Jandrea...so far

  It was where I sought refuge from the boundaries of my boxed-in world!  It was where I could examine my failures and disappointments before I released them into nothingness!  It was where my tears could flow in copious amounts but leave me smiling in the aftermath.  It was where I allowed my spirit to soar, even to sin, without fear of reprisal. It was where God always forgave me even if I thought I shouldn’t forgive myself!  It was where my soul was nourished, year after year, so I could be who I am!

Image from a FB friend When I first set my eyes on Vigan, it was though I was still in a dream. Still groggy with sleep after an all-night land trip, I found myself as if transported to another time. In the awakening light and the clip-clopping of the horses on the cobblestone street, the first thoughts that came to my mind was, "Oh my, I could run into Rizal's Crisostomo Ibarra in these streets!" A little dramatic but what can you expect from a then college student with a student theater group visiting the place for performances in schools in that area. I was of course wrong about running into fictional characters but I was certainly not disappointed about encountering ghosts from the past. We were billeted in a hotel which was a renovated mansion from an earlier century, just what you would expect in a place like this. The girls were given a big room which helped us imagine that we were friends of Maria Clara after a party. In the early morning, I woke up with th...