A day at Regina Rica

If you are a devoted Catholic you would probably heard or been to this peaceful place located in Tanay Rizal. It’s a great place to meditate and pray. We’ve been to this place for a countless times already but we’ve found ourselves coming back. But last year we didn’t had the chance, obviously because of the pandemic. A lot of people were visiting this place from time to time, since mass gathering is strictly prohibited during lockdowns we just let the year 2020 passed without visiting this special place. Last May this year though, when quarantine within our area was lifted (from ECQ to GCQ) we took the chance of visiting Regina Rica. After setting up the date where everyone in the family(my in laws) were available we finally agreed on this particular date.

Getting at Regina Rica

It was one sunny Friday morning when we all got ready for this long awaited visit. The location would take 3 to 4 hours drive from Manila. It’s gonna be a long ride, and all of us were very excited. By the way, the kids were with us and it was their first trip going out of Manila since the pandemic began. My in laws were living in Quezon City while we were from Caloocan, so we agreed to stopped and met at a restaurant located along the way to have our lunch.

We left the house at around 10 in the morning. We dropped at the nearest gas station nearby first and then headed to our first destination. We encountered some light traffic along Marikina going to Masinag. But right after passing Cogeo the vehicles started to lessen, thus making our travel a little faster. Since we were out of the city, the trees, and the mountains slowly showing up. It was a very nice view while we were inside the car. Who wouldn’t love the beauty of nature right?

Meeting Halfway

We met the rest of the family exactly at lunchtime. There were some restaurants available along the road but we always chose this particular restaurant. They served many dishes, all tasty and delicious at a very affordable prices. We ordered bulalo soup, pansit guisado and fried chicken for lunch. We finished our food in no time and it seems everyone was satisfied with it. We rest for a little while, enjoyed the beautiful scenery surrounding us and took some photos. Some were also busy updating their status in social medias because even though we were surrounded by mountains the signal isn’t weak. After resting for a few minutes more, we then proceeded to our final destination, the Regina Rica.

The Lady on Top

We arrived at Regina Rica location at around 2:30 in the afternoon. The health protocols were strictly observed and implemented during our visit. We filled up some registration form for contact tracing before we can finally get inside the place. Also everyone was advised to wear face mask and face shields. There was no entrance fee needed, only the parking fee was collected upon entrance. By the way since this place is considered sacred, everyone should follow the proper attire. Ladies were not allowed to wear sleeveless and anything shorts. And if in case you are wearing an inappropriate attire they will let you borrow a shawl to cover up your shoulder and legs.

The above photo will welcome you upon entering this solemn place. Before you can finally reached it, you’ve got to take a lot of steps going on top. Going up seems a little hard but it was fun and with all the beautiful flowers planted around the stairway it feels like you were entering a paradise too. Just some few steps more and you’ll finally meet Mama Mary holding baby Jesus. It was very huge, like the first time I saw it, I was speechless and mesmerised. There was actually a chapel inside that big statue. And yes you can go near it too. We prayed for God’s guidance and protection inside the chapel. We asked for some forgiveness for all our shortcomings with the Lord, more blessings for the whole family and of course for the divine healing this world needs. They also have a place where you can light a candle. They sold candles in different colors, where each color represents different intentions. After spending a peaceful time with the Lord, we took some pictures of the whole place. It was so good and we were all loving the peace and serenity of it. It was indeed a very nice afternoon. We didn’t stay for long because were travelling back home. So after taking a lot of pictures, we went back down to the parking area, so that we can go back home before it gets dark.

Going Home

It was a very nice getaway even just for a day. All the stress we’ve been through were gone and instead it was replaced by hopes and positive feelings. It was always that way, whenever we had the chance to visit Regina Rica we ended up going home feeling blessed. That is why we were planning to go back again next year. And yes after a few more hours of travelling we got back in Manila just in time before the sky turns into night. We dropped by at my in laws house at Quezon City and ate dinner. We rested for a little while and then finally went home. It was a very long day and everyone was so tired yet very happy for we were able to see the lady on top.

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Thank you everyone for taking your precious time to read my articles. You were all very much appreciated. If you want to share something about my article please feel free to comment down below. May the Lord God bless us all.

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All images used are mine.

Lead image used Credit to Unsplash