Finally a Family Trip! Happy Moments at Woodside Water Park (Cabuyao, Laguna)

It is almost two years since the lockdown began. The strict government health protocols imprisoned our children within our subdivision and they were only able to go out when there's a visit to the pedia. They miss the beach, the church, and even the simple visit to the grocery.

I feel sad that this pandemic stole the simple joys of our kids. Our numerous visits to the beach and the flights to various places in the Philippines was never experienced by our bunso, who was born in the middle of the pandemic. So, on a Friday of the week-long school break, we decided to bring the little ones to have fun Woodside Farm & Waterpark somewhere in Cabuyao, Laguna.

I read the tip that kids are allowed from the FB group Kids are Allowed. A little online research and chat with Woodside Farm & Waterpark FB page confirmed that kids are indeed allowed in that water park and there is strict requirements (i.e. S-pass, vaccine, negative COVID test rsult). 

It was a spur of the moment decision. I discovered Woodside Farm & Waterpark when I checked FB in the morning and decided to go on that same day because we were sure that that waterpark will be crowded during the weekend. We want to be safe from the pandemic as much as possible so we wanted to avoid the crowd.

We prepared everything in a rush. We brought what's left of our breakfast as our baon (rice and a few hotdogs). We brought some chips. We only brought a little water. We don't have a car so we booked a Grab Car to get there.

We did not tell the kids where we were going so it was a big surprise for them when we finally reached Woodside Farm & Waterpark in the afternoon. Their shouts of joy were music to my ears.

The kids immediately rushed to the pool the moment that we settled in our cottage. They had fun going up and down the water slide.

Even my one-year old enjoyed playing in the water.

It was a good decision that we went to Woodside Farm & Waterpark on a Friday. The pool is not crowded. There were even times that we had the pool only for ourselves. 

Woodside Farm & Waterpark is like a mini version of Splash Island. They have pools for kids and adults. They even have high water slides for the thrill seekers.

(Source: Woodside Farm & Waterpark FB page)

Our trip to Woodside Farm & Waterpark is, of course for the kids, so we just stayed at the safe kiddie pools.

Entrance and Cottage Fees

The entrance fee that we paid is 250 pesos for the kids and 300 pesos for adults. The fee is their weekday rate, which is cheaper by 50 pesos than the weekend rate.

We also rented a cottage, which costed 900 pesos. You can check out the latest rates in the waterpark's website.

Food and Drinks in Woodside Waterpark

Food and water are allowed to be brought in the water park. I saw other visitors bringing in cooked food and containers of drinking water. What's not allowed is bringing in soft drinks, which is subject to corkage fee.

However, the guards at the waterpark's entrance did not check if the food that we brought in. So I guess some guests can sneak some soft and hard drinks in.

The waterpark even have a place where guests can grill barbecue or fish.

Woodside Farm & Waterpark has a restaurant where food is available. The price of their soft drinks is expensive since its twice the original price.

How to go to Woodside Water Park

Commuting to the water park is difficult. There is no jeepney going to that place and tricycles are rare.

In fact, I began worrying about going home while we are on the way to the waterpark. The place is in the middle of nowhere and I didn't see any jeepney or tricycle.

In fact, this waterpark is not even listed as a destination in the Grab app. The destination that I selected is the Marcos Mansion, which is about 200 meters away. I had to pay additional fare to the Grab driver for the additional 200 meters.

The seemingly haunted Marcos Mansion.

Good thing that one of the water park's staff, who is the driver of the service cart, offered his private car to ferry us to Paseo de Santa Rosa. It was a big relief to us since we did not intend to stay overnight in this resort.

Woodside Farm & Waterpark is advisable for those who have their own vehicles. As for me, I will not go back to this water park until I have my own car.

My Final Words

All in all, I can say that the Ahab Family truly enjoyed our half-day stay in Woodside Water Park. I was very happy to see my little ones finally go out and enjoy the pool and the water slides. It was a precious family moment for us after the almost two years of the lockdown.

What I also liked about Woodside Water Park is that guests can bring their own cooked food. They accommodated the Filipino culture of bringing plenty of food during family outings.

So if you're looking for a place to bring your kiddos while you're enroute to Tagaytay, then Woodside Farm & Water Park might be a good option for you.

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Visita Iglesia (2021): Revisiting Cabuyao's Oldest Church - St. Polycarp Church

(Souurce: Wikipedia)

The "inutil" government did it again! Malacañang recently declared ECQ over the so-called NCR+. This means that we Catholics are barred again from celebrating the holiest week of the year. Making only the Holy Week as ECQ is obviously a revenge from the Man in the Palace, whose ego was bruised by the comment from Bishops Pabillo and Bishop David on the illogical protocols directed against the Church and her celebration of the Holy Week.

