Sep 1, 2007

Photo Hunt 24: Dirty


In my recent trip to Bicol going to Cagsawa Ruins, I witnessed the mudflow which devastated the town of Daraga, a province of Albay. Typhoon Reming hit the province late last year. A few houses still stood there but half buried in the mud slide. A small river made Cagsawa Ruins accessible only by foot. One has to cross a wooden improvised bridge to get to the other side.


As dirty as it gets. I thought we were in the middle of a quarry. Mud flow devastated this once beautiful greenery. Can you even imagine that?

Walking to the ruins, a couple of young boys and a young girl followed us offering some photos of Mayon Volcano. They also serve as tourist guides for people visiting the place. I was surprised with the extent of knowledge they have about Cagsawa considering their ages - maybe 14 to 15 year olds. One can't help but listen to them as they articulate the history of the place. Obviously they have been well trained but the way they spoke matter-of-factly makes one give time to listen to the statistics they site - how many houses and bodies are buried where, how a number of families were miraculously saved seeking refuge at the nearby museum. At least their efforts are commendable.

The children also offers their services as your official photographer. They are well versed in using digital cameras and how to create an illusion that you are holding a big rock, embracing the church and giving you a triple background of the church, of Mayon Volcano and the religious statue near the entrance. We had fun taking pictures. I did not actually buy any of their photos but gave them a tip for being such great hosts. One even accompanied me to buy souvenir shirts and helped me in asking for a discount. ;)


The Stone Carver

The children also introduced us to a stone carver. Enteng Bato (Enteng, The Rock), as this man is called, now earns a living by doing some sculptures from stones spewed by Mayon Volcano. I learned that his first sculpture was an image of Jesus Christ which unfortunately was washed away by a flash flood.


Cagsawa Ruins

I was hoping to take a picture of Mayon Volcano which earned the title The World's Most Perfect Cone. But the clouds did not cooperate. Folk lore has it that Mayon Volcano breathe life, that even after more than forty eruptions to date, it goes back to its original perfect shape. It regenerates.

Based on history books, when the volcano erupted in 1814, more than a thousand people run towards the church to escape the lava flow. Unfortunately, the fiery flow buried and engulfed the church. Only the bell tower remained which is shown in the picture above. To this day, it stands as one of the main tourist attractions of the Bicol region.



I'll be out this afternoon. I'll be back later to continue my usual rounds of photo hunters. Am always excited to check on others' take on the theme.

58 comments:

Melli said...

WOW! WOW! I don't know what else to say... Wow!

Anonymous said...

wow, what wonderful, vivid shots!!

maiylah said...

wow ... lovely post, Lynn! I have been to that place already, but it was decades ago! lol.
enjoy your weekend,
happy hunting!

ps. thanks for dropping by!
re: the fly not "flying away" ... i guess my "creeping" paid off ... lol. it helps that my camera can take decent shots even if the subject is quite near, too! :)

Anonymous said...

Oh wow...

Fantastic photos!

Amy's Blah, Blah, Blogging said...

Wow, what an interesting photo lesson!

Happy Hunting today.

jennyi said...

Interesting photos and story.

bonggamom said...

Oh, seeing these images always makes me feel so sad... such devastation in an already poor place.

Anonymous said...

Amazing! Looks like you got some great shots on your trip.

Thank you so much for dropping by place this weekend.

Ladynred said...

ohh! I missed that Carabao. Nice photos as well.

Anonymous said...

Wow definitely says it all. Those are all great photos, and the commentary about the place was good too. I can't imagine how devastated the area was after that, and the people.
Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend.

eastcoastlife said...

Wow! What an interesting story! Those kids were great guides. I would love to go there for a look.

chepot said...

great photos. and love the post that came with it. haven't been there yet. hopefully someday :)

have a great weekend!

Chen said...

interesting shots with detailed explanation :)

Dragonheart, Merlin, Devi, and Chloe said...

Those are wonderful photos. How sad that the typhoon caused so much devastation. Thank you for sharing.

My Photo Hunt this week.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing this post. It is all new to me and I am in awe at the destruction. omg

Anonymous said...

Ang ganda pala kahit yung bell tower lang. Postcard-worthy photo. Sayang the clouds did not clear up, it would have been magnificent!
I've never been to Mayon. It's on my long places-to-see-before-i-die list. I hope I live long LOL

Pumpkin said...

