Travel Talk

A great big welcome to the Footsteps of Jesus "Holy Land" Group, headed by Ms. Joyce Yang and Fr. Dondon Aquino, who arrived last Nov. 2, 2005! I was a guest of this group during their reunion at the conference room of Union Bank, Ayala and it was obvious to me how the group enjoyed their Holy Land experience. Almost everyone was there...Union Bank's First Vice-President Levi Villanueva and his lovely wife Joy, Manulife Phils. Tonyboy Rodriguez and his equally beautiful wife Susan, one of Cebu's well-known surgeons Dr. Samuel Trocio and his sweet wife Emma, and our very good-looking pair, Lee and Nida Carson. Also present were Marilou Apalisok, Aileen Dy-Miranda, Jocelyn Sanchez, Frisca Uy, Delilah Labajo and, of course, Joyce Yang who acted as the group's tour escort. Fr. Dondon could not make it, but he was very much a part of the get-together even if only in spirit. Sorely missed were our two Illonga passengers, Ninfa Go and Cecilia Torres of Bacolod City, whom I was told enjoyed it just as much and who blended well with the Cebuano Group. Levi and Tonyboy made sure that the pictures of the group were put together in one video tape (you promised me a copy, Ton) and we had so much fun watching all the pictures, the unedited ones included. I watched Susan squirm with embarrassment when her picture in a swimsuit (taken by Tonyboy, of course) at the Dead Sea was flashed on the big screen. In all honesty, Susan, you looked every inch like a beauty queen in that photo. I suggest you have that enlarged and placed on Tonyboy's bedside table. The four couples - Levi & Joy, Tonyboy and Susan, Dr. Samuel & Emma and Lee and Nida - renewed their wedding vows in Cana, and were surprised at the preparation that we had done for them.

It was a wedding complete with the entourage and all the props! Of course, all the other members of the group had a role to play. Fr. Dondon Aquino made sure that their renewal of marriage vows would be a very memorable one...and they all had certificates to prove it! Everything except the wedding gowns were provided and they even had souvenir arrhaes to take home. Our guide Exie wrote me to say how much she enjoyed the group and the feeling was, of course, mutual. The group has only the highest of praises for the way she guided them through all the places where our Lord Jesus walked. The group was so touched by their Holy Land experience that they vowed to convince their friends to make the Holy Land tour a priority. Part of the trip was having to answer the "most often asked" question by people back home: How was the peace and order condition in the Holy Land? Well, the answers were all the same - Okay! It is so peaceful there! Simply put, the Jews and the Palestinians earn their bread from the tourists, so no one dares to harm the hands that feed them. Right? The itinerary brought them to Mt. Nebo where Moses died in the land of Jordan, after which the group crossed the border to the Holy Land. They visited all the places in the life of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. It included the site of the Annunciation where the Angel Gabriel announced that Mary was to become the mother of God; Jesus' birthplace in Bethlehem and Nazareth, where Jesus grew up; the baptismal place in the Jordan River; the sites where Jesus performed many miracles such as Cana, Capernaum, Tabgha, Mt. Tabor and all the way up to Golgotha the site of His crucifixion.

The holiest place for all Christians is the Holy Sepulchre...the site of His death and his resurrection. The group prayed and sung praises to God while they absorbed all the explanations that their guide provided them in each of the places that they visited. It is a given fact that no pilgrim leaves the Holy Land without a touching experience to share back home. The group crossed the Taba Border and proceeded to Mt Sinai where a camel ride brought them up to the mountain where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. In Cairo, they viewed the Sphinx, the pyramids and the Egyptian museum where the group was treated to 5000 years of art. A short plane ride brought the group to Luxor where they visited the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Hatshepsut built in 1530-1520 B.C. and the Colossi of Memnon which date back to 3000 years ago. A final treat which the group needed was a relaxing cruise on the Nile River on board a Felluca boat and an easy day at the Hotel Le Meridien. To quote the words of banker Levi Villlanueva as we ended our afternoon reunion: "The trip was worth every cent. Thank you." As a pilgrimage tour organizer for more than 25 years, I just found another reason to keep on going. To God be the Glory! For your comments, you can reach me at Delmar Travel & Tours, Inc. Tel. # (32)2536561 & 2536571 or by email at [email protected] or [email protected]