Shrine of Our Lady of Charity

Today is the first day of the Holy Week or Semana Santa, a significant religious observance for the Roman Catholics and most Christian groups. And being a predominantly Christian nation, many Filipinos would be busy with church activities this week.  The pious would fast, attend masses and processions; some would take the opportunity of the non-working holidays to go on vacation.  I will be in Cebu for work and some R and R.

Although I'm not a Catholic, I have always been fascinated with old churches and rituals.  This is the Bantay Church in Bantay, Ilocos Sur, also known as Sanctuary of Nuestra Senora de la Caridad and Shrine of Our Lady of Charity.  This was one of the churches we visited during our Ilocos road trip that I forgot to post.  This church houses the image of the Virgin Mary that is believed to be miraculous, and St. Augustine of Hippo, the Doctor of Grace.  The original church was built in 1593 and considered as one of the oldest parishes in the Ilocandia.  It is also famous for its scenic bell tower that sits on a hilltop; it was also used as a watch tower during World War II.

The church was built by Augustinian friars in 1593 and has survived many attacks during the Spanish colonial times, wars and calamities.

Truth, in matters of religion, is simply the opinion that has survived. ~ Oscar Wilde

Linking to Blue Monday

Monday Mellow Yellows

Our World Tuesday

Crisologo Museum/Monday Doorways & Our World-Tuesday

My first contribution to Monday Doorways---another meme to enjoy.

The main door of the Crisologo Museum in Vigan, Ilocos Sur.  It is housed in a century-old mansion of the Crisologos, a prominent political clan in Vigan.  The museum was established after the patriarch of the family, Floro Crisologo, then a Congressman, was gunned down inside the cathedral in 1970 just as he stood up at Sunday mass to fall in line for communion.  The murder hasn't been solved.

The rooms in the Crisologo mansion exhibit family photos, book collection, antique furniture and china, gowns and shoes of the widow, religious artifacts and other memorabilia.  It basically shows how the family lived in those days---the 20-seat dining table fits the life of a political family.

Crime scene photos, the slain politician's bloody clothes and shoes, news clippings of the murder occupy the former office at the ground floor of the mansion.  They are too gruesome to be posted here.  Crisologo's widow Carmeling, then the provincial governor, promised she wouldn't take any action to exact revenge and she didn't.  But her eldest son Bingbong did, infamously burning down a village occupied by supporters of their family's political opponent.  He went to jail for that and became a born-again Christian.  Some years after his release from prison, he was elected to Congress. Source

Receiving/Living room

The master's bedroom

Vigan is now a safe place, with its 18th century ambiance and calming rhythm of  kalesas clattering on cobblestone streets.  But long before Ninoy Aquino's murder on the airport tarmac, Crisologo's killing inside the cathedral symbolized just how bloody Philippine politics is.  Source

Linking to Our World Tuesday

Standing [Photo Hunt]

Sta. Maria Church  @ mirandablue

16th century churches in Ilocandia remain standing after centuries of natural and man-made calamities.  On top is the bell tower of Santa Maria Church in Ilocos Sur, below is the beautiful Paoay Church in Ilocos Norte.  Both churches are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Paoay Church  @ mirandablue

Posted for Photo Hunt, hosted by TN Chick

Grandpa's Inn [My World]

@ mirandablue

Grandpa's Inn was recommended to me by a friend in Laoag City.  I was looking for an affordable place to stay in Vigan that is near the Heritage Village and good restaurants.  This inn is at the perfect location in Vigan---it stands at the corner of Bonifacio Street and Quirino Boulevard, a mere 3-minute walk to Calle Crisologo.  The rates are affordable and there are good restaurants within the inn called Cafe Uno and Kusina Felicitas, serving authentic Ilocano cuisine.

@ mirandablue

The entrance to Grandpa's Inn is a brick hallway that leads to the reception area.  The bricks, I gathered, are the original bricks of the 18th century Spanish home of the Donato family.  This is the family's residential house that was converted into a 19-room inn in 1979.  There are curio items at the reception area like an old piano, a violin and trumpets, a couple of antique glass lamps, vintage telephones and brass vases and plates.

@ mirandablue

@ mirandablue

I wanted to experience one of their culturally-designed rooms, unfortunately, they had already been booked.  The inn has the Calesa Beds (horse-drawn carriage), Karison Beds (carabao-drawn farm carriage) and Pasagad Beds (farm sleds).  I was able to peep into the Calesa room and took this photo.  It looks like the calesa beds are only for people about my size...if you're taller than 5'2", you have to sleep in a fetal position.:p

@ mirandablue

Our room was on the 2nd floor, and the photo below is the living room area.  Most of the furniture here are antique, carved wood probably made from narra, combined with solihia (woven rattan).  The inn has a warm, welcoming ambiance of old homes and I was happy to note that there was no musky smell, and we didn't see any ghost!:p

@ mirandablue

@ mirandablue

Our room was cozy and comfortable.  I loved the carved wood headboard, the brick walls and wall-mounted capiz lamps.

@ mirandablue

Stairs to the ground floor/reception area.

@ mirandablue

The inn has a massage service, provides a tour guide for big groups and has free wi-fi.  Grandpa's Inn is a lovely place to stay in Vigan.  

