Southern Iloilo Heritage Tour Part 3: Guimbal, Tigbauan and Oton!

We were up pretty early that day because we had to finish all the churches in our list.  Our flight back to Manila was scheduled early evening so we knew that we had enough time.  Took the public transport and experienced true-blue Ilonggo hospitality all over again.

First stop was Guimbal Church.  Another beautiful old church that’s yellow!  It is said that this yellow sandstone church is made from adobe stones and coral stones quarried from Guimaras (I cringe!)  There used to be a playground built in 1975 right beside the church.  Sayang lang because it’s not being used anymore.

Next stop was Tigbauan Church.  It’s unique in the country according to exploreiloilo.com because of its churriquesque architecture.  I tried to research what churriquesque means…kasi I’m sure tatanungin ako ni A.  And I don’t want to invent an answer but I swear, wala akong makitang meaning!  I may be looking at the wrong sites but for the life of me talagang wala akong makita.  So, A, wag mo nakong tanungin please?  Hehe!  Pero mag-invent na din ako, kunwari may alam. Haha!  It must be because of the Mexican influence that’s visible in the church’s façade.  Mexican…burrito, quesadillas, enchiladas, churros, churriquesque. Pwede diba??? Hahaha!  Other than the unique façade, this church also boasts of a beautiful interior made up of colorful stone murals.  The church interior is adorned by beautiful mosaic that was said to be made by a local artist in the last 2 decades.  There’s something wrong though with the way the 2 belfries where constructed, sayang lang because they could have done better so it blends in the general look of the church façade.

And then we’re in Oton...I’m sure A didn’t want to take a picture of the church but there’s not much else to see so he had no choice. Haha!  I just liked the Balete trees right in front of the municipal hall.  So eery.

And just like that, we were done with the Southern Iloilo Heritage Tour.  The rain started to fall on our way back to Iloilo City where a couple more churches await Magellan and Pigafetta.