i'm now in jordan at the start of my pilgrimage.  we shall cover israel, egypt and dubai also.  so far soo good. nangungumusta lang at walang magawa.

May 14, 2000

     i'm very busy with my pilgrimage group.  we arrived in amman, jordan may 10 morning after a gruelling seven hours from manila to dubai and another four to amman.  we first went to mount nebo, the tomb  of moses and where he died and saw a bird's eyeview of the promised land. then, we went to the ancient city of jerash, all ruins but still beautiful especially the colonade and what remains of the coliseum.

    after staying overnight at the hotel, we proceeded to the desert city of arad and enjoyed the floating sensation at the dead sea, the lowest part of the world and the most saline body of water.  we visited jericho, the oldest city in the world and payed tribute to the sycamore tree where zacheus was called by the lord to have dinner with him.  may 12, we were already in nazareth; visited the basilica of the annunciation and the house of mary where the angel gabriel appeared to him; then, joseph's house and carpentry shop, etc. after nazareth, we had a tour of capernaum and the house of peter; crossed the sea of galilee and reflected on the calling of the twelve apostles.

     we checked in a hotel in nazareth and the following day, the big day: the journey to jerusalem.  we visited the mount of olives, garden of gethsemane, mount of beatitudes, the mount tabor of the transfiguration miracle.  we also visited the rock where jesus prayed; the primacy of peter, the place of the multiplication of the bread.

     this morning, sunday, we visited the ascencion hill, the birth place of the virgin mary, and did the long and tedious via dolorosa, way of the cross following jesus' route from the pretoria of pilate, down to the basilica of the holy sepulchre (the holiest place in the christian world where the stripped of his clothes, nailed to the cross and died. we also paid visit to the empty tomb of jesus.  after noon was devoted to visiting the shepherds field and the basilica of the nativity which jesus was born in a manger until the main altar.  it was a touching experience.  each of us cried and sing crhsitmas carols while kissing the exact spot in the cave where jesus was actually born.

     tomorrow morning, monday, may 15, we're headed for a long drive to eliat, south of israel, which is a beautiful seaside town where tourists flock.  we'll cross the the border and be headed for the place where mt. siani is hoping to have the moses experience when he received the ten commandments when he was given the two tablets.

     we'll climb mt. sinai as early as 2:00 a.m. of tuesday to see the sunrise.  then, we would go to cairo by land, still far from mt. sinai to see the pyramids and the sphinx.  may 17 and 18, we'll be in dubai hoping to have some good time of  r and r.
 
 

May 18, 2000

peace and every blessing!

     yeah, i heard that there was some trouble in jerusalem (bethlehem actually) early this week.  good thing that we left the israeli border monday noontime.  thus, we were in a beautiful desert area by sunset of monday; at the foot of mount sinai.  tuesday, we climbed the mountain at 2:00 a.m.; reached the summit just in time for the most picturesque view of the sunrise.  it's incredibly beautiful!  then, we reached the village at 9:00 a.m. for our late breakfast and left rights away for a six-hour drive to cairo. tuesday-wednesday was a relaxing city-tour: the pyramids and the sphinx among others.  we left cairo yesterday and reached dubai (three hours by plane) at 1:00 a.m. today.  i slept at 4:00 a.m.; had late breakfast at 9:00 a.m. torres high buddy, rod bondoc (m1 valedictorian of batch '80) fetched me and we went to the gold souk where gold jewelry abound like fish in the wet market (nakasampay at nakabuyangyang lang talaga).

     dubai is a very nice city.  my group left at 3:30 p.m. for a safari dune dinner in the desert. that could have been fun but i had to forego it all for a short precious time with a friend.  ok lang di ba?  tomorrow, i'll take the morning flight to manila and will be back to work on saturday.

May 20, 2000

Peace and every blessing!

     Indeed, no place like home.  I arrived here in Manila at 9:00 p.m. May 19.  The five-hour difference was quite difficult to struggle with.  I just woke up and am getting ready for a concelebrated mass with Bishop Gungon of Antipolo presiding on the first profession of the Missionaries of Charity of Mother Teresa here in my church.

     The trip was tiring and totally exhausting; yes, rewarding.  The final leg of the trip was in Cairo, Egypt where we had a nice dinner-cruise at the famous Nile River complete with a belly dancer!  We also got to visit the pyramids and the sphinx.  From Cairo, we flew to the beautiful city of Dubai in UAE; checked in at Le Meridien where I spent a whole day and night with Rod Bondoc, Valedictorian of THS Class '80.