Paoay ChurchOn our first day in Ilocos, we went to Paoay Church. There was an impending rain with dark clouds closing the skies. Before the rain fell, I managed to get several shots of this UNESCO World Heritage site.
It was but fitting to return to this church and have a much closer look. The construction of Paoay Church (also known as the St. Augustine Church in Paoay) was started by the Augustinian friars in 1694. During the Philippine Revolution in 1898, its three-story coral stone bell tower was used by the Katipuneros as an observation post.
One of the four Baroque churches in the Philippines included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, Paoay Church was built using baked bricks, coral rocks, salbot (tree sap) and lumber, and has 24 carved massive buttresses for support. Below are some of the butresses in both left and right sides of the church.
Entering the church, you will be met by two angels holding the font for holy water. Here is one of them...
Here is the main altar...
The grotto-inspired theme for the images is prominent inside the church... Here is one of them...
The Spanish colonizers' most powerful weapon ever devised...
Another view of the church. The sun is already up. The angle of the shot generated some lens flares.
Towards Calle CrisologoAfter Paoay, we headed to Vigan. Vigan is the capital city of Ilocos Sur. It is a World Heritage site as it is the most intact example of a Spanish colonial town in Asia, and is known for its cobblestone streets particularly Calle Crisologo.
We parked near the Vigan Cathedral (also known as St. Paul Metropolitan Cathedral). This is another Baroque-styled church built in 1574 commissioned by Spaniard Juan de Salcedo.
While the others in our group went their different ways, I headed to Plaza Burgos. This is dedicated to Father Jose Burgos, one of the three Filipino priests executed on February 17, 1872 by Spanish colonial authorities on fabricated charges of subversion arising from the 1872 Cavite mutiny. This event enraged and left a profound and bitter effect on many Filipinos, especially on the young Jose Rizal.
Along the way to Calle Crisologo, there were many "calesas" parked beside the Vigan Cathedral. Tourists who want to have a city tour could ride in these carriages for PhP150.00 per hour.
The entrance to Calle Crisologo is marked by a statue of Leona Florentino, the most outstanding Filipina writer in the Spanish and Ilocano languages during the Spanish era. She was a relative of Jose Rizal (I think that word weaving runs in the family).
Finally, I have reached Calle Crisologo...
The facade of an antique store...
Only calesas are allowed along Calle Crisologo. No other vehicles are allowed except in the intersections.
Scenes like this abound along Calle Crisologo...
And since I am fulfilling the completion of a task in my bucket list, my travel would not be complete without buying some memorabilias. I bought different denominations of the Japanese government-issued Philippine fiat peso (also known as mickey mouse money) during WWII. I also bought an old wooden tobacco container of Tabacalera.
Along my way back, I have seen kids selling a native Ilocos delicacy, the "tinubong" (made of grated coconut, salt, ganta glutinous rice, bamboo tubes and bamban leaves). I bought some as well.
We all met at Cafe Leona for lunch. I then joined them for the rest of the Vigan tour on calesa.
To be continued...Related post:
In case you want to have a tour of Ilocos, and you'll be staying in Laoag, you may get in touch with Mang Lito, the man who offered to tour us around. His service is significantly low compared to arranged tours or packaged tours being offered by the hotels in Laoag. He may be contacted through his mobile phone: 09273387969.
I will not promote the hotel we stayed in. Although they had reasonably low room rates, good food and courteous staff, their water supply is not good - it's yellow. Their room rates are also a bit tricky, as this caused a slight argument when we checked out
