Tayo Na Sa Antipolo

We left the house  before 6am.

Too early for some but it was a nice drive from our place to the Antipolo Cathedral, the National Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good  Voyage.  There was no traffic along the way. I’ve missed the cool winds of Antipolo City. It is higher than Metro Manila and the weather is a bit colder. It attracts millions of pilgrims every year.

We had the new car blessed and we attended the 7am mass while waiting in line for the hundreds of   cars and motorcycles blessed by the priests and lay ministers.  An older seatmate told me that Sunday is  usually when people troop to  Antipolo  to have their new cars blessed, attend masses  and pray for special petitions on their scheduled trips outside the country.  The church was full despite the hourly mass schedules. There was a big screen at the right side of the church so one can participate in the mass without having to squeeze  inside the cathedral.

A bit blurred image of the Shrine taken on a CP this morning.

We bought  kasuy, some sweets and suman, a glutinous rice cake wrapped in coconut leaves and cooked  in coconut cream.  The  side streets outside the cathedral teem with vendors  selling Filipino delicacies.

Stores galore in Antipolo

On the way back, we traversed Ortigas Avenue  Ext. Horrendous traffic on a  Sunday at that. It took us close to two hours before reaching our place.  I am no longer used encountering the mad rush of cars outside because I seldom go out.  Maybe that’s why, several cars every day pass by our subdivision to avoid the heavy traffic at Ortigas Ext.  Cainta is Rizal’s gateway to the various cities in Metro Manila.

Gonna come back to the Shrine, one of these days just to hear mass.