Monument to a past, the Pindangan ruins

Thunderbird Resorts invited us bloggers in a familiarization tour of their resort in Poro Point, La Union and took us to the tourism sites in the surrounding area of San Fernando and Luna. It was an opportunity to visit what I wanted to go to: the Pindangan Ruins and the Luna watchtower. It was a no brainer. The ruins in Pindangan, part of Barangay Parian in San Fernando City, La Union is old judging from the primitive construction technique of mamposteria, stones, placed one on top of the other.

It was how smaller churches of old were used to be built during the middle of the Spanish colonial period or places where evangelization has just started. But for me, I’ve always wanted to visit this ruin, precursor to the present cathedral of San Fernando City, probably constructed in the 1780s by the Augustinians.

I’m not sure if this is the original church as a document is said to list down four structures in different parts of San Fernando built prior to the current one.

Pindang is an Ilocano term for a fish drying method and this might be the place where the locals used to do it. The sitio of Pindangan was originally formed when the two oldest and important towns of Dalangdalang and Balanac were merged. Later, Pindangan was known as San Fernando, currently the capital of La Union.

The ruins only has its walls and buttresses with parts of the facade. There are interesting bas reliefs at the interior walls that are mostly Augustinian symbols: the miter and the hand ho lding a house. A portion of the facade has interesting animal carvings and some floral designs.

The ruins can be accessed through a small road along the MacArthur Highway, meters from the Department of Foreign Affairs Regional Office and just before entering the city center.