In May 2o12, I was invited to join the club. It turned out I was the oldest and the only guy till my Tai Chi barkada Buster joined a month or so later.
Today I celebrated one year of almost “no miss” participation (except for a passport renewal appointment at the embassy and a wedding in Laguna). I thank God for my good health. I thank the entire club for welcoming me and giving this opportunity for exercise and friendship. (Only much later I joined the Yoga for Life (http://www.facebook.com/yogaforlife.ph) class. But that is another story.)
The organizers did a magnificent job of planning and organizing everything – to the finest detail.
I was amazed. They said meeting time was 6:30 am. I did not rush. When I arrived at 6:31 everybody was there, raring to go. That was a 22-year first for me, when time did not mean Filipino time.
We were on the road well before 7 am in my Tai Chi buddy, Buster’s, van (with another passenger truck following).
I was elated to join the Friday Mysteries of the Holy Rosary on the way to Antipolo. Then, lo and behold, it was Mass at National Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage Pilgrimage Church in Antipolo, the cathedral of Antipolo. It was a Friday, a huge domed cathedral, packed, no seating room. People flocked from everywhere for the Marian month of May devotion.
The photo above is from -- http://lakwatsero.me/2010/05/22/our-lady-of-antipolo-shrine-antipolo-city-rizal-may-22-2010
My brother Bud’s funeral in Ohio is tomorrow and I was pleased for another chance to offer Mass for him – and in a national shrine at that.
Next stop into the mountains of Rizal Province was another pilgrimage shrine with the huge Statue of Regina Rosarii (The Queen of the Rosary). After prayer and lighting candles, we took photos at the foot of the expansive statue and admired the mountain beauty.
On the road again, I was amazed at the primacy of rice in the province. Off on and on for miles were 20-40 meter patches on one lane of the two-lane hi-way – patches of newly harvested palay – drying in the sun on the hi-way. (The police call it “palay solar dryers” — not with praise.)
Winding through the mountains, I was reminded of the beautiful hills of Ohio, the beloved hills of my youth.
Well before 12 noon, we arrived at the rustic acreage of the resort owned by a husband and wife, Ferdi and Minda Fuentes, members of our Tai Chi club.
After the prayer before the meal, lunch was a fiesta in itself. Very tasty Filipino “ulams” brought all the way from Pasig, but a culinary delight, topped with fresh fruits of every name and taste.
The photo above is taken from the Rotary Club of Pasig South Facebook account; Album Name: Outing at Minda's Sanctuary 26Feb2011
Some went swimming; I think some were praying; maybe just maybe, some others were gossiping (sure did a lot of talking talking).
The mountain air, the well-landscaped resort for retreats, team building and seminars – all made a relaxing afternoon. Then from the owners’ home the helpers showed up with trays full of halo-halo, brimful of crushed ice and fruit delights.
Then came the signal to pack up and by 4:30 pm, all twenty-five of us, sad to leave, were headed back down the mountain and past the sign pointing to Daranak Falls, through Antipolo, and a sleepy ride home for many, and gorgeous mountain scenery for those who kept their eyes open.
A day of prayer, food, and relaxation, fun and friendship long to be remembered. Minda Fuentes Sanctuary, Barangay Niuagan Pililia, Rizal. I was thankful, not only for the Tai Chi, but for these wonderful senior citizen friends from our neighborhood in Barangay Kapitolyo, Pasig, Metro Manila, Philippines.
