Day 2: Amazing Race to Ilocos Region - Pagudpud!

It's more than a year before I finally posted the much awaited (and stale hahaha!) post of our Day 2 Ilocos Adventure.

This time, i'll just make it brief and hopefully I can still remember every single detail from my notes and pictures.  *wink-wink*

After eating our Filipino breakfast,  the famous Vigan longganisa with local brewed coffee, we proceed with our itinerary.  Our first stop was the Sta. Monica Church and Convent.  Along our way,  we passed by the Sarrat Presidencia.

Sarrat Presidencia

For the record, Sta. Monica Church has the longest church aisle in the country. I wonder how long did it took Irene Marcos to walk down the aisle before saying I Do to Gregorio "Greggy" Araneta in 1983. Also, what's peculiar with the church is its ceiling. It's made from Molave logs.

The longest church aisle in the Philippines.

Ceiling made from Molave logs.

Outside the church, you can see the ruins of the Trial Court used during the Spanish era, and the convent. It felt eerie when we stepped inside the ruins especially when we passed by the death chamber, felt like we were transported back in time that anytime we will be caught by the Spanish soldiers. Well, that was just my wild imagination. Truth is, we enjoyed doing photo ops!

Entrance to the ruins of trial court and death chamber.

Sta. Monica convent

Our next stop was the Marcos residence. The Sarrat tour will never be complete if one will not drop-by to the Marcoses house. It is managed by a Marcos also (unfortunately, I forgot his name). He showed us around the house which is well-kept and maintained. The house is full of memorabilia and the Edralins and Marcoses family tree. Below is the bed where Mrs. Edralin Marcos gave birth to the late President Ferdinand Marcos. We didn't have the chance to visit the Marcos' Mausoleum because it was under maintenance during that time.

So we head off to Ilocos Museum and  took a shot from a distance the famous Sinking Bell Tower. We didn't enter the Museum (bad!) because we were all looking forward to reach Pagudpud.

Ilocos Museum

Sinking bell tower.

On our way to Pagudpud, our driver cum guide showed us a salt-making hut. Their procedure is quite different because they are not using salt beds to dry up the sea water, instead the sea water are dried in flat-looking-stone-stove that is continuously heated by saw dust.

We arrived at Burgos Lighthouse aka Cape Bojeador Lighthouse at almost lunchtime. The caretaker allows only a limited number of persons to go up the tower since the structure is already old and rusty. You'll love the scenic view of the South China Sea (now West Philippine Sea).

Rusty base of the tower.

Our next stop before Pagudpud was the famous Bangui Wind Mills.  I love those giants, lol! Looks so small from a distance. We didn't stay long here because the sun was scorching hot! Besides, there were no other interesting  spots here except the windmills.

At last, we arrived at the Pagudpod Beach.  We were so exhausted and hungry because we did a side trip at Kaibigan Falls, which deserves another entry.  We had our late lunch at Kapuluan Vista Resort and just did some photo ops.  Too tired to even do jump shots. ^u^

The last leg of our tour was the Patapat Viaduct. Once again, we can't help not to be astounded by the scenic view of the West Philippine Sea and the greens.

There you go!  Done with our second day Ilocos tour!

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Wallstreet - Money Never Sleeps

Okay, this is my first time to post an entry thru phone. Just want to test if I can make this a habit in updating my blog.

I just came from the premiere night of Wallstreet - Money Never Sleeps, starring Michael Douglas and Shia LaBequf held at cinema one, Greenbelt 3. I’m not going to tell you the whole story nor any spoiler ‘coz the movie is obviously about stock trading and money markets. Be prepared to be bombarded with financial terms.

The event was organized by Skycable and Star Movies. I am one of the lucky winners of a pair of ticket. I got lucky when I chanced to answer the trivia posted at their Facebook account. Weee! Thank you Skycable!

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Amazing Race to Ilocos Region: Vigan Tour! (Part 2)

Finally, we arrived at Vigan at quarter to 4pm!  Just a few minutes before the Syquia Mansion closes. 

