Hiya, hivers! What’s up? Hope life’s been giving you miracles lately. As for me, let me tell you about this miraculous place I recently visited this weekend— the Monastery of the Holy Christ or as the locals call it, Simala Shrine.
This place is a Roman Catholic Pilgrim located at Sibonga, Cebu, Philippines and has been a tourist spot and has attracted people not only because of the architectural and castle-like designs, but as well as for the miraculous stories that has been told.
Most of the people often visit here seeking for blessings, giving gratitudes, healing, spiritual refections and for many reasons. I, on the other hand visited the place because of boredom since it’s still summer break. Although a local in Cebu, this is the only time where I could remember visiting, I was still young the last time I’ve been in this place.
What makes this trip unique for me is that, I travelled and commuted my way alone. It sounded scary especially since the place is so far and this would be my first time commuting in this place— a province I’m not familiar to (I’m used to it in the city). Thanks to google maps, my ride towards the place was smooth. I took a bus ride and told the conductor that I am to visit the Simala Shrine. I got off the bus at an alley where there were a lot of motorcycle(habal habal ride) and tricycle rides. The habal habal driver was very acommodating— the back and forth ride from the highway to the shrine costs a hundred pesos which I think is a reasonable price.
As I arrved at the Shrine, it was amazing. I cannot clearly recall the architectural designs of it years ago but I could tell that the place has been developed and is continuously developed as of today.
It was in the afternoon when I arrived and the place was scorching hot but thanks to the trees and because the place is placed in high areas, there breezy air makes the heat bareable. The view in here is giving too, you could see the blue seas meets the green mountains.
One thing I really adore about the place is its structural design, I’m not an artistic person but this kind of designs such as castle-like with a blend of European and Filipino architectural styles is such a thing to adore and even take aesthetic pictures.
The interior design was nice too, it has this blend of Filipino and European (Spanish) style. The thing I love with it is the homey feeling which is actually a plus when it comes to prayer area and just the whole idea of praying solemnly.
Outside the prayer area, there are some stalls that sell some candles, bracelets, images of the Virgin Mary, Holy Rosaries, and many more. You could also write petitions here.
Going out alone might be lonely for some, but this trip was a great way for me to take a pause and look outside my world. As I’ve observed the people who visited as well, it made me realize that every single person in that very same area had their own reasons why they visited and most of them might be for healing or asking for blessings, who knows?
Anyway, that would be all for this blog, it’s great to be back! Have a great day, guys😇
