My Ilocandia escapade

   Every once in a while, you’d feel tired of the city & you would wish to be somewhere… a place far from your toxic world. A destination you have never been before. Some place that will give you the peace… and the adventure starts…

     Pagudpud has always been on my list of places to visit. I heard so many good things about the place; so when my friends asked me to join their road trip to Ilocos I didn’t hesitate; I filed a 3day leave from work right away. My friend ( Annie Racoma) & I went gaga shopping for clothes we’ll be using on our trip (Thank you MARKET MARKET for selling fashionable yet affordable clothes.) We made sure that our cameras are ready for the 4day vacation.

March 18, 2012:

 Charges (for both cameras & phones): CHECKED!

Food while on the road: CHECKED!

Swim wears: CHECKED!

Sunblock: CHECKED!

Extra everything: CHECKED!

         It was almost 8pm when the van came to pick Jal & I in Pioneer. Since we both came from work, we weren’t able to stay awake for chit chats; we had to do stopovers though, every 2 or 3 hours to pee & to let our resident driver (Kuya Henry) rest.

March 19, 2012:

We arrived at Laoag City, Laoag Ilocos Norte at around 4:30 am. It was so early & no other stores are open, so we ended eating at McDonalds.  This was marked as my first official breakfast in Ilocos. After breakfast, we looked for nearest auto shop for some electric issues I didn’t understand. While waiting for the van to be fixed, we walked along the streets of Laoag and yes, it was very obvious that we are tourists. We even took an Ilocos Norte map from one of the hotels we went to and asked traffic enforcers for directions!!!

McDonalds Laoag

   The Sinking Bell, one of the main attractions of Laoag. It was an old church bell ruin located in Laoag town proper. Though the place is restricted, we were able to take pictures from outside while all passersby are giving us weird looks. The sinking bell is obviously just a normal church ruin that they see every day but an amusement for us.

Sinking Bell Laoag, Ilocos Norte

         We left Laoag around 9am & went to Paoay to see famous Paoay Church. Both the church & the bell tower are being fixed. By the looks of it, the place really needs renovation for it to last a hundred more years. The church looks enormous from the outside & would make you feel like you are looking at a postcard. It looks smaller when you are inside; it has an antique altar & is surrounded by immense windows. The aisle has a long red carpet resting on the antique yet very clean flooring. The place was so serene, you wouldn’t even dare make any kind of noise while inside.

Paoay Bell Tower

Paoay church

          It was almost noon when we left Paoay, we were all exhausted from the long trip & the underarm sweating weather. Thanks to a very informative trike driver who told us that there are beach resorts nearby. We drove to the next town.  Currimao is known for its natural rock formations lying along the beautiful shoreline. We had to ask our driver for a stopover to check out the rock formations ourselves. The water is crystal clear; the huge rocks were perfectly made by Mother Nature. We stayed there for about 30 minutes to take pictures & feel the cold water while under the sun. We checked in one of the resorts in the area. Subli- subli is along the same shore line & we were given a great deal by the care taker. P1500 is not bad for an overnight stay in a clean air-conditioned room with two twin beds & free extra bed, free parking good for 7 people plus a smiling & very approachable care taker. We had to leave early the next morning for our next destination.

Currimao rock formations

Annie & I enjoying the sun 

March 20, 2012:

           Fresh from the whole night sleep, we went to Juan Luna Shrine. A two storey brick house rebuilt by the people of Badoc, Ilocos Norte to honor the great painter. It is the home for some of Juan Luna’s timeless paintings. It also has the replica of the “Spoliarium” & the patriot’s “self-portrait”. The place also showcases the clothes he used during the Spanish era as well as his paint brushes & other painting tools.  I would say that Juan Luna shrine will make you feel proud that you’re a Filipino.

Juan Luna Shrine

      We didn’t stay long in Badoc, from there we took the 2 and a half hour drive to Vigan City Ilocos Sur. Just like any other tourists, we rode the famous “Kalesa ” for P150 per hour to vist different locations in the city. We went to the “Bell Tower”. It was worth the walk to get to the bell tower from the main Cathedral; you’ll get a glimpse of the city from the top! One of the care takers (we forgot to ask his name) went with us to take our group pictures. It seemed like Manong care taker had a lot of experience taking tourists photos that he was the one giving us directions how to strike a pose. After sweating at the bell tower we rode the kalesa to the “Calle Crisologo”; the street in Vigan where you get to feel the rich Spanish culture that we once embraced. Old Spanish inspired houses & stores on this street. They have shirts, bracelets, key chains & a lot of “pasalubong” to offer including Barquilos & homemade Tobacco. We left Manong kutsero & Bigueño (the horse) after an hour of fun filled kalesa ride.

