June 17, 2018
The Jeronimo’s Monastery in Belem was a short bus ride. It was indeed a hot day and we had to walk maybe 300 meters from where the bus dropped us off. Salve and Lina were not feeling well and wanted to either just stay inside the bus or be brought to the hotel so they could rest. They just arrived from a 24 hour journey from Manila and Salve said it’s been 32 hours since they arrived and their body couldn’t take it anymore. She felt like fainting. Salve had an open heart bypass surgery a few years ago which she said was caused by eating chicharon almost everyday for one whole year.
She and Lina needed to rest or else they would collapse na daw. The bus driver didn’t want to bring them to the hotel and he also didn’t want to keep the aircondition running while the bus was parked. Salve, Lina, and Jonas hailed a cab back to the hotel.
For two seconds I thought of joining them. Not because I was tired, but because it was soooo hot. Nangangagat yung araw. Even with sunglasses on, nakakasilaw pa rin ng konti. Ayaw kong magka-migraine.
I covered my head with a shawl while we walked to the Gothic style architecture building which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
As soon as we entered the monastery, we felt the drop in temperature. In contrast with the 37 degrees outside, it felt cold inside, must be 25 degrees or less. It was amazing how the thick lime walls kept the inside cold. Parang merong aircon.
We had a lot of time to take photos of just about every corner of the monastery. And since it was really cold inside we didn’t even want to leave the premises.
Tile room
King Manuel was the one who asked permission from the Holy See to construct a church and a monastery at this location. He funded the project from the 5% tax collected from trade between Africa and the Orient. Construction of the ornate architectures took 100 years which started in January 1501. There was an existing structure dedicated to Santa Maria de Belem which was replaced by the Jeronimo’s Monastery.
Photography by sister
Photography by wife
Photography by daughter
We were on our way out before I found out there’s a gift shop on the second floor of The Jeronimo’s Monastery and they do sell plates! It was too late because our tour guide was calling us already.
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