March 18 - the day we've all been waiting for.
November 2010 pa lang, decided na kami na pupunta kami sa Ilocos. And start of the year pa lang, booked and paid na lahat ng kailangan namin para sa trip na ito... Sinong may sabing HEKSAYTED kami?
9pm call time.
at dahil nga hindi naman kami HEKSYATED, e on time kami. hahaha!
By 11 pm, nasa terminal na kami ng bus. FARINAS TRANS (dahil eto ang pinakamura)..
***Farinas Trans has no terminal inside Vigan.
Laoag ang byahe and since dadaan naman ng Vigan, eto na pinili namin.
ETD MNL 1130PM
Mabilis ang byahe dahil gabi naman. Sabi 8hrs daw. pero tingin ko wala pang 7 hours yun kung walang stop over. And info nga pala, aircon bus ang sinakyan namin. hindi deluxe, CR lang daw kasi pinagkaiba (yung isa meron, yung isa wala). Mura ang bus fare (yeah) pero inform ko lang din kayo na may kalumaan na yung bus nila. Hindi naman tumirik. pero yung mga upuan sira. Reclining nga, automatic naman. Kahit ayaw mo magrecline, kusa syang bumababa.. well, di naman lahat ng upuan. hehe. saka nung umandar na, yung ibang upuan tumutunog. parang maluwag sa turnilyo or sira na ang spring (whatever!)
Yun lang. hehehe.
Anyway, tama na ang pang-ookray sa bus.
Madami naman choices kung bus din lang pag-uusapan.
And contact details can easily be found in the internet..
So balik tayo sa gala portion...
Ayun, after less than 8 hours, e dumating na kami sa last stop over ng bus which is in Bantay Ilocos Sur. Tingin ko 5 minutes na lang bababa na kami dapat, e tumigil pa yung bus. =P
Retouch muna at picture picture bago bumaba...
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| todo smile dahil few minutes na lang bababa na.. =) |
We got off at Petron Station in Bantay, as suggested by one of the PExers... And from there, (ay hindi kami nagpahinga) sinimulan na namin ang ILOCOS TRiP!!!!!!!! =D
FIRST STOP: BANTAY CHURCH and BELL TOWER
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| alay lakad.. |
Solve naman sa kodakan kahit pagod sa byahe... hehe..
Sa harap mismo ng simbahan may pila na ng tricycle kaya walang problema ang transportation. We were 9, kasya na sa 2 tricycles. hehehe. mura lang naman ang pamasahe. 10 pesos each.
Few minutes lang nakarating na kami sa Villa Angela where we chose to stay.
(i chose lang pala)
Villa Angela has 99.99% positive feedback. and I think the only negative feedback i read was intentionally done by probably one of its competitors in the place . hehehe. chismis. naiisip ko lang naman yun kasi talagang magaganda lahat ng iba kong nabasa unlike sa iba kong choices pa. The main reason why I chose this place and the rooms as well is because of the ambiance. Feel na feel talaga... kulang na maging Sepia ang tingin ko sa paligid. May mga mas murang rooms. pero mararamdaman ko bang nasa Vigan ako kung sa double deck ako tutulog? hehe... Boarding house lang yun... Tingin ko naman hindi ako nagkamali. Super satisfied talaga ako sa facilities, food and services nila.
Dalawang rooms ang na-book ko. Pero sa laki ng room (at dahil na din sanay naman kami sa siksikan) pwede na kami sa isa. sayang, tipid sana. hehehe
We paid 6000 for the rooms.
Yung isa as in malaki talaga. may 3 beds. yung 2, kasya na ang dalwa, yung 1 kasya na 3 or 4. at maluwag pa sa sahig. hehehe... the other room (smaller), magkakasing laki na yung bed. ok din naman. =)
By the way, check in time is 2pm pero we came at around 830AM. hehehe. ok naman. We had to stay in just one room at first kasi may tao pa sa kabila.
at in fairness talaga, ambilis nila maglinis. Tuwing papasok ako ng CR linis agad. kahit yung ibang areas. kaya, after umalis ng mga tao sa kabilang room, nakalipat na din yung iba samin.
IN SHORT, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED ANG VILLA ANGELA.
Villa Angela
09278940610
09193156122
After iwan ang mga gamit, makapagpahinga ng kaunti, at makapaligo...
READY NA KAMI ULIT!
NEXT STOP: CALLE CRISOLOGO
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| pose muna bago ang lahat... |
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| oh, basta... |
Kumain kami sa tabi-tabi. Brunch na kasi 10AM na eh. ok naman. malaki na ang gutom kaya sulit ang kain... =) We tried empanada.
Konting picture picture (When I say konti, ibig sabihin 100 +)...
