Day and a Half With Divine Word Univesirty

It's a treat to be showing students around. It's doubly enjoyable when the students are as well behaved as the Divine Word University kids!

The first day was a half day rolling tour around Intramuros. Their morning was spent getting ready for a food preparation lecture at Tamayo's and then lunch was served. At one p.m. we were heading for the parked buses to do the rolling tour. This was a little trying because there was some mix-up regarding their accommodations. Breakfast had taken forever. And they had a long trip from Bicol to Manila. I expected them to be tired and cranky.

The ice was broken once the students reached the Manila Ocean Park. It was their first time and some were eager for the usual photo ops. That seemed fun and it took almost an hour (or more) to gather the students back to the buses since they had another set of lectures on  flairtending at T.G.I. Friday's then they would be free to chillax on their own from 6p.m. till 9p.m. at the Mall of Asia.

MOA image from trekearth.com

That went rather smoothly. It would also give the students the opportunity to explore MOA at their leisure. How often can they do that?

They next morning I was up at four so I could get to Christ the King seminary to beat the 7:00 a.m. departure for Tagaytay. The Morning was glorious, I had the opportunity to hear Mass at the Church before the students started filing into the bus one by one wand by half past seven we were off to Tagaytay.

We managed to evade most of the morning traffic jams as we passed through Aurora, Nagtahan and Osmena Highway. From time to time I would give commentaries on the sites along the way. But the poor kids were still tired from the previous day's trips so I guess most of them slept through the route. Some had been listening intently, though. Midway through our journey, the driver loads a DVD on the A/V... I wanted to wring his neck! Aaaahh... the travails of a Mabuhay Guide.

The first stop was People's Park in the Sky. This was the mansion that Mrs. Marcos had wanted built as a guesthouse for Ronald Reagan (who incidentally, never showed up). It was also a convalescing home for the ailing President Marcos as he had begun to get sick. The construction was halted when the Marcos family was deposed. Now, there sits a Doppler weather station on the site as well as a Globe telecommunications tower on it's roof. The restrooms are clean. However, most of the  building is left to disrepair and some of the cafe's are so near the restroom, it's not conducive to a hot cup of coffee. Anyway. credit goes to Mrs. Marcos for choosing the best spots for her projects even if she had to level half of Mt. Sungay to see the mansion built. The view of two lakes (Laguna de Bay and Taal), Tagayutay Highlands in the middle and a panoramic sweep of Rizal and Manila are as breath-taking as ever.

Lunch was at Leslie's Grill where the kids had a great time taking more photos after a sumptuos meal of roast chicken, pork adobo and mixed vegies. The bulalo soup was great with bits of the greens still crispy and fresh. Oh well, only in Tagaytay... The view isn't bad either. Situated on the ridge overlooking the caldera of  Taal Volcano, It boasts of a grand view to complement the meal.

That's Mabuhay  Guide Jeff on the viewdeck of Leslie's Grill

Then It was back to the Picnic Grove where the kids could meander through the public park and get a taste of horse-back riding. The thing that disturbs me is that even before the kids can get off the bus, there's a headcount taking place and tourists are charged P50.00/pax for entrance. What happened to welcoming guests with just a smile? The Picnic Grove has become so commercial with most of the vendors selling the same souvenirs.

I, on the other hand, accompanied their teacher to Tierra de Maria where we spent some time contemplating and seeking inner peace. It's a quiet place for spiritual rejuvenation (more of this in another post) and it's right next to the Picnic Grove. I got a lot of people asking if I was from DAP (Development Academy of the Philippines) as I was in my barong. Amusing really... After this silent experience, we headed back to the Picnic Grove on foot. Some of the students have had their fill of the place and were huddled with us exchanging experiences. This is what makes my job rewarding... By half past three, Jeff and I made our leave and we headed home...