Baluarte

Bell tower

Kasela ride

Calle Crisologo

    Right after lunch, we headed to “Baluarte”; a fortress where human can interact with the wild. The place was owned by Chavit Singson, no entrance fee, you just have to be nice to all the animals housed there. As you enter the gate, you’ll see 3 tigers in their enormous cages; there’s a huge field where the donkeys, Ostriches & other animals hang out; there’s a separate cage for geese; a sleeping albino & other kinds of snake are in separate aquariums, there are other animals I don’t remember. A mini butterfly garden was built near the recreation area where an animal encounter show is being shown for the kids. Before I forget, there are also “angry birds” (quoted from a boy who pointed at the parrots & shouted “mama angry birds!!!”) in front of the field.

    The road trip for the day didn’t end there, from Ilocos Sur, we drove back to the north. It was almost a 3 and a half hour drive from Vigan to Bangui where the first windmills in Asia stood still. The windmills are located along the shore. The feel of being there, standing next to the windmills while feeling the breeze & watching the sunset is remarkable. It felt like I was in a movie scene (a cheesy movie scene...haha!). We waited until the sun is out of the horizon & headed to Pagudpud. It was around 7pm when we arrived, we chose to rent in one of the “Homestays” near the road. The locals in Pagudpud had their houses converted as homestays for tourists. Most of them have 2-3 bedrooms; 2 will be available for rent while they stay in the other one. Homestay costs a lot cheaper than the rooms in the resorts. Homestays usually costs 800-1000 pesos per night good for a group of 7 like us while resort rooms cost 3-5000 pesos per night good for 3-4 people. In homestays you can use everything in the house including the Television & fridge as well as the plates & other utensils while in resort rooms, you have to order everything in their in house restaurant. The tiring day ends there.

Bangui Windmills

March 21, 2012:

         We woke up a little late & headed to Saud Beach Resort just near the place we rented. We heard a lot about the place & read about it in the internet. The breath taking Pagudpud shoreline is very accessible from the resort. We talked to the security guard & lady who introduced herself as the one in charged to make sure that everything is clear before we pay & check in. We made it clear with the Lady-in-charge that we’ll just be paying for the picnic area where we plan to put up a tent; she agreed & informed us that we just have to pay 50 pesos each for the entrance & we can just use our tent however they won’t allow us to cook from there so we went to the market & went back to the homestay to cook. It was 12noon when we finished cooking & enthusiastically went back to Saud beach resort; we were all so excited to swim but it was surprising how we were threated; the “very helpful” (rolling eyes) security guard same as the “Lady-in -charged” denied the information they provided 2 hours earlier. It was very disappointing that we were given information that will later be denied & worst, we were even accused as liars; when the “ very helpful guard” radioed someone from inside the resort we all heard them saying “BAKA LUMULUSOT LANG?!”;WTF?! I didn’t want to spoil our vacation, I tried my very best to tame the inner dragon that almost went out of my head to breath fire & burn all of them. Was that the right way to talk to clients? I was never threated that way in my whole damn life until I went to Saud Beach resort; I don’t need a beautiful resort to stay in with stinking ill-mannered people who doesn’t know what customer service means.

Pagudpud

After the huge disappointment in Saud beach we decided to look for a different resort. One of the locals told us that there’s a public beach nearby. Just a few steps away from the stinking Saud beach resort is the public beach that offers cheaper rates for both the entrance & the cottages. The beach is on the same shoreline. The water & the sand is just the same as what other resorts can offer. Why would we pay more if we can get the same exact beach for a better cost? Plus extra nice crew! We enjoyed our stay there & had so much fun under the sun. The beach is just breath taking.  The clear sky was a perfect match to the blue sea. We spent the whole afternoon fighting the waves & stayed in the beach until dawn.  We were tired but we ended day 3 with a smile.

March 22, 2012:

The last day of our Ilocandia tour started at around 6am, we can’t get enough of the water. We decided to go to “Blue Lagoon”. It was a 30minute drive from Saud, the beach is awesome, big waves welcomed us. We thought we can swim there but decided not to because of the waves that I bet would be enjoyed by surfers. Since we weren’t able to swim in blue lagoon, we went to “Kabigan falls”. It was a 30minute 2KM trekking to get to the falls. It was fun! The water in Kabigan Falls is so cold; it would take 15minutes for your body to adapt. We swam for an hour & took a bath in the river at the mountainside; the river was shallow yet crystal clear; there are big rocks everywhere.  

     Our last stop for our Ilocos visit was at the Cape Bojeador Light house in Burgos, Ilocos Norte. The old lighthouse looks creepy yet artistic & the view from the top is awesome. You’ll see the sea meeting the horizon from the top; really wonderful. Whether you’re an amateur or a professional photographer, you’d love to take pictures from this place. We just ate lunch & headed to the market to buy pasalubong. “Bagnet” or others call it chicharon is one of the delicacies from Ilocos; if you have high blood pressure I would recommend that you try other Ilocano dishes but this.

    Our 4 day road trip to Ilocos was worth it. Given a chance, I would go back & bring more friends with me for them to see how beautiful Ilocos is. We went back to Manila with a smile, with memories to treasure & a whole lot of pictures to upload!