#lugsongan

[youngambassador-blog]

April 16-19, 2018

Limasawa Island, Southern Leyte

Blue green seas. Clear waters. White sandy beaches. Friendly people. Simple life.

I have always loved the scent and warmth of this small island in the southernmost part of Eastern Visayas, Philippines. The best time to visit this place is between March-May when the open seas are not so rough and the monsoon winds and rains are not too strong.

My first visit was last March 2017 when I joined our then-Eastern Visayas missionary in visiting the churches in that area. I was an operations manager that time. Several months later, I accepted the call as missionary to Eastern Visayas. The former focused on Central Visayas.

Since then, I have always dreamed of going back to Limasawa to meet the wonderful people I became friends with and to experience the island all over again.

I usually go to Triana (port area) and visit a Baptist church there. Then, I will travel by motorcycle to Lugsongan, which is on the other side of the island. Here is a church by the name of Fair Haven Fundamental Baptist Church. It is a small church made of concrete and wood for walls and galvanized iron for roofing, with a parsonage at its left side and an open grassy space at its right. Across the grassy area is a big, long room divided into smaller rooms for Sunday school classes of children. The pastor of this church is very welcoming (he even serves me Coca-Cola for breakfast!). A lot of children play on the church grounds, all of them attending the church’s Awana club. The church overlooks the eastern sea. You can see Panlaon’s silhouette and the lights of Surigao on the horizon on a clear night sky.

During the months of March until April, local townspeople dry squid by the streets. Almost all of the people in this island fish for a living and for their daily consumption. I see to it that I buy some dried pusit (squid) before I leave the island. There is no day in Limasawa that I did not eat a fish, no meal not served with a cold glass of Coca-Cola. I think it is their “water” there.

Christian brethren from Fair Haven took me with them to a few resorts, namely: Dakdak and Island Lagoon. Dakdak Resort is just located in Lugsongan, a 5-10 minute walk from the Fair Haven church. It has sandy beaches and cottages under trees. The waves can get a bit rough on some days. On the other hand, the Island Lagoon Resort is on the other side of the island, a 10-minute motorcycle ride from Triana port. Entering the lagoon vicinity even has a toll fee of Php 5.00! It has no sandy shores, but large rocks cut by man or by nature’s weathering over time. This place is good for cliff/rock jumping. There are even caves under the rocks.

Aside from enjoying the beautiful waters of Limasawa, the Fair Haven youth and I also climbed the 450-step stairway to Magellan’s Cross in the town of Magallanes. The first Roman Catholic mass was held in Limasawa in 1521 after Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer, arrived with other ships from Spain. A monument of a large wooden cross was erected on top of a hill in this town, same location as the original one. Several feet away from the cross monument is a grazing ground for cattle and goats. The view is good for filming a Sound of Music scene of climbing the mountains. From this grassland on top of the hill, we could see the blue seas surrounding the whole island, some farms, boats crossing the seas from Triana and Padre Burgos, and a silhouette of Bohol in the horizon and farther is Camiguin. The view is so amazing, we cannot keep ourselves from praising God for creating and preserving such a wonderful environment.

There are two reasons why I would love to return to Limasawa: the people and the place. I will always miss their hospitality, their simple living, the fun fellowship and the feeling of family they gave me when I was there. Christians in this island are very friendly. They have a sense of humor, too.

I know that there is still so much to explore in this island, and I know I am always welcome to come back and meet my fellow Christian friends for more fellowship and adventures.

  Fair Haven April 16-19, 2018 Limasawa Island, Southern Leyte Blue green seas. Clear waters. White sandy beaches. Friendly people.

[bloggeras-world-blog]

Limawasa, an island municipality in Southern Leyte, is a small yet flourishing town being the site of the First Christian Mass in the country and in Asia.

History

“Mazaua” is the original name of this municipality. There are two assumptions how the municipality got its name:

One assumption is that before the Spanish men arrived to the island, the natives don’t really have a name of their place. Upon the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan and his men, one of the natives was asked for the name of their place. The native, unable to understand what it meant, mistakenly interpreted the question to mean as to “how many wives their Rajah has”. So he answered immediately “Lima’y Asawa”, meaning that their Rajah has five wives. The Spanish too, thinking that was the answer to his question, return to tell his companions that the island is named “Lima’y Asawa ”. And from then on, the place came to be called as “Limasawa”.

Another assumption is that when the Spanish men arrived to the island, they named it “Mazaua” for the beauty of the place. As it is their custom to add the prefix “Le” to mean a particular name, it became the tongue of everyone in the place to call it as “Le Mazaua ”. It was the local people themselves who later changed the spelling and joined the two words into “Limasawa”.

Today the island is popularly known as “Limasawa” although some elderly citizens prefer to call it “Mazaua”.

Scenic Spots

Aside from its religious and historic landmarks, Limasawa is endowed with scenic and refreshing vistas of white sand beaches and fish sanctuaries perfect for hiking, camping, snorkeling, and scuba diving. The long white beaches (Dakdak and Gamot Beaches) are located at Brgy. Lugsongan and Cabulihan. Caves can also be found in Brgy. San Agustin and Magallanes.

#thephilippines #itsmorefuninthephilippines

[nebzcliff]

Arrivals at Lugsongan, Limasawa, Southern, Leyte! #nebznation #poshnebz #islandlife #island #banca #sunrise #teamhisoler (at Limasawa, Southern Leyte, Philippines)