no way of knowing if the allegations against O'Reilly are true; I'd like to believe that the accusations are false. However, if true then it's goodbye Bill.

The Starfish

Normally, I take my morning walk at about 7:00 AM after I've returned home from taking my son to school, but today, because school is out for the remainder of Holy Week, I left the apartment a little earlier than usual. While walking to the market, I came upon this starfish drying on the sidewalk.

Obviously, someone found the starfish along the beach and left it where I found it.

The top photo was taken when I first discovered the starfish on the way to the market. I hadn't considered taking it home until after I had arrived at the market. On the way home, I put the starfish into a plastic bad I found on the street nearby and placed in outside our apartment. It's difficult getting an idea of its size in a photo; I measured the starfish at its longest point - from the tip of one arm to another - and it is 6 1/2 inches long.

Following the advice I found online, I am drying the starfish in salt to preserve it When it has completely dried out, I can place it near my brain coral.

A New Beetle

Although this particular Beetle is a newer model and not the classic Beetle like those that I've been featuring in this blog, there are two reasons for my taking a photograph of it. One, of course is so I can post the photo onto this blog, and secondly, because it is parked in front of the Tiki Restaurant, I have yet one more photo to add to Google Maps.