Where are we going, again?

I just woke up from an overnight bus ride from Manila to Isabela; the sun rising from the tree-lined horizon, filtering through the curtains of our bus window. My behind hurt from the long ride and still, I have no idea where we were going.

Some minutes later and we were hauling our backpacks down the bus. We crossed the empty highway and headed down a deserted street. Seriously, where are we going?!

It was my first time in the province of Isabela and I don’t have an iota of a clue what the province holds. Well, I know they have a mean noodle dish eponymously named after one of its many towns, pancit cabagan, but that’s about it.

Soon enough, after passing more than a few sleeping dogs and sari-sari stores starting to open, an enormous wedding cake rose into view.

Wait, it’s not a cake, it’s a bell tower! Welcome to Tumauini’s San Matias Church.

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