I was not able to go to the sand dunes of Suba but within the old town of Paoay, are some exciting finds. As what I usually do after I shoot photos of the churches is to check out the cemetery. Yeah, the cemetery.
On the way, I passed by this old Spanish era bridge just beside an equally old ancestral hosue. It is made of bricks but simpler than the one in Sta. Maria. Good thing that this was preserved and seems to be in good condition.
The San Agustin Church in Paoay, Ilocos Norte is like an apparition out of nowhere! Part of the UNESCO enscribed World Heritage Site - Baroque Churches of the Philippines, 1993 (like Santa Maria in Ilocos Sur) it is architecturally distinct with its unique blend of Oriental (think of those Asian temples) and European styles to come up with a uniquely Filipino interpretation of baroque. Built in 1710, again by the Augustinians, its a wonderful structure that awes and inspires.
A flight of stairs down the church, at the right side (facing the facade) leads one to the old cemetery ruins. Left, the stone stairs leading up the church. Right, the cracked brick walls that might have been caused by an earthquake or onslaught of time.
The interior of the church in Sta. Maria is more or less intact. There, the beautiful altars (2 at the sides and one at the center called the retablo mayor) are still original while the wooden pulpit at the lateral part of the nave (extreme left at the photo above) is solid and can still hold the weight of a man.
The Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion church in Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur, one of four of the UNESCO enscribed (1993) Baroque Churches of the Philippines, a World Heritage Site is perched up on a hill overlooking the town of Sta. Maria as well as the surrounding mountains and seas. Built at about 1765 by the Augustinians, it served as a fortress during the Philippine Revolution in 1896.
Langyaw EstanCabigas.com blog Simbahan
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