Anyways, let us go back to the topic of this post. Today is Palm Sunday and on this day I begin my Virtual Visita Iglesia. The visita iglesia or "church visit" is a Filipino tradition of visiting 7 or 14 churches every Holy Thursday. It is a form of penance, traditionally, with some penitents walking barefoot from church to another. For some, visita iglesia is treated as a tour of churches. Now in the years of lockdowns, no one is allowed to do this tradition.

For Palm Sunday, let me revisit the church in Cabuyao, Laguna that I featured in the Virtual Visita Iglesia in 2017. That Church is St. Polycarp Church of Cabuyao.

It was dusk when I attended mass in St. Polycarp Church in 2017. So the photos that I took of the church's facade and exteriors are dark. This time I visited the church in the afternoon and got a very good view of the church's exteriors.

It is disheartening that the door of Cabuyao Church is closed and no one can enter to pray. The pandemic and the government's addiction to lockdowns took many things from us. It is as if they are denying us to gaze at the real presence of our Lord.

The church's facade features Cabuyao's patron saint, St. Polycarp.

Hearing the name Polycarp reminds me of the Pokemon Magikarp. There's no connection of course. The truth is his name means "many fruits", which is a testament to the many spiritual fruits that he brought to the Church.

St. Polycarp is considered a Church Father, disciple of St. John the Apostle, and the bishop of Smyrna (now Izmir, Turkey). He was executed by the Romans when he refused to renounce his faith in Jesus Christ.

St. Polycarp's icon, which features his execution, is on the left side of the church. St. Polycarp was executed by being burned at stake. The fire, however, did not even touch the holy man. Some accounts even say that the fire made an arch over St. Polycarp. Seeing that fire is not working, the executioners stabbed him and that's when he died.

According to the marker below the image of the burning St. Polycarp, Cabuyao Church is the first church in the Philippines that was dedicated to St. Polycarp as its patron saint.

Aside from St. Polycarp, the church's facade also features the icons of St. Vincent Ferrer and Sto. Domingo.

Near the icon of the burning St. Polycarp is the icon of St. Clare of Assisi. The image of St. Clare is more fitting to the history of Cabuyao Church since it was under the care of the Franciscans for a long time. Also, near the church is the Poor Clare Monastery.

In front of the church is the image of Mama Mary, standing on the "Tomb of the Unborn".

The "Tomb of the Unborn" is dedicated to the babies killed through abortion. It is the Church's public denunciation of abortion.

What I like about Cabuyao Church is the big tree in its front yard. It is massive and its leaves provide the much needed shade.

I bet that this tree is much older than the many inhabitants of Cabuyao.

What astounds me about this church is its old bell tower with trees or shrubs growing on it.

The scene of plants growing on the massive adobe blocks has some beauty in it. It is like a silent struggle between nature and man's creation.

Below the old bell tower is the old bell of Cabuyao Church.

The bell is broken and bears the text "REYNA DE SMO ROSARIO" and "CURA PARROCO …"

The old bell of Cabuyao was restored through the help of Parlatone Club of Cabuyao and was installed beside the bell tower on April 17, 2019.;'

The bell is an important part of Cabuyao's history. So, it was placed as the central element of the seal of Cabuyao City.

There is a legend in Cabuyao that claims that Cabuyao Church once had a golden bell. One day, the bell suddenly went missing. Most probably it was stolen. People believe that the bell was thrown in a river or in Laguna de Bay and is now lost to the people of Cabuyao.

Incidents about missing treasures and precious things are somewhat common in Cabuyao Church. One of such incidents is the diggings made by the members of the Philippine Constabulary (PC) in 1972, which was the year when Marcos declared Martial Law. The diggings in and around the church were conducted for two month and the townsfolk claimed that the PC unearthed treasures hidden by the Japs during the war. It is not surprising that Cabuyao Church caught the attention of the greedy elements of PC since this church because it was used by the Japanese as infirmary for wounded soldiers and stable for horses during the War.

Another missing treasures are its antique images and baroque accouterments that went missing during the renovation of the church. Some towns folks say that the antique images were taken to some homes for "safekeeping".

It is unfortunate that I was not able to enter Cabuyao Church this time. Well, at least this latest visit gave me a new perspective about this church.

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Collect Prayer for St. Polycarp

God of all creation, who were pleased to give the Bishop Saint Polycarp a place in the company of the Martyrs, grant, through his intercession, that sharing with him in the chalice of Christ, we may rise through the Holy Spirit to eternal life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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Visita Iglesia is a Catholic tradition of visiting seven or fourteen churches during Maundy Thursday. For each day, this Holy Week, I will feature one church as a sort of virtual Visita Iglesia.

Unfortunately, due to the pandemic and the lockdowns, I was only able to visit three churches. So, for this year's virtual Visita Iglesia I can only feature 3 churches, namely:

Palm Sunday: St. Polycarp Church in Cabuyao City

Holy Monday: St. Francis Church in Ortigas, Mandaluyong

Good Friday: St. Michael the Archangel Chapel in Taguig

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Read about my previous visit to Cabuyao Church in 2017.

