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The Treasures of Antique Heritage Tour: Kruhay Antique!

Heritage Tour of Antique Province

I’ve wanted to visit Antique from the moment I saw their tourism promotional video Krruuhhaay! Katahum kang Antique by Dante Beriong on Youtube. Last month I finally experienced Antique; for me, this is one of the most beautiful provinces I have visited in the Philippines.

Miagao Church
Miagao Church – Church of Santo Tomas de Villanueva

Early morning, we left Days Hotel in Iloilo to meet other Antique Heritage Tour participants at the UP Visayas Campus. Together with fellow Pinoy Travel Bloggers and UP Visayas students, we left the campus at around 7am and headed to the southern part of Iloilo.

San Joaquin Cemetery
San Joaquin Cemetery

Before heading to Antique, we visited two heritage sites in Iloilo – the Miagao Church and the San Joaquin Cemetery. Miagao Church is also popularly known as the Church of Santo Tomas de Villanueva, one of the iconic structures you should not miss while heading to Antique Province if you are coming from Iloilo.

Inside San Joaquin Cemetery Chapel
Inside San Joaquin Cemetery Chapel

After our short stop at Miagao Church, we also visited the San Joaquin Cemetery and the San Joaquin Church. The San Joaquin Cemetery is located along the main highway in the town of San Joaquin. The construction of San Joaquin Cemetery was commenced by the last Augustinian parish priest of the town named Fray Mariano Vamba in 1892. A statue of Jesus with his arms outstretched stands on top of a baroque-style gate, and on each side of Christ, two columns with angelic figures are poised as guards.

Siraan Hot Spring
Siraan Hot Spring

In addition, sculpted heads of two cherubs and a skull representing death mark the cemetery’s entrance. Take twenty stone steps after entering the gate, and you will be greeted by the Baroque-designed mortuary chapel standing in the center. It was such a beautiful chapel.

Buri Weaver
Buri Weaver

We also went to the San Joaquin Church, but there was undergoing construction when we visited the place. This Roman Catholic parish was built in 1869 by Spanish priest Reverend Tomas Santaren. The National Historical Institute listed the church as a National Cultural Treasure.

Buri Products of Antique
Buri Products of Antique

After visiting San Joaquin heritage sites, we headed to our first Antique destination – the town of Anini-y. Our first stop was at the Siraan Hot Spring. It was already raining when we arrived at the resort, but it did not stop us from appreciating the beauty of the resort and the mystical Nogas Island, which we can view from afar.

From Siraan Hot Spring, we headed to San Juan Nepomuceno Church of Anini-y. This church is the last standing colonial church in the province of Antique. Built in 1600s, this towering edifice was made from coral stones. At the back of the church, a beautiful lighthouse can be found with a rewarding view of Nogas Island.

Lechon Kawali at Melindas Restaurant
Lechon Kawali at Melindas Restaurant

Our next stop was at Melinda’s restaurant for our Brunch. The restaurant was just simple, it reminds me of my favorite carinderia back in my high school days, but the food in this restaurant is delicious!! We were all reminded to eat light since we still had our lunch in Tibiao, but nobody listened. LOL; we all enjoyed their dinuguan, lechon kawali, and super delicious Chopsuey (Chinese mixed vegetables).

After a chorus of burps! We proceeded to Brgy. Diclum for our Buri Weaving activity. Buri weaving is the source of livelihood for women in this Barangay. Students from UP Visayas were divided into several teams and tasked to create a small buri bag as part of their immersion.

San Juan Nepomuceno Church of Anini-y
San Juan Nepomuceno Church of Anini-y

This type of activity not only helps students understand the value of livelihood programs but also helps the locals by showcasing their talents and generating sales from finished products they sell as souvenirs. Buri Weaving is not easy; it involves patience and skills to create art pieces. To contribute to the local community, I bought several pieces as part of my pasalubong shopping (24 buri wallets, to be exact).

From the town of Anini-y, we headed to Hamtic to visit the Malandog Historical Marker and the General Fullon Shrine. The Malandog Marker is believed to be the original Landing site of the first Malayan settlers in 1200 A.D., while the General Fullon Shrine in front of the municipal hall of Hamtic, Antique, was built to honor the commander during the revolution against the Spanish colonial rule in the island of Panay.

Patnongon Church
Patnongon Church

We also had a quick stop at the Patnongon Church. Patnongon is one of three places where the Augustinians built a church and Convento of stone and mortar. Patnongon Church was destroyed during World War II in 1941-1945.

Patadyong Weaving in Antique
Patadyong Weaving in Antique

Our next stop was at Bugasong Loom Weaver’s Association in Barangay Bagtason to check out the Patadyong Weaving. We were lucky to witness the local weavers making this textile called patadyong. Patadyong is the Visayan version of Malong. This hand-woven cloth is often used as a skirt, and just like Malong, this is a handy garment. Patadyong is being threatened with extinction, but with the help of the Bugasong Loom Weaver’s Association, locals are still familiar with the process of making this multi-colored textile.

Patadyong Products of Antique
Patadyong Products of Antique

After our cultural immersion, we headed to the town of Tibiao for an adventure-packed activity – the Lambaklad Fishing. Lambaklad fishing is a local way of catching fish utilizing a huge bamboo raft. It was already late in the afternoon when we joined a group of local fishermen in their Lambaklad fishing.

Imagine a massive raft with almost 20 fishing crew combining their effort in hauling a fishing net against the challenging waves just 20-30 meters away from the coast of Tibiao. The huge waves are scary but seeing the huge catch, it created a whole different story.

Fishing with local community
Fishing with the local community

Lambaklad fishing is part of the Tibiao Adventure package offered and conceptualized by a local tourism mover and proprietor, Flord Nicson Calawag of Katahum Tours. To help the coastal community and provide unique activities to tourists, Flord Calawag integrated this fishing activity as part of their tour package.

Lambaklad Fishing in Antique
Lambaklad Fishing in Antique

We headed to Tibiao Fish Spa for some relaxation. It was actually my first time trying out Fish Spa. At first, the irresistible tickling sensation made me hesitant to continue the session, but after a few minutes, I got used to it and finally loved it.

Tibiao Fish Spa
Tibiao Fish Spa

Our fish spa experience was followed by a dinner sponsored by Tibiao Fish Spa then we headed to the University of Antique auditorium afterwards for their cultural presentation entitled Istorya-Kanta Kinaray-a.

Istorya-Kanta Kinaray-a Cultural Presentation
Istorya-Kanta Kinaray-a Cultural Presentation

The cultural presentation features local artists like Dante Beriong – the man behind the famous Krruuhhaay! Katahum kang Antique tourism jingle. It was a night of good music and lively cultural dance performances from the University of Antique students. It feels good to watch this type of performance once in a while. Watching the show made me realize Filipinos never have reasons to celebrate. We are indeed the happiest people on earth!

I commend Flord Nicson Calawag of Katahum Tours for his unparalleled love of promoting Antique to the rest of the world. Thanks to the Provincial Tourism Office and the Department of Tourism for making this trip possible.

Antique is a promising destination, and I would love to return there anytime… More stories soon!

Katahum Tours/Tibiao Fish Spa
flord@tibiaofishspa.com
0919.813.9893
0917.631.5777
www.katahum.com

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Written by Melo Villareal

Melo Villareal is the Online Publisher of Outoftownblog.com. He is an Accountant by profession who left the corporate world at the age of 23 to explore his beautiful country and the rest of the world. Today, Melo works as a part-time Social Media Manager for local and international clients. His full-time work focuses on discovering interesting culture, explore different cuisines and take memorable photos from local and international destinations he's visiting.

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