6th Stop:  Syquia Mansion -  We were dying of curiosity on what's in this mansion because our guide was pushing us not to skip this place.  He said that this was the family house then of the late President Qurino.  There were no staffs nor caretaker who greeted us, so, we slowly sneaked in.  We checked each room and it's as huge and extravagant as the Malacanang of the North, only, this mansion has more antique furniture.  Its walls has countless paintings and we saw (again) a reproduction of Juan Luna's Spolarium.

While we were exploring the house, we spotted one group who was eagerly listening to a guy (who is obviously the caretaker cum tourist guide) narration of the nitty-gritty details of the house. We didn't joined the group because we don't want to be tied to the the "tour of the house."

 

Juan Luna's "Spolarium" (repro)

Syquia Mansion Signage

After a few rounds, we were done with the whole mansion.  While stepping out, the caretaker rushed to our side to inform us that we need to donate for the maintenance of the mansion.  We felt like burglars being caught in the act.  LOL



7th Stop:  Baluarte ni Chavit - We arrived, at last, at the Baluarte.  It's only a 5-minute ride away from the Syquia mansion.

Welcome Sign of Baluarte!

Here you can find various animals roaming freely.  It's an open zoo.  I thought there's a T-rex too.  LOL.

The catchy Baluarte sign fom afar

You can do everything here for free!  (Note:  Just tip the friendly and hospitable staffs).  Since, horse riding was free then we had a good ride around the field.  The field is similar to an oval race track. 

Small horses ready to be ridden

Expecting for a good ride, courtesy of li'l horsey

Here are some shots taken when we had one round ride with li'l horsey.

Baluarte Multi-purpose hall

Baluarte hall and the roaming deers

And our close encounters with their showbiz animals!

Meet the big cat!

Rudolf?  Vixen? One of Santa's lost deer.

The zoo has also a butterfly garden and aviary.  I've seen ostriches roaming around with geese, and countless deers prancing around the field.  Some animals are kept in cages for security reasons like the snakes and musang.  No further explanations needed. 

Our visit here was perfect!

Thanks to Pareng Chavit! LOL

8th Stop:  Burnayan (Pottery) of National Artist Fidel Go - Our next stop was the burnayan.  We saw how a pot was made and, also, how the clay was mixed.  Ying showed us her artistic skills and posed ala Demi Moore in the movie "Ghost."

You need muscles to mix clay!

Mga babae (not halimaw) sa banga. (I know what you're thinking).

Mimicking Demi Moore in Ghost.

We bought some burnays and pasalubong here, then hurriedly took off for the ultimate stop! The Heritage Village.

9th Stop:  Heritage Village and Calle Crisologo -  It's like traveling back in time.  I love the "old and antique" feeling of the place.  Though there were modern infrastructures, the concept of the Spanish architecture were still maintained. 

McDonald's with azotea

Chowking looks like Mcdo.  Same color and facade.

One has to ride the calesa to experience the Maria Clara feeling and reliving the past.  We rented a calesa for an hour to tour us around the Heritage Village.  All houses were well-kept and maintained. 

The calesa at Calle Crisologo

while riding the calesa, we passed by the Welcome arch.

The last stop of our calesa ride was the Hidden Garden.  It's similar to Sonya's Garden though it's much bigger.  I love the landscaping.  If you want to relax - you'll never regret going to this garden.  They also have a small restaurant that serves fruits shakes and empanada.

Hidden Garden, that's not hidden.

Dragon fruit..... yummy fruit shake!

It was already dark when we returned to Calle Crisologo.  Most shops were already closed.  We were buying some tshirts, a dozen Vigan longganisa, and ref magnets....when suddenly... it rained!

Calle Crisologo, by night

Rain...rain..go, away!

We were still supposed to eat at Cafe Uno but it was already past 8pm.  So, we decided to forget the idea and, instead, head to our hotel which was at Laoag!  Neither of us have the idea that it was still 2 hours away from Vigan.  The journey going to Laoag was a loooooong tiring one.


Amazing Race to Ilocos - Vigan (Part 1)

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Day 1: Amazing Race to Ilocos Region - Vigan Tour! (Part 1)

There's no better way to spend a long weekend than to have an unplanned getaway.  Coincidentally, Philippine Airline (PAL) slashed down their fares giving me no choice but to give in to my first trip at Ilocos Region with my girlfriends! 

