Right beside the San Nicolas Tolentino Church in the town of Dimiao is a unexpected structure – or rather, what is left of it. These are called the Ermita Ruins. The name is not kidding, the ruins are really in quite a bad shape it was difficult to tell what they were originally. There were some structures that were still quite intact and one could probably guess what purpose it once served.
According to historians, the Ermita ruins seem to be a cemetery with a chapel. It would be quite obvious why it would be considered a cemetery first. There were rows and rows of holes where the dead could have been put. However, it would seem that these were never used since excavations have not found any remains. There also seemed to be a place for a small chapel judging by the layout of the place. However, it would really be difficult to ascertain what the real purpose of the ruins were since it was really in bad shape.
At the time of my visit, there were two other visitors exploring the ruins. They were happily taking photos of the place like me. Apparently, not aware of what the purpose of the place was, one young lady, to my horror, even stuck her head inside one of the holes for a photo. Well, I guess since it seemed like it was never used, it should be okay to do that. Walking through the ruins reminded me of My Son in Central Vietnam. The structures there were in just bad a shape as these were. However, My Son is in active restoration while the Ermita Ruins were not. It would be a shame if the ruins were to fall further into disrepair and obscurity.
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