I loved your pictures and reading your post.

Have a great weekend!

Anonymous said...

This is an extremely interesting post, and with awesome photos. The first photo shows 'dirty' very well, but to tell the truth, I forgot all about 'dirty' while reading! Thanks for sharing this. :)

Anonymous said...

Wow - what great photos. It is sad though about the mud slides and people losing their homes.

Happy Weekend.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful story and interpretation of this week's theme!

Wenchie said...

Nice pics, I missed Bicol and pili nuts. Have so many friends there also.

A. said...

What a really interesting post! And the photos are great too.

Wilson said...

great photos you got!...Have a nice weekend!...c",)

Gattina said...

It's difficult for me to imagine a typhoon, here in Belgium it doesn't exist. Very interesting post !

Michele said...

Great shots... I love the write up you had with it. I learned something new today!
The Rocky Mountain Retreat

Susan Demeter said...

Beautiful shots, and very interesting! Thank you for adding the explanation. Thanks so much for stopping by!

SabineM said...

I AM WITH MELLI! Wow. this was great and SOO interesting!
THANK YOU

Carver said...

Those are phenomenal photographs. it was a treat for me to look at them.

Connie Barris said...

great pictures....

Love them....

CRIZ LAI said...

Cool shot on the buffalo...That's surely a dirty and muddy photo.

Cheryl said...

That first photo looks like just one big dirty photo all together! What isn't dirt?

YTSL said...

GREAT post. Informative, well written, interesting, etc. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and all. :)

Paulie said...

Thanks for the photo journey! It definitely fits dirty! I love my armchair visits to all parts of the world!

Come see my entry.

Anonymous said...

great write to go with the pictures

Anonymous said...

The photo is reminiscent to the Mt.Pinatubo after-eruption lahar flows. Very sad.

Great weekend to you! :)

Raquel said...

Oh, I miss riding the carabao...that was a loooog time ago.

Happy Photohunters.

Thriftin' Gal @ Junk In My Trunk said...

Great photo and story to go along with it - have a happy holiday weekend! :)

ipanema said...

sculpting from stone is indeed hard to do. that's a great work Mang Enteng is producing. i hope those children in the background aren't swimming and washing in the water buffalo's domain. :)

lovely photos! ngayon lang ako nakikita na hindi postcard ang Mt. Mayon's ruins. tq. :)

jmb said...

What a sad photo for dirty but very appropriate. Thanks for sharing this part of the world with us and thanks for visiting.

Teena in Toronto said...

Great pix and story :)

Thanks for stopping by mine :)

Journo June aka MamaBear said...

Great photos!
Photo Hunters

Dottie said...

Wow.. what great photos. I can't even imagine the devastation. Happy photo hunting.

Myrna said...

Very interesting post!

Anonymous said...

I think this is my favorite post for this week's theme.

Anonymous said...

An amazing (sad) story with lots of great "dirty" pictures...

Heart of Rachel said...

Hi Lynn. These are magnificent photos. I've never been to Bicol but I've seen photos and videos of this beautiful province.

I'm sorry about the damages brought by Typhoon Reming and hope the people have recovered.

Thanks for sharing. Sorry for my late visit. I was out yesterday and I'm now catching up with everyone's photo hunt.

Have a lovely Sunday!

Lau Niang said...

i must say those are really really great shots! Very impressive!

Anonymous said...

Wow! Interesting story. Thanks for sharing with us.

MaR said...

Natural disasters are so scary and I feel so sorry for the people in that area.
Great shots!
happy weekend!

TorAa said...

Impressing and a very interesting but also a bit sad story

Whirlwind said...

Wow - those are all very beautiful!

Jonzz said...

Wow, these are lovely pictures.

Anonymous said...

It's so hard to imagine the devastation that some people face! I bet it was very touching to see it in person.

ChupieandJ'smama (Janeen) said...

WOW impressive photos! What a gorgeous place. The first photo is very sad. Thanks for sharing and for all of the interesting information!

Patricia said...

What a poignant post, Lynn. Thank you...and thank you for leaving kind remarks on your visit to Pollywog Creek yesterday. Blessings!

Anonymous said...

those are beautiful pictures lynn. and you are gracious tourist :)

Stacie said...

Wow. What incredible shots.

Janet said...

so sad to think that such beautiful green is now mud :-(

thanks for visiting!