An Accidental Discovery: Calaca’s Ancestral Homes

It was named after a type of native bamboo roof that locals used during the Spanish era. It also used to be a barrio of the large and then-influential town of Balayan. But Calaca became a separate municipality in 1835 and eventually the site of a large coal-fired power plant during the 1980s. That was just about everything we knew about this small city on the shores of Balayan Bay in Batangas.

Caleruega Church and the Scenic Views of Mt. Batulao

It was designed as a retreat center, a scenic location offering serene spots for contemplation that eventually became a popular spot for weddings. And so we headed off to the Caleruega Retreat Center for an appointment with nature in a pilgrimage setting. We were hardly expecting to encounter scenic views that looked more like a Tuscan countryside rather than a hilly locality in a tropical country.

Emblems of a Storied Past: Balayan’s Ancestral Houses

Whenever talking about heritage or ancestral houses in the Philippines, our thoughts invariably turn towards the municipalities of Vigan (Ilocos Sur), Silay (Negros Occidental), Pila (Laguna) and Taal in Batangas. For a long time, however, we did not realize that a town hidden in the shadows of Taal and less than 30 kilometers away was for a time the more prominent town in Batangas and in that part of the country.