San Andres : The Town Once Known as Calolbon

(This is part of my Visit Catanduanes 2015 series. For other Catanduanes posts, just click the links after this article)

The third Catanduanes town I was able to visit is San Andres. This town was once officially called as "Calolbon" but was renamed "San Andres" on June 18, 1964. The town was named after its patron saint but is still called by the locals by its former name, Calolbon.

San Andres Church

The very first site I visited in this town is its church. Just like in Virac, I was not impressed by the church's facade. I thought it was a modern one but when I saw the interior, I was greeted by the church's very thick wall and realized it is also a century-old church! It was a shame the church's facade was renovated. It must have been a beautiful one before the renovation but something must have happened leading to that change of facade. 

Interior of San Andres Church. Priest's view.

The Parish of St. Andrew was founded, I presume, on 1798 (because that was the date when the first parish priest as well as the first gobernadorcillo served Calolbon) and the original church (of which original walls still stand up to this day) must have been built some years after that. I am very much interested to see how the original facade looks like.

San Andres Church Altar and Retablo

The church's retablo is the same with many other church retablo around the country and there's nothing extraordinary but the over-all feel inside the church is still that of an old one. It must be the extra thick walls that gives that feeling of nostalgia.

Our Lady of Sorrow Church. Bato sa Paloway.

After that visit to Calolbon Church, is a visit to another one : the Our Lady of Sorrow Church in Barangay Batong Paloway. This site is a very famous pilgrim destination in the whole island of Catanduanes as well as nearby provinces of Bicol. It houses the famous image of the Our Lady of Sorrow printed on a piece of rock and is said to be miraculous. The story is a man named "Pacio" found that piece of rock under an "iba" tree and this same rock is miraculous and was instrumental in curing ailments and diseases of the pilgrims visiting the ermita where it was enshrined. 

Interior of Our Lady of Sorrow Church. Bato sa Paloway.

The church is actually a small  but beautifully made chapel. It can be found right at the side of the road and is almost always open to anyone who would want to visit it to see the image.

San Andres Municipal Hall

I also visited the municipal hall of San Andres which is located on top of a hill reachable by climbing the concrete steps in front of it. Once in front of the municipal hall, I had a bird's eye view of much of the town of Calolbon.

One other attraction of San Andres (which I am so regretful I wasn't able to visit) is the Luyang Cave. It can be found just at the side of the road between Virac and San Andres, and it would have been great if I was also able to visit it given that we passed that very same road from Virac going to San Andres! Kuya driver could have told me about it but lo! he didn't...

Luyang Cave. (credit to AJSolero of San Andres gov't website)

For the locals of Calolbon, this cave is a historical one for according to local legend, many people perished inside the cave in an event that happened in the 18th Century. Because of unceasing Moro attack to the place, the people used the cave as a hideout. When the Moros found out that they are hiding in the cave, they moved to attack it and the people hiding there burned the pieces of woods, leaves, and twigs they used to conceal the cave's entrance in the hope that it will deter the Moros from entering the cave. Unfortunately, the wind direction is inward and it blew the smoke towards the people inside, suffocating them to death. Until now, memorial service is celebrated there annually for the memories of those who perished in that tragic event.

San Andres Passenger Terminal. San Andres Port.

After roaming around the town of San Andres (Calolbon), I ate my lunch at a carinderia near the San Andres Passenger Terminal where I stayed waiting for the departure of the ferry scheduled to go to Tabaco, Albay that afternoon. San Andres was the last Catanduanes town I have visited that day... and up to the present. 

San Andres Port

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Read more about Catanduanes:

Catanduanes : Roaming Around Luzon's Easternmost Province
Virac : The Island of the Howling Wind's Capital
Bato : Town of an Old Church, a Shrine, and a Long Bridge