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)