When visiting new places, churches are usual in the itinerary. It is not hard to see why. The recorded history of the Philippines is tied to the Catholic Church, and whenever a new town was to be founded during the Spanish times, the prerequisite is the establishment of a parochial church.

Our first official destination in Apayao, however, is not an active church. In fact, the church we were to visit lies in ruins.

The historical marker in the area tells it all. Mataguisi Church was built by the Spaniards in 1608 but had to be abandoned eventually in 1815 due to the persistent attacks from the Isneg tribe.

208 years since it was left behind to the moment when we were there, nothing seems to have changed. Ran and I were on our own to explore the ruins, abandoned. Walang tao, turista man o residente. It was a literal DIY travel as we got to do things our way.

We cannot help but marvel on the sight of the ruins. If the church was built in 1608, the rocks before us were at least 415 years old. Though no longer functional as a place of worship, the strength of local materials and local ingenuity proved evident with the ruins that remains standing to this day despite being exposed to the elements and being overgrown.

Ruins evoke some deep sense of reflection. While we can always study history, and we definitely should, there are details of the past that have already been lost in time, not captured by writings or probably not even by oral tradition. The ruins stand as artifacts testifying to the past, including those that we would no longer have the privilege of knowing. Such monumental artifacts are not only part of historical past. They also hold within them secrets of the evolution of culture and knowledge; why we got here, and how.

It was around 11:00 AM when we headed off to our next destination. That one was a plain DIY as well, with a side adventure we neither expected nor wanted.