All were set for the trip.  We headed to Centennial 2 Airport (this is an exclusive PAL terminal for their international and domestic flights) more than an hour before the departure.  Grabbed a quick breakfast at the Jollibee counter and waited at  Gate 9 departure lounge patiently.  Like little girls who were excited for the big day, we were goofing around and kept on looking at the map and our itinerary (courtesy by Ms. Tina) when suddenly we heard from the PA that our flight for 9:45am was canceled.  It was moved to 11:45am and as a consolation we will be given a free lunch. But that was out of the question! 2 hours to us means an idle time at the airport, and 2 hours will be ripped from our itinerary!  We had a panic attack.  We don't want to ruin our itinerary.  We immediately called up Java Hotel to advise them that our flight will be delayed and, of course, Ms. Tina who informed us that we need to forget our Vigan itinerary and should just head straight to Laoag instead.  

Revising our itinerary during our panic attack!

After a couple of hours, our plane arrived.  We forgot all our irates on PAL and, excitedly (again) boarded the plane.  There we ate our lunch which we found bland and lousy.  Maybe, because of our excitement that we forgot how an adobo should taste like? LOL.

Free adobo meal from PAL due to delayed flight.

The flight was smooth and quick.  Before we knew it, we were already at Laoag International Airport.  The airport is small, a typical airport that can be found in the province.  I was quite disappointed because it doesn't look that "new,"  but antiquated.  And, since it is an "International Airport,"  I am expecting to see modern equipments even if the place is small.

With just a few steps, we were already outside the airport (that's how small the airport is) and saw our service from Java Hotel.  Here's our warm welcome..... written on 1 letter-sized paper.

Our welcome from Java Hotel!

We did not wasted any minute.  We hopped immediately inside the Toyota Innova service of Java Hotel and off we go together with our luggage. 

1st Stop:  Malacanang of the North - This used to be the residence of the Marcoses whenever they are in Ilocos Norte.  Behind the house is the Paoay Lake.  The house is grandiose! I wonder why it has so many bedrooms?

Facade of Malacanang of the North

Paoay Lake behind the Malacanang of the North

2nd Stop:  Paoay Church aka St. Augustine Church is part of the UNESCO World Heritage List.  The church was undergoing some rehabilitation during our visit.

The beautiful Paoay Church

Hurray for Paoay!

3rd Stop:  Juan Luna Shrine.  Juan Luna is synonymous to his famous painting "Spolarium," so expect to see a reproduction of his masterpiece here.   Other than that, you can also find some some of his personal art stuff and clothes, too.

Juan Luna Monument

Juan Luna Shrine

We didn't stayed long here because we were still hour(s) away from Vigan.  When we passed by the arch going to Ilocos Norte, we knew we were almost there!

Arch of "Welcome to Ilocos Norte"

Photo ops, of course!

4th Stop:  Sto. Cristo Milagros Shrine - On our way to Vigan proper, our driver, Kuya Alfred, requested us to pay homage to the Sto. Cristo Milagros Shrine located at Badoc, Ilocos Norte.  He even shared to us a folklore of the miraculous image.  According to him, it was discovered by the fishermen from nearby towns who were unable to carry the image because of its super-duper-heavy-weight but, miraculously, it was effortlessly carried by the Badoc fishermen to the shore.  Since then, the image had been the town's "property" and has been manifesting miracles.

shot from the front door

shot beside the altar

5th Stop:  Bantay Church and Bantay Belfry  -  Another church stop!  It's different from the other churches we've been because of it's reddish look.  On the left side, you can see the Belfry on top of a hill. We didn't go up the tower because we are afraid of heights and we were excited to reach Vigan ASAP.   Kuya Alfred said that the tower is overlooking the shores of Ilocos and served as the watch tower during the Spanish era.

Facade of Bantay Church

The lonely Belfry Tower on top of thie hill

It's already past 3pm when we left Bantay Church.  When we checked our itinerary, we still have to go to the following places! 

• Syquia Mansion which is closing by 4pm;
• Baluarte ni Chavit's closing time is 5pm
• Heritage Village
• Calle Crisologo
• Dinner at Cafe Uno
• Photo Ops at Calle Crisologo (again) at night.

We were thinking if we will cancel some of the places on our itinerary but we do not want to.  Guess, if we were successful in doing it or not.

Click the part 2 adventure here.

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