After lunch, we drove a couple of minutes to Longos Church. Longos is a small, small community. (Apparently, Longos itself used to be the center and the name of the town, but now the municipality is called
Kalayaan and the center has moved closer to the highway.) When we got there, it seemed deserted—maybe because it was after lunch. The church also seemed old and deserted. It was actually closed, but someone—who turned out to be the caretaker—asked if we wanted to go in. Of course, we said yes. While the façade seemed old, the inside is actually new, with the walls made of unadorned hollow blocks. According the caretaker, the church was bombed by the Japanese. In one of these pictures, you see the ruins—the church used to extend to this point. This is the only church we visited that did not have a historical marker (unless we just didn't see it).
This church turned out to be our best experience. The caretaker showed us a section that belongs to the original church and which used to be where the baptisms took place (as you can see from the baptismal font in the foreground). The picture on the wall (showing the baptism of Jesus Christ) is original and is actually wood relief. This room is normally closed because people take wood chips from the painting (see the lower right corner) as
agimat (or talisman).
The caretaker then offered to take us to the belfry. The first set of stairs that led to the choir balcony were okay, but then we went to another set of stairs made of wood and metal. The spiral steps were old and somewhat worn. It was a tight squeeze, and I was afraid of the combination of the height and the rickety steps. But it was worth it once we got to the tower. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a belltower, and it was sweet to be in this old tower. When you step up to the windows, you can see amazing views of the surrounding countryside. Only one of us went to the highest part of the tower (where the bell is) because the floor up there is in really bad condition.
After lunch, we drove a couple of minutes to Longos Church. Longos is a small, small community. (Apparently, Longos itself used to be the center and the name of the town, but now the municipality is called Kalayaan and the center has moved closer to the highway.) When we got there, it seemed deserted—maybe because it was after lunch. The church also seemed old and deserted. It was actually closed, but someone—who turned out to be the caretaker—asked if we wanted to go in. Of course, we said yes. While the façade seemed old, the inside is actually new, with the walls made of unadorned hollow blocks. According the caretaker, the church was bombed by the Japanese. In one of these pictures, you see the ruins—the church used to extend to this point. This is the only church we visited that did not have a historical marker (unless we just didn't see it).
This church turned out to be our best experience. The caretaker showed us a section that belongs to the original church and which used to be where the baptisms took place (as you can see from the baptismal font in the foreground). The picture on the wall (showing the baptism of Jesus Christ) is original and is actually wood relief. This room is normally closed because people take wood chips from the painting (see the lower right corner) as agimat (or talisman).
The caretaker then offered to take us to the belfry. The first set of stairs that led to the choir balcony were okay, but then we went to another set of stairs made of wood and metal. The spiral steps were old and somewhat worn. It was a tight squeeze, and I was afraid of the combination of the height and the rickety steps. But it was worth it once we got to the tower. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a belltower, and it was sweet to be in this old tower. When you step up to the windows, you can see amazing views of the surrounding countryside. Only one of us went to the highest part of the tower (where the bell is) because the floor up there is in really bad condition.
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