Baluarte Watchtower of Luna

The Spanish Watchtower in Luna in its various structural states as we from NLT have encountered it over the years.

Image 1:

Shows the watchtower in 2011, at which time the tower was already split and bushes were growing inside. The wall was badly damaged and thick concrete posts (image 2 – red arrow) prevented the seaward half from collapsing.

Image 3:

The watchtower in 2014. The bushes were removed and the area around the tower, more or less well cleaned. The concrete posts have actually done a good job over the years.

Image 4:

In October 2015, Typhoon Lando ravaged northern Luzon, creating huge waves. This caused the beach to underwash and the concrete posts could not withstand the pressure of the wall, it collapsed and broke into several large and small pieces.

Image 5:

The restored watchtower in 2017, two years after its collapse.
The seaward wall was restored with new bricks.
The crumbled wall found its final resting place under the pedestal.

This watchtower was part of a chain of watchtowers along the coast. In total, the Spaniards had built 13 watchtowers at that time to be able to detect pirates coming from China in time and relay the approaching danger. Until its collapse in 2015, this watchtower was the one among the two preserved with the old original bricks (although it was split).

Said second tower is located about 25 km away in San Juan, La Union (watch the video).