Nuestra Seniora El Triunfo Del La Cruz

Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental, Mindanao, Philippines (02 August 2011)– I’m back home for now. It’s always nice to be back home. I’m taking this time to sort through the photos I have taken during my recently completed road trip to Ozamiz and Pagadian Cities and at least post this blog. The second leg of my travel (to the Southern and SouthCentral part of Mindanao) was postponed to next week. Here are some shots from a quick trip to a historic (250-year-old that is) site in Ozamiz City.

A colleague and I finished our data gathering work in one of the local community weekly paper in Ozamiz City so we had time to spare to go around the city. With the assistance of a guide (a Ozamiz based journalist) we had a quick tour of the historic Nuestra Seniora El Triunfo Del La Cruz or Our Lady of the Triumph of the Cross.  The Nuestra is an old fortress or barracks built by the Spaniards in 1756 to house soldiers that guard the coast of Misamis Occidental from marauding raiders from the Province of Lanao.

For many years,  I thought this landmark in Ozamiz was just a lighthouse. I discovered during the quick tour that the lighthouse is not the main attraction. The lighthouse is just but a fixture on one side of the fortress and serves as a guide for incoming vessels to the port of Ozamiz.  Nuestra Seniora is basically composed of a fort with its Southern wall (the wall directly facing the port) having a shrine of Our Lady. In recent years, the Catholic Church built an outdoor chapel fronting the image of Our Lady. This place is now called the Shrine by the locals and is visited by devotees daily.

The fortress has almost the same design as the famous walled city of Manila (Intramuros).  The first obvious difference is the size. The Ozamiz fort is significantly smaller than Intramuros. Unlike Intramuros wherein the Spaniards designed the wall to protect a settlement, the walls of the Ozamiz fort were designed and built basically as a military base. Its location is strategically placed facing the Panguil Bay opposite the Province of Lanao del Norte.

On The Road Again

I’m on the road again and its ironic that the photo I have posted is of a ship or ferry to be exact. Being “on the road” is being used here as a general description of being on travel again. The project were I am involved in is already on full swing and more data are required to be gathered thus the need to travel again. Given the volume of information that needs to be gathered, I will be on the road for a longer time this time. Hope to be able to find time to update my blog to keep you posted.

Anyway, for the first leg of my road trip, I left Cagayan de Oro early morning of Sunday to be in Ozamiz City. Will be in Ozamiz till the middle of the week and then will proceed to Pagadian City for the rest of the week. In as much as I would have wanted to take snap shots of the travel from Cagayan de Oro to Ozamiz (on the road), this was impossible as I was driving. The only time I got some respite from driving was during the short (around 15-25 mins.) ferry trip from Mukas in the Lanao del Norte side to Ozamiz City. I have been traveling this route a couple of times before in the past but haven’t really taken photos of the ferry or its surroundings. For the longest time I have wanted to have a photo set of my own. Being a Mindanawon and being a regular passer-by of this place, I just felt that I should have my own photographic version of this place. I finally got my chance today.

With the vehicle securely in placed at the parking bay I got off the vehicle and using a borrowed point and shoot digicam started to shoot. I did have my DSLR with me but I felt that it was too big and heavy and besides with so many people around, I felt uncomfortable to be shooting with all the attention on me. This was a time wherein I felt that a DSLR becomes a hindrance to effectively capture the sights and sounds of the moment. Having a smaller camera does have its benefits.