Camarines Sur in 1 Day

February 16, 2018;  Happy Chinese New Year. Since it was a long weekend, we were itching to go on another road trip.  Our initial plan was to visit the Black Nazarene of Capalonga in Camarines Norte.  It was already 2pm when we left Antipolo.  When we reached the Capalonga-Daet junction, it was already 8pm.  This made us decided to  look for a hotel in Daet to spend the night.  We stayed at Canimog hotel, a very cozy hotel with a big family room that was very comfortable and with very friendly staff. 

The next morning, we decided to drive to Naga since it was just a 2 hour drive away.  First stop was the Shrine of the Our Lady Peñafrancia.  This is the same location in Nueva Cacares (Naga) where the first chapel built of nipa and bamboo was constructed.  In 1750, under Bishop Isidro Arevalo, the present day stone church was built.  This church served as the home to the Our Lady of Penafrancia for almost 2 centuries.  It was said that the facade was donated by the Chinese community of the locality.  The church is also 2 kilometers away from the Episcopal Palace.

A Basillica dedicated to the Our Lady was built on the outskirts of Naga.  Known as the Basillica Minore de Penafrancia, the place had a bigger church and church grounds that can accomodate more pilgrims.  One of the largest Marian Pilgrimage site in Asia, it now houses the 1710 sculpture of the Lady.  

Next stop was the Naga Metropolitan Cathedral.  Built in 1808, the Cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Caceres.  The cathedral was designed to counter earthquakes thus explaining the massive arcades and columns inside the cathedral.

Just in front of the Cathedral is the Porta Mariae a triumphal arch built to commemorate the momentous celebration of the jubilee year. The arch resembles the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.

When we tried to check the mass schedule in Capalonga, there was no anticipated mass scheduled on a Saturday and since the church is only open until 5pm, we wont be able to arrive on time. This made us decide that since Albay is only 2 hours drive away, we decided to see the Cagsawa Ruins.

Cagsawa ruins is the remnants of a 16th century church and is what was left of the town of Cagsawa during the eruption of Mayon volcano in 1814.  Mayon volcano or simply Mt. Mayon was a sight to see. She is one if not the only volcano tagged to have a perfect cone.

As part of the adventure, we also tried the ATV ride.  Unfortunately, Mt. Mayon is still under alert level 4 which means that she is still very active and any activity within the permanent danger zone is still prohibited.  The river trail was the only option.

On our way home, we dropped by the century old church of Camalig.

The kids enjoyed the trip and adventures we had for that short road trip to Camarines Sur.