Ruins of Cagsawa Church
I have seen photos of the Mayon Volcano before and it always comes together with an old church belfry in Cagsawa. It is probably one more popular postcards photos back then. Now that I managed to come here, if found it difficult to imagine that there was a church here. The church of Cagsawa was victim to what was Mayon’s most violent eruption in modern times. The main church building was destroyed along with a lot of villagers who sought shelter there. The belfry is the only reminder about that day. Or maybe not.
The Ruins of Cagsawa Overrun by Vegetation
Walking past the belfry, you can see parts of the old church. You probably won’t be able to see entire church sections here even if you really tried. What is left here are the church foundations. Most of them can be see behind the belfry. I can’t tell if the belfry was attached to the church building but I think the fact that it is somehow still standing and that churches back then can have separate belfries, it is probably not wrong to assume that it was separate. I couldn’t really tell what parts of the church the ruins belonged to. It is sobering to know that a lot of people lost their lives in the very structure where they sought refuge in. In this country, you can still hear of stories like these every now and then.
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