Paco Park x Intramuros: Manila's Surviving Granmas

January 30, 2016

I was bored. I wanted to go to National Museum but I just couldn't get myself to do so. But it was a Saturday and I knew in my heart I just can't spend it procrastinating on the couch all day. So, I charged my camera and phone, asked my Mom on how to get to Padre Faura, packed some extra shirt on my bag and headed outside.

Since I was coming from Manila, I just took a jeepney bound to Padre Faura from Quiapo. After I alighted at the corner of P. Faura and Taft Avenue, I walked my way to Paco Park (it's just a 3-5 minute walk) until I saw its old stone gate that looks both proud and welcoming.

Paco Park's Gate

I paid the entrance fee of 10 pesos and walked in.

Originally a cemetery built by the Dominicans, it was once the municipal cemetery of Manila. According to Wikipedia, construction of it was ordered in 1807 and it was officially inaugurated on April 22, 1822. It ceased to be a burial ground in 1912 and the remains of the dead buried there were exhumed and transferred to other cemeteries. It was converted into a national park in 1966 and its care was placed under the responsibility of National Park's Development Committee. 

The Tombs at Paco Park

Some of the grave stones:

Walking around the park...

A pathway on top of the tombs.

Calachuchis (a flower for the dead) falling from its trees

Students at the burial site of the marytrs GomBurZa.
Lots of students come here because the park is near to a lot of schools and Universities.

Burial site of Dr. Jose Rizal
It is said that after his execution, he was originally buried here.
And then his body was exhumed and transferred to his monument at Luneta Park.

Jackfruit growing at Paco Park.

St. Pancratius Chapel.
This one's inside the park.
Pancratius is a Greek name that means "the one that holds everything".

Also, St. Pancratius chapel and Paco Park are popular venues for weddings. I wasn't able to get inside the chapel because there was a wedding going on that day:

See? I became this girl's instant photographer!

I had some light lunch and then went straight to Intramuros after.

a Philippine flag waving proudly on some street at Intramuros.

Since this isn't my first time visiting The Walled City, I didn't take much time walking around and instead went directly to Fort Santiago because I haven't been there yet. Before I went in, I saw Carlos Celdran on one of his Tour Intramuros:

Of course, there's an entrance fee:

Fort Santiago or Moog ng San Tiago was first built by Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi in the 1800s for then the new established city of Manila. The stones used were volcanic tuff quarried from Guadalupe (now Guadalupe Viejo in Makati). **Wikipedia**

Coincidentally, there was a pre-nup shoot going on at that time. I guess people are really falling in love this time, huh? No, there's no bitterness in there.

fountain in the middle of the park

the gate of Fort Santiago

And here I am on my leopard shoes, following the footsteps of our National Hero Jose Rizal:

Awww... poor Pepe...

The Dungeon.
I can only imagine the inhumane treatment the prisoners got.
The lamentations seem to be absorbed in the stone walls

One of the many staircases leading down to a maze of prison cells.

I don't know, but when I was there, I felt something weird in the air. It was as if there was a presence of some occult spirits lurking undearneath the fort, in beneath the shadows. And I wondered if this place is being used by occult people on some of their dark rituals in the middle of the night. Well, just my two cents, though.

Still, you can't deny the beauty of the place. Whatever hell it had been through in the past, its architecture coupled with its rich history makes it so interesting and exquisitely beautiful. As if the two weren't enough to convince you of its beauty, here's my photo of the sunset taken at the fort:

I believe, Manila has a lot of things to offer. I will never believe that my city is dying. It will never happen. Manila is a beautiful lady, albeit devirginized, but still as beautiful as the sunsets it tirelessly showcases everyday at Manila Bay.

And I believe I have this duty to protect this city in whatever way I can.

Like Batman to Gotham City.

Or Daredevil to Hell's Kitchen...