Apayao: Church Ruins in Mataguisi

the locals asked me, who do you know? i replied, none. what will you do there? see the church ruins. they did not want to bring me there. 

i had been to pudtol,  apayao once in April 2012. but i only saw the church ruins near the municipal hall.  i told them so.

they said it was not safe. i can sense from their ilocano conversations. as i understand a bit. one said, what if some people might just want to kill him? another one said, there are some uniformed men around the area. in short, they were all discouraging me. i did not know if i would like to even believe what they were saying. one tricycle driver said that it was not worth the money he will earn if he takes me there. he was even undecided. they were also saying that we had to notify the police station that we would go there.

maybe they thought i would back out and not proceed. i was even more determined to go after hearing all that they said. but  a lot of what ifs were playing in my mind. i forgot my knife and i have not replaced my lost whistle.

with a braveheart,  i went to mataguisi in apayao, to see the church ruins. though i have seen a majestic one in fuga, this was still a beautiful structure.

on my way there, i saw spectacular views. but i could not concentrate as the ride was even more than the cyclone ride in universal studios. the road was being filled with big rocks, soil, etc. 

the old man told me, "i felt you really wanted to go. so i volunteered. but the amount you are paying me is not enough. but it is okay." he was referring to the rugged terrain. he was even standing while driving just to help the vehicle in going through the steep roads. 

yes, there were men in uniform. there was a checkpoint. he was asked where i was going. then they let us proceed.

on my way back, i wanted to jump into the river, to wash away the dirt from my body. but i had to catch the last trip going back to the main road. 

i stayed a long time by the bridge. i was asking where i can go down the river. the old man told me that we had to hurry back. he was not comfortable.

i regret that i did not bathe in the river. i wanted to join these children in the next river. but maybe it was not meant on that day. 

i looked for another river in another place, in another town; and soaked my body to regain my affected valor that those scared men tried to inflict with their cowardice.  

in this world, i believe that if you live a clean righteous life, you can walk chin up, with all the bravery in your soul.  there may be dangers along the road, but i never had a second to think about what bad thing can happen to me when i am exposed to them. if ever i fall, i believe somebody will care to save this babe with a purple heart.