After attending a hearing in Virac, Catanduanes last May, my clients took me to a side trip to Bato, Catanduanes, where the century-old Bato Church is located. I knew that I would be seeing an old, charming, heritage church. But I didn’t expect that along the way I would be enthralled with marvelous sights.
As we traverse through the coastal town of Virac, I could not help but take photographs of the shoreline.
As we approach the municipality of Bato, I saw a placid river amid the mountains. According to my clients, it is the Bato River. They told me that the Bato Church will be just across the river. And with that I saw the long bridge that we have to pass in order to get through the municipality of Bato. It was breathtaking to see the bridge, the river, and the mountains.
The Bato Bridge
While I am at loss for words to describe what I felt when I saw the bridge, the more that I am at loss for words to define the feeling when we were actually crossing the bridge.
Crossing the longest bridge in Catanduanes
Time seems so quick for me to actually grasp what I felt when were crossing the bridge. I could not decide whether to look to the left or to the right. Everything’s so beautiful. The skies are clear, the mountains are abundant with trees, the river is calm and serene. And after crossing the bridge we turned right. And then the vehicle stopped. They said we have arrived at the place where the Bato Church is situated. But again, I am caught off-guard. I got amazed with the view when I got out of the vehicle.
The Bato River. No filter.
I just have to take a picture in order to preserve this view in my memory. 🙂
After basking in that beautiful sight, I turned and saw an archaic but charming edifice in front of me: the Bato Church or the St. John the Baptist Church.
St. John the Baptist Church of Bato
This is the facade of the Bato Church.
The church was closed when we went there. Even if I was not able to go inside, I felt contended having seen the Bato Church from the outside. There is that feeling that the church has witnessed so much, and that despite its age, it is still magnificently intact. The Bato Church is worth crossing the distance. Besides, you would not get bored along the way due to the interesting sights that will marvel you. 🙂
A Jurist's Life 