Attraversiamo 2012: 13th Leg Destination Ilocos Sur and Norte

We've planned and saved for this for a long time. We made it happen! Here's an account of the places, food and experiences we gained from this trip.

Places

1. Pagudpud Beach- be captured by the serenity and beauty of its white sands and clear water.  Pagudpud is tagged by some as the 'Boracay of the North".

This side of the beach gives you a view of the Bangui Windmills.

Pagudpud Beach also serves as a source of income to around 935 fishermen (as of 2011, in Pagudpud alone) according to the Provincial Agricultural Office of Ilocos Norte.

2. Kapurpurawan Rock Formation- Kapurpurawan is an Ilokano term which means "pagkaputi-puti". It refers to whiteness, which is the nature of this rock formation. It is found in Burgos.

Aside from the aesthetic beauty of this rock formation, you will be more amazed by the view around it. The cold breeze, fresh air and strong waves from the West Philippine Sea make the experience worth telling.

3. Bangui Windmill - This isn't my first time to see this place but it made no difference. It is astounding as it was the first I saw it. You see it from afar and as you go nearer, the excitement builds up.

These windmills generate electricity while reducing the greenhouse gas effects that cause global warming. Ain't that A-mazing?!

4. San Agustin Church - This church is considered as one of the Baroque Churches of the Philippines and is a World UNESCO Heritage Site (just like the Church of Miag-o in Iloilo).

5. Shrine of Our Lady of Charity - A Parish in Bantay, Ilocos Sur built in 1590.

6. Bantay Bell Tower - just a few steps away from the Bantay Parish, you will find this bell tower below.

7. Vigan - Like Paoay Church, Vigan is also cited as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Recently, Vigan was, yet again, recognized by UNESCO as a model of best practices in World Heritage site management, at the occasion of the 40th anniversary in of the World Heritage Convention. (Reference: UNESCO)

This photo was taken two years ago.

8. Marcos Museum and Mausoleum - Marcos Museum showcases memorabilia of the rich life of former President Ferdinand Marcos, and his first Lady, Imelda Romualdez Marcos.

Cameras are not allowed in the Mausoleum where you can find the preserved remains of Marcos inside a glass.

Experiences

1. Food - We work around a certain budget every time we travel. This means we plan not just our experiences and fares, we also plan our food expenses. Traveling to Ilocos Norte from Manila and then moving to Ilocos Sur can be a bit expensive. We opted to going for home-cooked meals - affordable, safe and oh so delicious!

This SPECIAL ICE CANDY sold by Ate MJ in Kapurpurawan Stone Formation is indeed special. It costs P15 a piece. She even apologized for it. She explained that it was expensive because it is special. With the time and effort she had to put into making it, selling it and walking to that area? P15- is not enough.

We also tried this Macy's Diner when we got to Ilocos Sur.

We are not leaving Ilocos without trying the famous Batac Empanada.

Empanada Special costs P35 each. You can already enjoy your empanada with egg and longanisa.

2. New Things - a travel is never a travel without new experiences and these are a few of them.

The owner of our accommodation brought us to this for place for an errand. I didn't know it will give me a chance to feed this cute little creature. He did well. This small branch of leaves just took him two minutes to consume. Those two minutes gave me a certain sense of fulfillment that I may not ever get again.

We enjoyed using this pump as our water source.

I finally got a chance to get on a calesa. I'll probably not to do it again. It was too bad that the horse carrying this calesa was thin and looks sickly that watching it made the trip a long agony for me.

I got to talk to the kutsero, what we call the one who 'drives' the horse. I asked him how often the horse gets a bath, water, food and a horseshoe replacement, or at least how often the hooves are trimmed. He gave me safe and indirect answers and I could tell from our conversation that he doesn't own it. It is probably owned by someone who also owns the other calesas. Mang Kutsero seem to be a decent man who earns around P300 a day. I really hope the calesa owners become more responsible in handling these horses who give them money and bring food to their table.

Although the kutsero showed me how he fed and gave water to the horse on our first stop, I had to cut the trip short. I couldn't take it. I paid him more than agreed. I may be wrong doing it but I did tell him to take care of Kate very well. Kate is the name of the horse which I asked even before asking his name.

(You will find this in my RIDE SERIES soon.)

Jem, Sugar and I have already been to Vigan two years ago. It was Thel's first.

3. Old Things - Some good things never last. All throughout the trip, we never get tired of talking and talking and learning. In fact, even in our silent moments, I'd say we were learning.

4. Travel - A lot of our time during this vacation was spent traveling. Look at these figures:

Manila to Pagudpud (Night Trip)             - 12 hours
Pagudpud to Paoay                                -   4 hours
Paoay to Vigan                                       -   2 hours
Paoay to Manila                                     -  12 hours

These hours do not include our short trips to the other tourist spots we've been through like Bangui and Kapurpurawan.

5. Family

Family's family is family. This is exactly how Jem's family has treated us during our stay in Ilocos Sur. The accommodation was warm and friendly. Here's a photo with three of his cousins.

This is a short trip to Bangui Windmills Pasalubong Center where we bought ref magnets for friends and family.

6. God's Faithfulness

How often do you see a rainbow from end to end during a travel? 

7. Friendship

 I have traveled with the same friends in the past but we never seem to get tired of it. Every new and old things we discover in any of our travels was made more special because of each other.

 You see, this travel wasn't a walk in the park. There were mishaps, wrong moves, unexpected turn of events, heated discussions and a lot of disagreements. Surprisingly, I found it as the 'balance' I was looking for.

Before I left for this trip, I placed this travel quote on my Facebook wall.

"You lose sight of things...and when you travel, everything balances out." - Daranna Gidel

I can't wait to obtain balance once again.

And I did. This travel showed me all sides of things, experiences and beliefs and where I am in all of it. It taught me that there's more to what I believe is right. I learned that as we try to look at things around us in a very positive way, there are also those things and dilemmas that are worth losing sleep over.

Our choices were tested and what we are made of. We came out victors in all of it. And although we will not be able to talk about it freely on this entry, the lessons we learned from it will forever be tattooed in our minds and serve as a reminder of the balance we need to maintain to both live and survive.

Photos credits:

Fox Llante

Jem Aznar

Sugar Canto

Thel Suliva