Posted for My World-Tuesday

Stormy [Watery & Outdoor Wednesday]

@ mirandablue

The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore. - Vincent Van Gogh

We weathered another strong typhoon yesterday.  Packing winds of 260 kilometers per hour, super-typhoon "Juan" (international code name:  Megi) hit northern and central Luzon provinces on Monday destroying homes, crops and infrastructures.  The storm is now on its way out but rains continue to pour.  Traffic was monstrous on my way home this evening.  "Juan" is the 10th and the strongest storm to hit the country this year.

These photos were taken in late August along the rough shores of Santa, Ilocos Sur.

@ mirandablue

Posted for http://waterywednesday.blogspot.com and http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com

Miniature [Photo Hunt]

@ mirandablue

A miniature "calesa" or horse-drawn carriage 

Calesa was one of the modes of transportation introduced by the Spaniards in the Philippines in the 18th century that only ilustrados or rich Filipinos and high ranked officials could afford.  They are rarely used in the streets nowadays except in places frequented by tourists and in some century-old preserved cities like Vigan. The miniature horse is carved from wood and the carriage was crafted from metal. I took these photos in Granpa's Inn and Calle Crisologo at the Heritage Village in Vigan, Ilocos Sur.  

@ mirandablue                             Grandpa's Inn, Vigan

 My sister with the real calesa at Calle Crisologo.

@ mirandablue                                                                                                        at Calle Crisologo, Vigan, Ilocos Sur

Posted for Photo Hunt

Just another bridge

@ mirandablue

Just another bridge we crossed in Ilocos Sur on the way to Vigan.  I don't know the name of this bridge...this was before we reached the town of Santa.  The railing is the generic design on bridges built in the last 20 years or so.  And that's a tricycle cruising along.

This post is linked to http://bayphoto.blogspot.com for Sunday Bridges, hosted by Louis

LP: Makapal [Thick]

Sana di ka mahihilo habang tinititigan mo ang litratong ito.  Ito ang makapal na mga tukod (buttresses) sa dingding ng Santa Maria Church  sa Ilocos Sur.  Gawa sa tisa, ang mga buttresses ay nagbibigay suporta at nagpapatibay sa istruktura laban sa lindol.  Kadalasan, ito ay nakikita sa mga simbahang gothic ang disenyo.  Ang simbahan ng Santa Maria ay nasa listahan ng UNESCO bilang isang World Heritage site.  

This post is linked to Litratong Pinoy

Quirino Bridge - old and new [Sunday Bridges]

I wish we stopped when we reached this bridge to enjoy the breathtaking views of the mountains, river and sea.  But having been on the road for 10 hours, all we wanted was to reach our first destination, Vigan, which is a little more than a kilometer away from this bridge.  These are drive-by shots when we were crossing Quirino Bridge.

The 456-meter Quirino Bridge in Bantay, Ilocos Sur is named after the late Elpidio Quirino, the 6th president of the Philippines and a native of Ilocos Sur.  It's a new bridge and part of the Japan-funded construction program which plans to replace old bridges with new bridges on national roads that lead to urban centers all over the country. 

crossing Quirino Bridge to Vigan

From the railings of Quirino Bridge, the old  Banaoang Bridge can be seen.  Both bridges spread across the Abra River connecting the rocky mountain slopes of Ilocos Range in the towns of Santa and Bantay.

Banaoang Bridge is a truss bridge that survived the bombings during World War II.  It is famous for its excellent engineering, architectural design and magnificent views.  At the height of a strong typhoon in 2001, one of its steel spans was damaged and washed away.  I don't know if motorists still use this old bridge.

This bridge is about 406 kilometers north of Manila.

Posted for Sunday Bridges

Calle Crisologo [My World]

No visit to Vigan would be complete until you walked through this street---Calle Crisologo at the Kamestizoan District.  It is a half-kilometer stretch of cobblestoned street lined with 18th century Filipino-Spanish architecture and replete with an old world charm.   While strolling at Calle Crisologo, look up and see the azoteas, capiz windows, ornamental ironwork and imagine young mestizas in  Maria Clara dresses giggling behind their abaniko (a hand-held fan).  The clacking noise of horse-driven carriage we call kalesa completes the ambiance of Vigan more than a century ago.

kalesas along Calle Crisologo

The old mansions at Calle Crisologo now house handicraft and curio shops, some furniture and antique dealers, pension houses and restaurants---I even spied a funeral parlor. We purchased a few touristy items here, also bought Abel-Iloko blankets---handwoven blankets known as Abel-weaving, one of the surviving traditional crafts in Vigan;  browsed through second-hand books, and had coffee at The Perfect Cup, Vigan's version of Starbucks.

Vigan City, the capital of Ilocos Sur and 407 kilometers north of Manila, has the most extensive surviving ancestral houses that dates back to the 15th century Spanish colonial period.  West of the city is the South China Sea, it is accessible by land and by air from Manila, Baguio, Laoag and other parts of Luzon.

old world charm

the most photographed street in Vigan

Calle Crisologo at dusk

This post is linked to My World-Tuesday