The Backpack Adventures

Located in front of the Naga Metropolitan Cathedral in Naga City in the province of Camarines Sur, Porta Mariae is a commemorative arch built to celebrate the 300 years of Bicolano devotion to Our Lady of Penafrancia.

Although it's fairly a new attraction to the city, it's slowly gaining fame due to it's "background-ish" nature. What I mean is, it serves as a great backdrop to any pictures. As a matter of fact Porta Mariae as grandeur to the cathedral. Visitors and pilgrims would often leave positive comments about how the arch gives a regal feel once they enter the vicinity of the cathedral.
For those who don't know Porta Mariae  is the Latin for Marian Gate. It was built and formally opened on the 9th of September 2010. The arch was built as a commemoration to the tercentenary of the devotion to Our Lady of penafrancia. It was blessed and inaugurated by Archbishop Leandro Legazpi. The arch stands 36 feet high, 59 feet wide, and has a surmounted 10 feet brass …

Located in the municipality of Daraga in the province of Albay, Daraga Church is the crowning glory of religious architecture in Albay.

Daraga Church is also known as the Our Lady of the Gate Church. It was declared a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum on October 29, 2007.
The church was built by Franciscan missionaries in Daraga which was then a barrio  of the older town of Cagsawa. However, after Mayon Volcano's 1814 eruption which buried majority of the town of Cagsawa,  survivors relocated to Daraga. The barrio was then formally organized as a town in 1815. Afterwards, the town became the center of trade and commerce in the province of Albay.
Daraga Church is described as having a blend of Renaissance Gothic and Mexican baroque. It's most famous feature, the facade, as carefully carved from volcanic stones. The facade was intrinsically designed and decorated, as a matter of fact it has features like the spiral columns with medallions. Each of these columns bear…

Located in the municipality of Daraga in the province of Albay, Cagsawa Ruins are the remnants of the Cagsaua Church that was destroyed by the eruption of Mayon Volcano in 1814.

Cagsaua Church was built sometime in the 1720s in the supervision of Franciscan Friars. The church was said to be the replacement for the church that was burned by the Dutch in 1636.
The church was said to have been built with a baroque architectural design like most old churches in the country. The design was said to protect the structure from damages that could be done by earthquakes.

However, given this "earthquake-proof" design, the church was not designed to withstand tons of ash and pyroclastic flow from Mayon Volcano. The 1814 eruption of Mayon Volcano that killed an estimated 1200 people also spelled the doom for the church. 
The story goes that hundreds of villagers sought refuge inside the church during the eruption. These people perished when they were trapped inside the church by the hot p…

Located in Palaui Island in the town of Sta. Ana in the province of Cagayan, Cape Engaño Lighthouse is one of the lighthouses built by the Spaniards in Northern Luzon.

Also known as Faro de Cabo Engaño. The lighthouse was constructed on the 21st of September 1888 ans was finished on the 31st of December 1892. It sits atop the summit of Mt. Kabo (it's a hill by the way) 92 meters above sea-level. It has a 360 degree view of Bashi Channel, Pacific Ocean and Engaño Cove.


The lighthouse was initially designed by engineer Magin Pers y Pers. He also designed the lighthouse in Cape Bojeador and Capones island.

We visited the lighthouse as part of our Palaui Island tour. It's the only man-made structure that you'd see when you're on the boat heading to Engaño Cove.


From Engaño Cove you can reach the lighthouse by treking Mt. Kabo. it would only take you 10-15 minutes from the base up. However, it took us almost an hour to reach the lighthouse. The reason was that, the higher we ge…