PART 2… Continued
DAY 3 – July 20, 2013
At 6am, everybody’s already awake preparing for the last set of the itinerary. We already have pre-ordered our breakfast the night before so they can prepare it ahead since we’ll be leaving Pagudpud early for our Vigan escape.
We left Pagudpud at almost 8 am and made a quick stop at their welcome arch. We didn’t have a chance to take pictures of it yesterday since we’re already hungry and drove directly to the restaurant. The arch was located after a bridge separating the town of Pagudpud from Bangui. Nice views of the mountains and we can see the windmills from there since its towering.
After minutes of driving, we arrived at Laoag City. We stopped at the SM Hypermarket to buy some stuffs like water and chichirias. Since Ilocos Norte Capitol Building is within the area, we never missed the opportunity to stop and took pictures at the Capitol Grounds. Not minding the people around us, we enjoyed with our poses and our jump shots in front of the Capitol building. It was so nice with its architectural design that’s fantastic. Its good location fronting the highway with fountains and nice landscapes offered a warm welcome in the city. The buildings around also were built with Spanish influences in architecture. They have fountains all over and a big functional garden clock as well.
We spent several minutes in the Provincial Capitol and we drove further down back to Vigan. Before reaching Vigan, we made a drive to the cornick factory. By the way, they called it “Chichacorn”. They offered several flavors and we bought some of it.
Continuing our journey, we went see the house of the famous painter Juan Luna in Badoc, Ilocos Norte. His house was so fabulous. Even if it was built decades ago, it was well maintained. With this kind of house, you can imagine how well off his family during their time. It’s a huge house made of bricks, now a museum showcasing some of his collections. The paintings are replicas of the original as most of it are kept at the National Museum. There was a curator at the museum where they explain the significance of each of the displays in the house. We have spent several minutes on the place and we’re off to continue our journey going back to Vigan.
Before leaving the province of Ilocos Norte, we had a short stopover at the welcome arch of Ilocos Norte. It was huge and a very wonderful structure. The road is wide and there were few vehicles passing by so we had a good chance of taking pictures out of it. We made it at the center; we made it on the side. It was surrounded by a farmland making it so rural and refreshing.
The arch also welcomes us to the province of Ilocos Sur.
Finally, our last stop is Vigan. We went directly to the heritage site and had our lunch at the famous Café Leona’s. It’s already noontime and it was expected to have lots of diners. The good thing when we got there, we didn’t find it difficult in looking for a space even being a big group. We’re like sitting on an exclusive part of the restaurant. We immediately ordered our food at the counter. We tried their famous pinakbet, the longganisa and we even ordered fried bangus. The price is just right, like the normal restaurant in the metro. The food was really delicious; no wonder they stayed in business for decades. The location also is great as they were located along the renowned Crisologo Street.
After settling our bills at the restaurant, we’re excited to explore the heritage site. We hailed a Kalesa, a horse driven carriage, for us to be taken to different tourist sites paying Php 100 each. We had our first stop at the house of Father Burgos. It is located at the center of Vigan near the Capitol. It is a huge house beside the street, now they made it as a museum. They have featured different collections reflecting what life they had during their time. It was a 2-storey house showcasing the old furnitures they’ve been using before. The rooms were preserved and maybe restored some portions that were damaged. Old telephones, the piano, kitchenware were still there. I can imagine how they lived before, how great was their life during their time.
Our next stop in our Kalesa ride was out of Vigan. We’re heading to Bantay, Ilocos Sur.
It is right across the highway. The main attraction there was the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity. The church was really attractive in its red bricks and was originally built in the 16th century. It was situated just along the highway between Vigan City and Bantay.
Just near the Parish was the free standing bell tower. It was strategically located on a hill beside the Church; it was really towering in the area. We gave a donation of Php 10 each in order to climb up the third level of the tower. Outside of it was magnificent. The tower was also made of red bricks with one small door as an entrance. A staircase was winding going to up to the second level and a steep straight stairs going up to the top.
