Centro

Centro main road and public market

Having been seated previously in a very awkward, cramped position on the boat for two long hours (and prior to that, two more hours driving), made my lower extremities ache all the more.  We headed for Villa Juliana, a freshly-painted inn owned by a nice local chap named Roger who ran for town mayor, but lost, in the last local elections.  At 800 pesos a night for a family room, I have no complaints.  We took a nap after a late lunch and we toured the market, town plaza and St. Michael Cathedral where we eventually heard Sunday mass.  But we hardly understood the service that was delivered in the local vernacular. 

Villa Juliana Inn

Early inhabitants of the Caramoan Peninsula had their first interaction with the white man in the 16^th century when Dutch traders conducted commerce with the natives and eventually established a gold mining camp on Lahuy island.  The peninsula was originally named Guta de Leche, presumably derived from the presence of milkdrop stalagmites abundantly found in caves on its fringes hugging the sea.  The arrival of Spaniards came much later in 1521 (Magalhaes expedition) and 1565 (Miguel Lopez de Legaspi expedition).  The Spaniards named the place “Carahan” or sea turtle where these chelonians frequently assault the sandy beach to burrow and lay their eggs in mass numbers at the same time.  Specifically, the olive ridley turtle from the Pacific Ocean is known for nesting en masse in such a synchronized behaviour.  

17th century St. Michael the Archangel Church

In 1619, an old Spanish friar by the name of Francisco de la Cruz y Oropesa braved the thick jungles of the region and founded the small settlement which he called Baluarte. This place is now known as Centro, the town proper.  The centuries-old Catholic church that still stands in the middle of town is a witness to the pioneering work of Fray de la Cruz.

An exceptionally humid weather persisted towards dusk but failed to dampen our curiosity as we continued to dawdle the sleepy, rustic community for some more time till it got too dark to linger on.  Later in our room, with nothing much to do other than kids watching cable TV, we thought it wise to retire early in preparation for our early morning trip to Paniman, the coastal barangay where Jay had arranged our chartered outrigger.

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My other blogs:

Jou San! Sham Shui Po

Traditional Hong Kong Herbal Tea House

Where Is Josephine Bracken?