Up Close: Banza Church Ruins #2

The Balete tree encasing one of the remnants of oldest churches in Mindanao

This is my first visit to what is popularly known as Banza church ruins. I had an entry about this subject before but taken from afar- from the Agusan river perspective. When I first learned about this place, I thought that the small structure beside this huge Balete (Banyan) tree was the remains of the old Augustinian church. I learned soon after that inside that tree, was the church ruins. 

In 1622, the Augustinian Recollects started their mission in Butuan eventually building one of the oldest churches, in a used to be predominantly Moro Islam area. Spanish-Moro Conflict (Wiki). It got decimated in a raid by the Moros.

You can read some of the histories at this stone writings beside the church ruins. 

When we went there one Saturday afternoon, we hoped for a good view of the sunset. Alas. It was gloomy that time. The lighting was a little flat and grey. So my mother, my brother and I just went around taking selfies, and photos of the surroundings. Then I happened to glance around and saw this couple. They were just there, still. Enjoying each other's presence. They stayed there the whole time we were there (which was probably 20 or 30 minutes) in more or less the same position. It was a little unusual. And it made me wonder. ;)

This is my first post of the year. My first post since I last posted in 2013!

Photos taken using Fuji Xe1, Samyang 12 mm

At Play...

Bood eco-Park Series #1

Libertad Cemetery.



Cemetery/children's park.

Late afternoon.

This is the first of my new series.

The journey towards Bood eco-Park.

Boy was it fun.


photo by bongshiyaw

I feel like a full-fledged photographer now. Gee...
=)

first photo edited using photoscape.

Do you believe in the Supernatural?--Pictures of Butuan City Hospitals Spooky Happenings

Being an alumnus of Butuan Doctors' College, I have gone to Manila during our third year for our affiliation. This means that I have stayed at the dorm at Sampaloc. In other words, the horror house. Okay I'm being overly dramatic but some of the people who stayed there the first thing that come to their minds is the supernatural happenings that occurred during their stay there. Manila Affiliation equals Horror Adventure.

I saw miniature white lady myself.. It was anti-climactic because I just closed my eyes, covered my head with the blanket and slept not really believing that what I saw was real until... perhaps now. I posted a couple of pics that I got from a fellow BDCian who had hard evidence to support ghost stories.

Nursing students, nurses and hospital employees at Butuan Medical Center and Provincial Health Office feast your eyes on these photos:

That woman was almost exactly what I saw at Manila except, that white lady above is bigger. I only saw the upper part of the body because I was at the top bunk. These photos were allegedly taken at BMC (And PHO?), and those uniforms those students were wearing looked like Urios uniforms to me. Note the lack of lower limbs from the photos.

And you know what's bugging me right now? The thought that I didn't think it was nothing to wash the surgical instruments alone, and in dim light, during my chasing-the-OR -cases days!

And this last photo was taken, according to my source, at the Sampaloc, Manila Dormitory (BMC Dorm):

Photos generously provided by my anonymous source.

This is what you get when you keep taking your photos on your cellphone-- A free snap of a grinning girl with long sharp tongue at your back.

In these days of photo manipulation and special effects we can't help but doubt these pictures. I don't know about you but even while writing this post I still don't like to look at these photos. Too scary!

Owner of this pics who wish to be acknowledged please contact me by writing on the comment board. Thanks.