After doing almost all of the camera tricks we could think of at Cagsawa Ruins, we then headed to Daraga Church. Daraga used to be just a part of the town of Cagsawa but after the devastating eruption of Mayon volcano in 1814 which killed thousands of people, the survivors of the eruption decided to relocate to Daraga which eventually became a new town. The Daraga Church sits beautifully on top of a hill overlooking the sea and the Mayon volcano.
Mayon is hiding but she's there
History of Daraga Church
Intricate designs carved on volcanic stones
Our tour guide Froilan explained why the church's facade seemed to be painted in white. It's actually a lime coating done to preserve the church, it's not permanent and it will eventually return back to its original form. I loved how Froilan explained the different meanings of each design carved on the church's facade. Although I couldn't recall all of the things he said, I appreciate how he wanted us to look at the church in a deeper way, to look at it beyond the skillful carving of volcanic stones. That it wasn't just made because they thought it was beautiful, each aspect of the entire design had a particular meaning. He told us that the reason why he explained it in detail was because he didn't want the efforts of those who thought of the design with the different meanings behind each carving to be put to waste and forgotten over time.
Relics
The Altar
With my mom at Daraga Church
So I guess that's it for Daraga Church. Lucky we had Froilan as our tour guide, learned a lot from him!
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