BEACHES AND CHURCHES: DINGALAN, AURORA

When I went around the towns of Nueva Ecija, I went as far as Gabaldon, which was the easternmost town of Nueva Ecija. Then I found out that the next town already belonged to the province of Aurora, the town of Dingalan which was already facing the Pacific. Hence, I decided to drive over to this town. Visited its parish church which was on hilly part of the town with a good view of the sea. The good beaches were not found in the main town itself. From barangay Paltic which was as far as the car could go, we had to take a ten minute boat ride to get to the White Beach of Dingalan. There were lots of cottages for rent and some overnight accommodation for backpackers.

What quipped my interest in going to Dingalan was the practice that the two towns of Gabaldon and Dingalan would do every Good Friday which they call “Gabalding”. On the morning of Good Friday, the parishioners of Gabaldon and Dingalan would make a station of the cross on the road going up to the border of the two provinces which is on a mountain top. Each group would walk for about ten kilometers. It will be there at the mountain with makeshift tents that the two parishes would celebrate the Good Friday commemoration of the Lord’s Passion.