Hi Steemians! I am back from my long, busy days with a travel blog to the famous Divine Mercy Shrine of El Salvador City, Misamis Oriental!
As a daughter born and raised in a family of catholics, it is a one-of-a-kind experience to be able to go the said shrine. The Divine Mercy Shrine is located at the Divine Mercy Hills, Ulaliman, El Salvador City, Misamis Oriental. The photos in this blog might not show it but the shrine is actually visited by a lot of people from different parts of the Philippines and is pretty famous especially to religious people.
A lot of people might not know this but it was actually my very first time of going there and experiencing the different kind of atmosphere the place gives. The place was actually quite big, unlike what I imagined before.
So upon entering the road leading to the shrine up above the hills, you can already see a lot of people to and fro. Some people go there with their cars and tents while some just walk from the main road. And that's approximately around 500 meters far.
There's actually a lot of entrances to the shrine but we took the very main entrance because it was the nearest one where we parked the car. And yes, you won't have to worry about parking spaces because there are a lot of pay parking areas. There's also a lot of food and souvenir stalls that sell goodies at a reasonable price. The picture below is the main entrance and it's really hot since there's a lot of people and it was already noon when we arrived.
Upon entering the shrine, you have to write your name along with your family/friends or whoever you are with before going to security check. The photo below shows a somewhat of a place where there are a lot and I mean A LOT OF SKIRTS for women. This is because women are not allowed to enter unless they are wearing long skirts or any dress/sunday's best. Paying for a skirt to wear inside is not mandatory but donations are very much appreciated. By the way, that woman wearing a white t-shirt on the left is my younger sister.
Heads up and see! The stairs lead you to the famous statue of the Divine Mercy. There are not much steps but it was very tiring for a fat woman like me. I invited my man 
This is a view when I was halfway through the steps. I think all of the colorful flowers are in full bloom but my phone's camera wasn't able to capture it.
This a view when I reached the top. I was standing alongside the huge statue.
This is the Chapel of the Holy Shroud located at the back of the statue. Boy do I see a lot of people! It was my first time seeing such. Fun fact, my aunt told me we were lucky enough because there weren't much people that day. And there I was thinking that there were too many people.
This is a wishing fountain beside the place where you borrow skirt for women. A lot of coins there, right?
I also wanna add something but I forgot to take a picture. One of the reasons why people go there is because of the healing/miraculous water. That explained why we took four 4-liter gallons with us. And it was out of sheer luck that people had only rushed to make the line for the water long after we took ours.
It was a tiring experience but one-of-a-kind! I would look forward coming back here sometime. And I suggest people that they take it easy when taking the stairs up to the statue. You don't wanna end up with shaking knees like what happened to me. Bring food and water. Make it cold if possible. ;)
