Dauis Church

I found these 2 old beautiful photographs of Dauis Church before the earthquake and again borrowed them to show how it look before.

For now, this is how it looks while repairs and restoration are going on. At least Dauis Church is not as devastated as Loay and Loboc churches. But the massive repairs will probably take years and will cost a huge amount of money...

We had a chance to take a peek inside the church for a little while...

As in old traditional churches, there are always parks near churches. The same is true with Dauis Church.

So is their Municipal Building. Dauis Municipal Building is very much near Dauis Church and it got a fresh new look...

My sister and I regretted we were not able to see these churches before they were heavily damaged. Perhaps the next generation will also feel the same way, unless these damaged churches can be fully restored.

I wished I could have covered more places in Bohol and see other old churches. But I didn't have much time. I saw this blog Ivan about Town, it covered interiors of the churches I have visited and others that I haven't. It is a good reference.

Hopefully I can come back and see more of Bohol...

Loboc Church (Bohol Trip Part 8 Day 1)

The first 2 photos were borrowed to show how Loboc Church used to look before the devastating earthquake.

Sadly this is how it looks now. It is painful to look at it and it has been sealed off. If there are plans to reconstruct this church, it would take so much to rebuild it in my opinion. It is severely devastated.

Here below is their beautiful plaza across their Municipal Hall and very near the Loboc Church...

Loay Church (Bohol Trip Part 7 Day 1)

I found this old photo of the Loay Church before it was destroyed (and borrowed it). It was beautiful!

Here below is how it looked now. Honestly I am at a loss for words to describe it...

Only the belfry is left standing

 Even the surrounding structures were not spared...

The people made a make-shift chapel to hold their masses...

It makes me really sad that I am only able to see the ruins of what was once a beautiful old church... 

St. Monica Church Albuquerque Bohol (Bohol Trip Part 6 Day 1)

From Baclayon it was less than an hour drive to Albuquerque. Our next stop was Santa Monica Church in Albuquerque.

Thankfully the Sta. Monica Church in Albuquerque was spared from damages. When I saw it I was awestruck because it is like stepping back in time. My sister said there are also very old churches like this in the southern provinces of Cebu (in Malabuyoc and Oslob) and she wished I saw them too. I think I will have that in my bucket list. But at that moment I was fascinated with the thought that Sta. Monica church has been well preserved through the years...

Unfortunately we were not able to go inside and to look into the interior of the church because it was closed. We came around noon...

Church Door is very old

Here below is not a part of the church, but probably the old convent. It is not damaged by the quake, it is just very old...

The church still has open wide spaces surrounding it but not exactly a plaza. It helped preserved the look of antiquity because there are no new building in the vicinity...

Perhaps the inevitable progress will come here one day. We couldn't stop that. And then it will change the landscape here. There will be commercial establishments and maybe malls. And there will be many of us who will feel very sad at the changes. For people like me, we will fervently hope there will be well meaning people who will fight to preserve monuments of our heritage and culture. We can perhaps accept and understand if damage is done by Mother Nature, but what is unacceptable is - if it is man himself who will create the destruction ...

Baclayon Church (Bohol Trip Part 5 Day 1))

The two photos here below were borrowed to show how Baclayon Church looked before it was damaged by the earthquake. I was not lucky to see it before it was damaged. Thank you for the borrow... the rest are our personal collection.

Below is the diorama we saw in the Museum. Perhaps to show us how it looked before or how it is going to look after the restoration process.

Baclayon Church was the next church we visited after Tagbilaran Cathedral. It is less than an hour drive from Tagbilaran sans traffic. And this is how it looked when we visited it. We could no longer see the front of the church. There was an ongoing restoration process. We were not also able to look inside because it was closed. I am not sure also if the church is open to the public with the restoration going on. We just have to contend ourselves with looking at this side of the church.

 But still it did not discourage the tourists from visiting the ruined church...

Here below is the Baclayon Church Musem. No cameras or mobile phones are allowed inside to take pictures. The museum itself is antique because the wooden planks of the floor would creak when we walk around. That would have been beautiful but in my opinion, things are not beautifully arranged nor preserved. The lighting should have been improved because it was dark  and difficult to see around. For 50 Php entrance fee, I don't think it was worth it.

The museum at the back with a nice garden. Thankfully they have clean rest rooms for visitors. 

Stone steps going down from the museum

Baclayon Church is across this small wharf. Such a beautiful view...