Old Church Ruins (Gui-ob Church) - Bonbon, Catarman, Camiguin

When the tour guide told us that our next stop was the Old Catarman Church Ruins, I was like it might be a creepy place. From outside it looked like fortress with the wall covered with moss and surrounded by huge trees. The wall and posts are huge and thick; they show how beautiful and mighty the church building was. As we entered the main building, which was the church, the cool breeze kissed our skin, refreshing. Actually it is not a creepy place maybe at night it is but for me it was a serene place. It is perfect for those who are looking for a nice place for photography, pre-wedding photo shoots or simply nature photography.

I noticed there are floor tiles on the altar where candles were being lighted. Those tiles are not matched with the old ruins. According to the kids selling candles, after the earthquake the locals built a chapel inside the ruins but now it was removed that’s why there are floor tiles on the area of the altar.

Outside the church towards the area where the remnants of the bell tower and the convent are, is a stunning view so green, the breeze smells so fresh, the surroundings is clean. The coral stones are visible on the convent building. We were estimating the measurement of the thickness of the wall more or less it could be more or less 40 inches thick. Beautiful and stunning architectural design, although as we were exploring the place, we thought that for sure our forefathers were forced to work to build this beautiful project of the Spaniards. Erase erase lol that was just part of the history and hope we learn from it.

There is a white lighthouse at the back of the convent building, the only modern structure in the ruins. Odd but well that is needed to guide the ships and the people, wish they could find a place other than the Old Catarman Church Ruins because that lighthouse mismatched the beauty of the Old Ruins.

The church of the Old Catarman town was destroyed by volcanic debris during the eruption and formation of Mt. Vulcan from 1871 to 1875. It is also known as Gui-ob Church, located in Bonbon, Catarman, Camiguin.

We took time to take pictures in every corner, we were all amazed with the beauty of this place, ruins but it represents how strong the people of Camiguin are.

 A brief account Mt. Volcan Eruption

May 13,1871

6:00 PM

Cotta Bato the capital of Camiguin Island was a quiet and attractive town verdant in its natural wonders. Its peaceful shores provided strolling grounds for its inhabitants as they basked under the gracious moonlight.  Suddenly

Tranquility came to a halt as a sub-terranean rumbling sowed undescribable lower hundreds of houses and the churches crumbled into pieces the ground rolled and broke into deep crevices with horrifying earthquake served only as prelude to the destructive climax a cataclysm never witnessed before Mt. Volcano gave out its hardest and most violent outbreak.  

6:20 P.M.

Cotta Bato was a dreadful pile of ruins. The single volcano eruption buried a beautiful town into obscurity.

Hundreds of lives were lost while the survivors sought refuge in the open ground that gave them hope for tomorrow.

Source: Old Catarman Church Ruins

National Museum of the Philippines

The National Museum of the Philippines Month is over. But friends National Museum is FREE on Sundays all year round. If you  will attend the Pasyal Intramuros or just do picnic in Rizal Park during Sundays, better drop by in the National Museum. You will be amazed how rich our culture is. The buildings of the museums are near Rizal Park it is in P. Burgos Drive, Rizal Park, Manila City. It is opened from Tuesdays to Sundays from 10AM to 5PM. For more inquiries you can visit its website.

The storage area and protector of the Philippines' natural and cultural heritage is the National Museum. It tasked to achieve the goals of instilling cultural consciousness and a sense of pride and nationalism among Filipino citizens through its activities covering the sciences, education and culture. 

It occupies two buildings; the main building is the National Art Gallery, former Old Congress Building, where the arts, natural sciences and other support divisions are being exhibit. The other building is the Museum of the Filipino People; former Finance building, where the Anthropology and Archaeology Divisions are exhibited.

Hope the management will give tour guides like they can group the visitors in small groups and explain each gallery or art piece. I noticed the visitors were on their own, it will help a lot if there are tour guides to explain, in that way visitors can appreciate more the collections that are being exhibited.

Pasyal Intramuros

There are many groups trying to reintroduce the Filipino heritage thru fair. One of these activities is the Pasyal Intramuros. It’s one way to call the attention of the locals and the foreigners to get to know Filipino Culture and Heritage. Last October 20, Sunday we went to Intramuros to witness the Pasyal Intramuros for we got curious what they do in that fair. Kudus to the organizers they did a great job. We enjoyed the street music. Personally I love the performance of the T’boli tribe, they sing or chant what their feelings and thoughts at the moment. They express their thoughts, ideas and feelings thru music right there and then. The representatives of the Ivatan tribe were young ones, refreshing and encouraging seeing them helping their tribe to be known by introducing their local music. There are other singers and musicians showing their talents, street food, street marketers and a whole lot more.

What we regretted was we couldn’t watch the outdoor showing of, GHENGIS KHAN, the fully restored version, care of National Film Archives of the Philippines. Wished it was Saturday so we could stay longer and enjoy the fair. Nevertheless it was a great Sunday rediscovering and appreciating our culture thru Pasyal Intramuros. According to the organizer they would try to do it once a month. Hope you can come and enjoy the fun in this fair. Bring friends, family, kids and everybody that you can and experience the Pasyal Intramuros.