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References:

1. St. Polycarp Parish - Cabuyao official website

2. Catholic Culture for Collect Prayer for St. Polycarp

Visita Iglesia: Saint Polycarp Church, the Oldest in Western Laguna

The City of Cabuyao is the second smallest city in the western section of the province of Laguna in terms of land area. The largest city in the area is Calamba, followed by Santa Rosa, and then Biñan. Cabuyao is just almost 2,000 hectares bigger than San Pedro.

However, in the past, Cabuyao is the biggest town in the western part of Laguna. In fact, Cabuyao is the western part of Laguna because the cities of Calamba, Santa Rosa, Biñan, and San Pedro were its former barangays.

In 1570, the conquistador of Manila Miguel Lopez de Legazpi sent his grandson, Juan de Salcedo, to conquer the territories along the lakeshore of Ba-i (now known as Laguna Lake). Salcedo conquered the indio settlements of Taytay and Cainta along the north lakeshore. He then crossed the river and landed in Pagsanjan and conquered the settlements of Nagcarlan and Majayjay. The mountainous terrain in Majayjay forced Salcedo to just attack the lakeshore until he reached the settlement of Tabuco.

Miguel Lopez de Legazpi declared Tabuco as an encomienda or town under Gaspar Ramirez. The Augustinian Recollects were the first missionaries to arrive in Tabuco but they handed their jurisdiction to the Franciscans later on.

Cabuyao got its name when the Franciscans asked the women near port about the name of the place. The women answered “kabuyaw” thinking that the missionaries were asking about the kabuyaw trees growing near the lake. From then on, Tabuco was started to be called as Cabuyao.

According to Reginald Batalla Salcedo in his comment on Pepe Alas’ post, the first church in Cabuyao is located in Barrio North Marinig. This church was destroyed by floods and only the flooring was visible during low tide.

The current church of Cabuyao, which is located at the poblacion, was finished in 1771 and was placed under the patronage of the Saint Polycarp.

St. Polycarp on the church's facade.

St. Polycarp is a disciple of Saint John the Apostle and was a bishop of Smyrna in the 2nd Century. He was martyred in the arena at full view of the crowd, who demands death to the atheists (according to what I read, Christians were considered atheists by Greeks in the past because they refused to worship the Greek gods).

Image of the martyred St. Polycarp at church grounds.

St. Polycarp faced his martyrdom calmly. In fact, when the soldiers arrested him, he offered them food in exchange for an hour of prayer. The proconsul of Smyrna tried to make St. Polycarp deny Christ but the holy man just answered: 

"How then can I blaspheme my King and Savior? You threaten me with a fire that burns for a season, and after a little while is quenched; but you are ignorant of the fire of everlasting punishment that is prepared for the wicked."

He was tied at stake and was burned. Miraculously, the fire refused to touch St. Polycarp. There were accounts that the fire just formed an arch and the saint glowed like gold. He was finally killed by a spear thrust to his chest.

Aside from St. Polycarp, the parish of Cabuyao has other minor patrons such as Saint Vincent Ferrer and Saint Clare of Assisi.

It was night when I visited the church so the image of St. Clare looks a little scary.

The church is also dedicated to Our Mother.

I can feel the age of Cabuyao Church just by looking at the old adobe blocks comprising its walls. I thought that it was just a simple old church. Little I know that it is an important part of history.

I read in Pepe Alas’ post that the Cabuyao Church had Father Mariano Gómez as its parish priest from 1848 to 1862. Father Gómez is part the famous GomBurZa, who were executed by the Spanish authorities due to their alleged link with the 1872 Cavite Mutiny.

Cabuyao Church was also witness to the Sakdalista uprising during the American Period. The Sakdalista is a movement founded by Senate employee Benigno Ramos that demanded Philippines’ immediate independence from the USA. Cabuyao and thirteen other towns were attacked by the Sakdalistas at the passing of the Tydings-McDuffie Act, which mandated the independence of the Philippines after a ten-year period.

They say that bullet marks made during the Sakdalista Uprising are still present on the church walls. I guess I have to look for the bullet marks when I visit the church again.

The church’s altar features our crucified Lord, the Virgin Mary, and St. Polycarp is his bishop robe.

Looking up the ceiling of the dome made me think of our God looking from above.

St. Polycarp Church in Cabuyao is one of the oldest churches in Laguna. It was witness to the town’s rich history and the evolving life of Cabuyeños. I do wish that this church continue to be the town’s witness and a reminder of Cabuyeños’ root and faith.

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Prayer to Saint Polycarp:

God of all creation, You gave your bishop Polycarp the privilege of being counted among the saints who gave their lives in faithful witness to the gospel. May his prayers give us the courage to share with him the cup of suffering and to rise to eternal glory. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.