We were ready to go in search of old houses after photographing various parts of the church of Mulanay, in Quezon’s Bondoc Peninsula when me and Jan got distracted with the red beings at the town plaza.
Each corner had a standing Santa. Some were suspended, like riding his sleigh and the other on a rope as if coming down. There was a pair of two Santas lazily lounging atop the makeshift structure built at the side. At the center, was the life sized Santa seated (topmost image).
Elsewhere, the five level old church is one of only four Spanish colonial era churches in the Bondoc Peninsula. It has a simple facade with few embellishments. Made from coral stones, this structure was built by the Seculars starting in 1861.
Curiosly, there were quite a few old houses in the town. Most that I’ve seen are 70’s to the present with quite a few in the 50s and 60s, unlike in Unisan which has turn of the century structures.
Travel to the Bondoc Peninsula is conveniently done by bus trip from Manila to Lucena’s Grand Terminal where several minibuses and passenger vans service the different municipalities.
Wow the old houses are fascinating! Is there much interest in restoring and preserving them? Great post, thanks for the info!
JR,
I’m not really sure if there’s interest but I do hope there is. Thanx for visiting 🙂
Estan
Too bad. I see that much too often while traveling through Asia. Here in Taiwan, there are magnificent traditional courtyard houses in disrepair, and most families will just bulldoze them and build a 5 story apartment complex in it’s place.
much more here where heritage issues are in the background. the philippines have had great architectural heritage. what was left in the aftermath of WWII were demolished or renovated to a way that lost its identity. What is present now are just a few. Its really a sorry state. And I guess, its also the same in other countries unless the government has the will or people are heritage aware.
Good day Mr Estan,
Thank you by the way in featuring my hometown. I am from Morales/Atevalo family (one of the remaining family who who helped in establishing Mulanay) and also who owns the old house you’re refering too in your photo. We are on the process of deliberating in restoring that ancestral house of ours. It has been there for quite sometime and we hope that it will still be there for the next generations to come. You are welcome to revisit the place again.
*Morales/Arevalo
Thanx Francis! That would be wonderful! 🙂