Day 7: Daraga

Completely satiated from our wonderful meal, we forged on with our tour.  In the province of Albay on the way to the Mayon lookout, one passes through Daraga.  It is a wonderful location with amazing views.

This stone church was built by the Franciscan missionaries in 1773 in honor of the patron saint of Nuestra Senora dela Porteria (Our Lady of the Gate). This is where the parishioners of the Cagsawa went after their church was destroyed by the eruption of Mayon volcano in 1814. This church was used by the Japanese Army as their headquarter and was destroyed during WW II and rebuilt in 1971-1973. 
(I copied this paragraph online and cannot find the link so I cannot properly credit it.  Sorry!)
There is an amazing write-up about the history of this church here.

This church was made National Cultural Treasure in 2007.