ANTIPOLO
- R D M
- Jun 4, 2016
- 4 min read
This much anticipated road trip I’ve been dreading to experience for months finally came thanks to one hot summer day—and to my boyfriend who kept his patience long enough for this to happen. Antipolo has been deemed as a hidden sanctuary, along with its mesmerizing sites and peaceful hotspots that no foreigners and local travelers had swarmed into YET, it never fails to just captivate those who are able to appreciate its genuine beauty and colorful history.
Keeping things real in this post, the traffic on the way there was dreadful. If you are a frequent commuter passing along Magallanes through Pasay around early afternoon hours, then you are familiar with this everyday crisis. Manila traffic is and has always been horrible, there’s no reason going around sugar coating it, because it is, and always will be. We arrived at Antipolo a couple minutes after 11 so we decided to stop by the mall and eat lunch before going to our first destination the ‘mystic cave’. It was called that way because of the mysterious stones suddenly appearing and somehow being similar to the images of the Holy Family, and some Saints. The citizens there had no idea how the images got there or who did them. We were intrigued and curious because as a couple, we haven’t had that many great adventures so far; and it might be best to try and check out the place. When we arrived there, we had to go up a couple of flights of stairs to reach the ‘entrance’ where you’ll pay Php 40 each. The guides there will also offer you a set of candles costing Php 50, because inside the cave, you could also pray for your personal intentions, each color of the candles represents every aspect of your life; and as firm Catholic believers, of course we bought them. A child served as our tour guide, his name was Edwin. He’s still in elementary school but since it was already summer and classes were out, he served as a tour guide there for tourists. Smart kid, he really knows a lot about the cave.
Approaching the inside of the ‘mystic cave’, the breeze there was cold, but not in any way kind of creepy. It was dark but the residents provided some lamps there for the tourists. The kid was an expert once we started the tour, he provided to us some interesting trivia about the murals found in the cave. It is also believed that once you make a wish in the wishing well inside that cave, your wish will come true. There’s no point in not trying so we gave it a shot—fast forward to a couple of months after our Antipolo experience, my wishes came true, so to anyone planning to go into this trip, don’t forget to wish and throw a couple of coins in for good luck. Going back, the water inside the cave is also believed to have some healing powers. Each stop we make for every Holy image we see, we light up a candle, say a little prayer, and continue on with the tour. It lasted for almost two hours. I wasn’t that really tired but my boyfriend felt a little dizzy after the tour so we headed out. We paid Edwin Php 100 for guiding us really well. We rested for a little bit and someone living near the cave said that we should go and check out the ‘white cross’ above the hill. Although no guide will be available for that so we went on by ourselves and followed the arrows and the trail. We ended up tired, and lost; however, we saw the ‘white cross’ a few meters away. We headed back because we were exhausted from the climb. And there were still two more stops to go to.
Pinto Art—this tourist spot has been creating a blogging stream online and probably the main reason why we went to Antipolo. I’ve been bugging my boyfriend to take me here because the art there is amazing. Pinto Art is similar to a big residence that somehow resembles a museum because of the different kinds of art you could find there. From sculptures, to paintings, to a huge wall art, it’s there. Parking (if you’re going to bring your own car) would cost you Php 20, and don’t worry, the environment there is safe because it is located in a private village. The entrance to Pinto Art is Php 180, but if you’re a student and you brought some ID you would get in for less. It is more convenient if you would use one of their maps that they would offer you for free. There are different galleries but the best part there for me would be the pool area, where visitors could just relax for a while after going around the place. Feel free to take pictures of the art as long as you don’t touch them and you don’t use any flash photography. It was way above what I was expecting, and it was huge. The place was really well-maintained—it is a good place to get married too, just saying. I don’t even know if they would allow celebrations in there.
Last stop is the Antipolo Cathedral. Parking there costs Php 40. The place is filled with vendors which is saddening because of course, it’s a cathedral and it’s not being respected in a way the people are supposed to. When we got there, there was a wedding being held so we didn’t stay for long. My boyfriend was kind of having a slight fever too so we had to go after saying our prayers. We bought some souvenirs like the ‘Birhen ng Antipolo’ and some food for the trip.
The trip would all in all cost you less than a thousand, including the toll fees on your way to Antipolo and heading back home, of course that depends on how far you came from. It was really refreshing to see a part of your culture being preserved in a well-loved historical city. In my hometown, getting to experience a cave, a museum and a church all in one day is quite impossible. This experience was worth it and I would definitely go back here if given the chance--there’s still so much more to discover.
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