A Trip to Caleruega

Here's another entry related to my previous post, http://mei-mei-myperfectlyimperfectlife.blogspot.com/2013/07/tagaytay-weekend.html. Here, I am going to detail our trip to Caleruega Church.

From Hotel Keni Po, we rode a tricycle to get to the town center.To get to Caleruega, we rode a bus to Nasugbu.

When we got off the bus, we took another tricycle ride to get to the church. As mentioned in my previous blog post, you have to get the mobile number of the tricycle driver because you have to contact him again when you are ready to be picked up. There are no public vehicles nearby so you have to remember this. :)

Entrance to the compound

You have to pay an entrance fee of Php30 only to get inside. For those with cars, there are parking areas outside the compound. I'm just not sure if they also allow visitors to park inside.

As soon as you enter the compound, you will see that it is surrounded by trees and it has such a peaceful environment and scenic views, which makes it a suitable venue for team buildings, seminars, and weddings.

View upon entering the compound

As you walk further, you will see this church facade where many visitors are having their photos taken. This is not a church but the entrance to get to the different spots or destinations within the compound.

Of course, we also had out photo taken. Hehe :)

And our solo shots as well. :)

Kim

Mei-Mei

It's common to see images of saints in churches and Caleruega is not an exception. And we both posed beside them. :)

Here are our photos to welcome you to Caleruega :)

Mei-Mei

Kim

When you go inside, you'll see this stairway. I think this place serves as a venue for wedding receptions and conferences.

"Grand" Stairway

When you go to the right part of this area, you will find a pathway that leads to the outdoor areas of Calereuga.

The pathway

And this pathway is lined with potted plants with flowers and I just had to have my photo taken there :)

Me with the potted flower-bearing plants :)

When you reach the end of the pathway, you will see this signage that lists the different areas you can find within the compound.

Directions

As I've mentioned, the property is surrounded by trees and other plants. Here are some of our photos taken in the different areas of the compound.

We rested for a while and asked Ryan to take our photo :)

Here's a view of the mountains and greenery surrounding the compound:

Hot weather

Blue skies

It was really hot when we went there but I prefer that weather than a rainy one :)

A stairway made of rocks leads to some benches where you can sit and enjoy the view of the mountains.

Rocky stairway

See the pine tree? Over there is the bench I was referring to.

Unfortunately, Ryan and Rej were in another part of the compound so we had to make use of the front camera of my phone to capture a photo together.

And we also had our solo shots taken at the bench :) It doesn't really protect you from the sun because the supposed roof is also open. Hehe :)

After our mini-pictorial, we made our way to the church. Since it was a Sunday, they celebrated mass at 11am.

On our way there, we passed by this potted plant with tomatoes. I was fascinated so I took a photo of it. Haha!

Tomato plant

Then, we also passed by this plant which we both do not know, but since it was so cute, I decided to take a photo of it as well.

I don't know what this is but it's cute

And there was this vine which I found adorable so I asked Kim to take a photo of me beside it.

And this is the church.

I took a photo of it side by side the brochure that was given to us at the entrance.

That's Kim's hand. Haha! Waah! There's a photobomber!!!!

Here are our solo shots :)

Kim

Mei-Mei

 A foreigner was waiting for his turn to take a photo and while we were having our photo taken by Ryan, he said that we looked good together. <3

We heard mass at 11am and we came just in time to get seats. :)

This is how the church looks like inside.

Rej: you're a photobomber!!!!

View from our chairs

The church is relatively small. I think it can only accommodate around 200 to 300 people so a lot of the visitors heard mass standing all throughout.

 After the mass, we decided to go back to Tagaytay already to have lunch and go home. :)

Trees outside the church

View from the store where we waited for the tricycle driver to pick us up

We texted the tricycle driver to pick us up and then rode a jeep to go back to Tagaytay.

Caleruega is a nice place if you want to meditate or be one with God and nature. :)