There were several bells of different shapes and sizes. According to our guide, these bells have different purposes. One bell for a wedding, another for a funeral, for a fiesta and on a regular mass celebrations also and each has its own way of ringing. The view on top of the bell tower was spectacular. It seems like this tower was the tallest structure in the area that you can see the place in 360 degrees. We enjoyed our visit to the church with the knowledge also imparted by our local guide.
Since we have limited time to explore Vigan, we went straight to the pottery to have the chance of experiencing pot making. Luckily when we arrived, the other group was already finished and it’s our turn to make our own. I went first, washed my hands and started to mold the pot by making a whole at the center. While the table was spinning, I gently tried to sharpen my fingers to raise the side of my clay making it a small pot.
It’s so nice that in such a short time, you can create a masterpiece. After me, it’s Clifton, then Johnny, and then Fernd. My aunt also tried yet my mom just sit on the side while pointing on the clay. Such a wonderful experience. Souvenir shops were just outside the pottery yet we’re in a hurry to get back to our meeting point so we decided to buy in Calle Crisologo.
We let our Kalesa drivers drop us out on the other end of Calle Crisologo. We had a walk along the stone-paved street while trying to look for souvenirs on the shops in the area and also enjoying the heritage site. Not minding the rain, we kept walking and taking pictures on the old houses. Since it’s a UNESCO heritage site, I can really imagine the real beauty of Vigan during those days and it’s still really nice up to today. It’s nice to look back on yesterday, seeing how’s life going on. It’s also nice to cherish the moments when what we lived was simple life. It also is a reminder of what a beautiful life we had before.
After buying some souvenirs and pasalubong (delicacies like longganisa, bagnet, kakanin) we went straight to Baluarte, Vigan’s pride owned by Governor Chavit Singson, originally built as a rest house. Some of the local artists who were friends with the Governor frequent the area before. It’s a home of some domestic animals freely moving all over the place.
According to their website, it has 80 hectares of total land area dedicated to be the home of such lovely animals. It’s open for public, FREE of entrance fees from 7am to 6pm daily. Rides also are free. We clearly observed upon going inside the perimeter, cute donkeys are with their carriages letting visitors ride for free. The roamed around the area and they’re cute. Several donkeys also are lying in the oval, some were feeding on the grass. Deers also were present, ostriches were also free roaming. It’s nice to see a zoo like this one wherein all the domesticated animals were moving around harmoniously. Just the tigers and lions were in cages.
They have lots of facilities, some were under construction. We just didn’t maximize our time there since the rain poured heavily. We went up the hill to look for the tigers, and it’s really amazing that one tiger was showing off to us. Thanks to the caretaker whom I don’t exactly know if the tiger hate him or not. Though it rained, we enjoyed the place, we saw the building of Governor Chavit with a big tree on top. What a nice paradise he has.
It’s sad to know that our journey to the north finally ends here. After Baluarte, we left Vigan and headed straight back to Manila. We had a stop at Candon City for our dinner, made also a quick stop at Urdaneta City to buy some dried fish, and after that, we had a straight drive back to the metropolis. We arrived safely in Cainta at 2am, July 21, 2013.
There are other means of transportation in going to Ilocos. By plane, Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific have several flights from Manila to Laoag. Several bus companies like Florida have trips from Manila to Pagudpud. But essentially, taking these into consideration, the places I mentioned above can be reached through local transportation services in Ilocos in which you need to hire as buses only stops at the terminals.
There are many hotels in Vigan, Laoag and even resorts in Pagudpud. They accept online bookings. You just have to check their websites. You may also check in www.agoda.com or www.booking.com, they are offering good deals too. Please take note that payment is by credit card.
Thanks to Kuya Rommer for driving us safe with our trip. Thanks to Travel Now Asia for arranging the itinerary. Thanks also to my great friends making this trip a memorable one. The three-day Ilocos escape that we have really made a difference. We were from Mindanao yet we’ve gone as far as Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte.
We had a BLAST!
Been here: July 20, 2013
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