A step back in time: Museum Crisologo, Vigan, Philippines

Golden memories... sometimes when you see something or visits a place there's this point of recognition and you can't help yourself from smiling remembering the significance of the place or a thing.  That's what happened to me when I visited Museum Crisologo in Vigan with my family a few months back. Aside from the historical significance of the place, it made me travel back in time, 25 to 30 years ago, in my grandpa's house, and I remembered every picture, every house decor, the house furniture, the wooden floor, the capiz windows that I still love, my aunt's cooking area with a clay stove and her clay pots!  During those times that you can't barely see anything at night with just a lamp, when electricity is only for the rich, when you go out at night in the dark to tell ghost stories while listening to the crickets. I can imagine everything vividly!

We went with our mom and my aunt too and it made me so happy  hearing the sisters chatting incessantly "tatay used to have something like this before" or "nanay's rocking chair" or "our dining table". Which made it more exciting to tell my four nephews and nieces how life back then was like.  Priceless moments!

Let me bring you there.. and let me know if there's a  flicker of recognition too at your end.

Based on my readings this place is the ancestral home of the Crisologo's. Floro Crisologo is the famous brain behind the establishment of Social Security System we are still enjoying up to now. One of the most famous congressmen during his time, his death made the family decide to put up this museum in his memory. For more history about this place please check this link.

On the ground floor you will find Mr Crisologo's office and some of the old cars and memorabilia they used in their backyard during those times.

Up the stairs is the main house. Check their living room! My grandparents used to have something exactly like this, and those photos!


Rocking chairs! My grandma used to have one too.

These windows! I still love them even now. My bedroom window now is almost the same, unfortunately not made of capiz.

The rooms, the beds, makes me miss not only the place I can remember vividly but also the memory of the people I used to share the place with. 

Can you still remember this type of kitchen? Picture below on the right is by the way is their toilet!

The museum is free but they are accepting donations for the maintenance of the place. From Calle Crisologo take a calesa ride and just inform the driver to bring you to the Museum which is in Vigan’s Liberation Boulevard , it is open all thoughout the week. 

Sadly most of the houses like this are now part of history. I am so thankful that once upon a time I enjoyed every minute of my childhood in a household almost exactly like this one. I will treasure those memories forever and will never ever get tired telling these stories to my future kids...

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Baluarte, Vigan, Ilocos Sur: More than just a Zoo

Thanks to Governor Chavit Singson, Baluarte is now one of the must-see attractions in Vigan. Baluarte is owned by Governor Singson, a hectares of land where the Governor’s multi-storey house sits. The mini zoo which is open to the public is a private collection of the Governor from all over the world and others indigenous  to the Philippines which he generously shares to the public for free. Yes  it is incredible to point out that admission to Baluarte is FREE.

 
Let me share some of my photos:

The mini zoo unlike others of its kind, offers a close encounter with the animals, the kids and young at heart will enjoy watching these animals just walking around the park and interacting with the visitors.  But please teach your kids how to respect the animals.

Below picture on the left is a llama, a South American camelid. On the right  is my shot of the kids enjoying "tiburin", a small horse-drawn carriage.

Here is my niece enjoying her close encounter with a colorful parrot. she wants to take it home afterwards..

And here are the kids.. all smiles! The problem with bringing kids to your travels is that they are not easy to please, they don't enjoy historical walks.  So after shopping for  "burnay" (locally known as tapayan or banga) and the kids are already sulking, bring them here and for sure it would be your time to sulk since they won't let you leave early!

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Vigan Heritage Walk at Calle Crisologo

Vigan is the only Heritage City in the Philippines inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List and the only surviving colonial town in the country.  It is the capital of Ilocos Sur Province and located on the western coast of Luzon.

Vigan is around 400 kilometers from Manila; 80 kilometers from Laoag City and 140  kilometers from La Union. My whole family went there during Holy Week of 2012 and it took me 13 hours to drive from Subic to Vigan! Yeah, so many closed roads from La Union due to road repairs  which made me vow to take the plane next time.  Hopefully the repairs are done by now.

Calle Crisologo is a part of the Heritage Village, the most photographed part of the city. I've seen so many photos of this place and being there will really captivate you to get trigger happy and yet no pictures would be enough to capture how bewitching this city is, you just have to see it and  savor everything with your naked eye.  That being said, let me share some of my "unworthy" photos... 

Vehicles are not allowed in Calle Crisologo so the only vehicles you will see are the famous kalesas which adds  magic to the place. Stepping on its half-kilometer stretch of cobblestoned streets will bring you back to  18th century Spanish times, the well-preserved Spanish colonial houses are now mostly converted into antique shops and souvenir stores which will entice you to shop and good thing because their prices are reasonable.

the kids enjoyed their kalesa ride, P150 for 1 hour, not bad right?

Calle Crisologo at night :

with family

So are you ready to be captivated by Vigan's magic?

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Bantay Bell Tower and St. Augustine Church, Ilocos Sur

Bantay is a small town close to Vigan, it is one of the Municipalities of Ilocos Sur. It is just a few minutes drive from Vigan's Heritage town so make sure to visit this place after your Vigan tour.

Bantay is famous for its Bell Tower, which is named after the town. For sure you have seen so many photos of this tower since it is one of the most well photographed structure of Ilocos Sur. It was built in 1591 and said to be the people's watchtower during the war.

here's the inside of the tower, at the top they have constructed this wooden staircase and floor, but nobody is controlling the number of people who can get up the tower. Quite dangerous if you ask me.

the bell

view from one side of the tower is Bantay's public  cemetery

view of the St Augustine Church

the statue of Our Lady of Charity, who is Nueva Segovia’s patroness and the Bell Tower in the background

 A stone throw away from the Bell Tower is St Augustine's Church which was built in 1590.

St Augustine Chruch and statue of Our Lady of Charity

St Augustine Church is one of  the oldest surviving churches in Ilocos Sur.

The church was damaged during World War II and was reconstructed in 1950. Above picture of a boy's statue is a portion of the church that was not repaired. The place looks like a portion of a garden. 

The vicinity of the church and the bell tower is historic too.  Year 1763, during Silang Revolt, this is the same grounds where Diego Silang and his troops were said to have fought with the Spaniards.

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