Habang naglalakad after ng photoshoot, natisod...este...nakasalubong namin ang mga magigiting na kutsero sa Vigan at inalok kami ng Tour for 150 pesos per hour, which is the regular rate based on my research (hindi ako pwedeng dayain! November pa ko nag-research! wahaha!)
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9 na makukulit + 3 kutsero... kita lahat sa picture!
love this shot (kahit anliit ko.hehe) |
At nagtour na kami all over Vigan... *Burgos Museum (Where Fr. Burgos once lived) - closed sya.. sabi ni Manong kasi daw Saturday...
* Pagburnayan - okay naman. hehe
* Hidden Garden - Hindi kami nahiya.. nagpikturan lang kami dun. hindi kumain. hehehe
* Baluarte - kung saan hindi ako pumasok after makita na ang magwewelcome sa amin ay mga pabo...x.x
Di ko alam kung may nakalimutan ako., update ko nalang pag may naalala.hehe
After that, we went back to Villa Angela to get MORE REST. hehe
Nagpahinga na lang muna kami at bumalik sa Calle Crisologo nung madilim na. Ang gaganda kasi ng photos of Vigan at night na nakita ko sa internet.
Sadly, wala akong picture dahil lowbat si camera...
So Proceed na lang tayo sa day2.
Bonggang breakfast.. isda at longganisa ang ulam... hehehe
pag sinabi mong 6am ang breakfast, 6am ready na ang mesa, arranged as if VIP kami. hehehe. Bongga di va?
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| Sarap! |
Mang Arnel also came on time.. galing galing talaga...hehehe. So far, everything went as planned.
We bid our farewell to Villa Angela and headed to Batac.
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| hindi kami mapapagod mag-jump shot! EVER! |
Napaaga kami in visiting Ex-president Marcos. 9am pa pala nag-oopen kaya sa labas na lang kami nagpicturan. anyway, cameras are not allowed inside. hehe
NEXT STOP: PAOAY CHURCH
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| Pictorial... |
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| practice ng blockings. hehehe |
Then to the Malacanang of the North...
Parang luma pero parang modern... gatas na choco o choco na gatas? hehe
Basta... you'll know what I mean when you see the place.
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| old house...? new house...? |
after this dumaan na kami sa Laoag just to get a glimpse of the Sinking Bell Tower.
After that, punta na kami sa Pagudpud.
WELCOME TO PAGUDPUD!
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Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
major in posing minor in jump shots
+ Masters in Art of Blockings |
We passed by Burgos Lighthouse and Bangui Windmills but we didn't stop. Ang plan ko kasi day 3 namin puntahan yun kasi madami pa naman kami time sa araw na yun. Tingin ko kasi nakakapagod ang mga pupuntahan namin on day 2, so para muka naman kaming fresh sa ibang pictures e day 3 na lang ang Light house at wind mills. Saka para iba na yung outfit pag nag-picture taking. hahahaha
ok...
Next stop sa aming tour ay ang Kapurpurawan Rock Formation. Di pa ata Pagudpud yun. Di ako sure. Icorrect nyo na lang ako. Pero as far as I can remember, narating namin yun before ang arko ng Pagudpud. hehe
Sabi ni Mang Arnel, may entrance fee daw dun pero since wala naman yung bantay, libre na lang. hehe
Akala ko yun na ang pinakamatinding pagsubok na dadaan ko sa araw na yun. di pa pala... pero sobrang enjoy! ang ganda! tama nga sila. parang nasa ibang bansa...
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eto ang view once you reach the higher part of the rock. something that i did not see.
**fear of heights** |
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| hindi lang kami mahilig kumuha ng picture. mahilig din mag-pose... |
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| blockings... check! |
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| hindi sila nag-eenjoy... hahaha! |
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| kailangan bawat sulok my shot?? |
At dahil nga sa tindi ng pinagdaanan namin e medyo malaki ang naging gutom namin. hehehe. Naramdaman kong hindi kakayanin ng karinderya ang malalaki naming gutom kaya sa Bergblick na lang ako nagyaya...
Yes. Mahal sya.. Pero sulit din naman kasi masarap talaga.
Winner ang Bergblick pan. It's a must try!
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| ate kelan dadating food? |
Pasensya na dahil sa bilis ng pangyayari, hindi ko na nagawang kunan ng picture ang BergBlick pan.
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| Bergblick pan... sa isang iglap lang... hahaha! |
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| BergBlick = Mountain View (tama ba?) |
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| Thumbs up! |
Then off we go to our next destination: Patapat Viaduct
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| off we go to Patapat viaduct for a jump shot! |
We did not stay that long because many vehicles (buses, trucks, etc) pass by the road. There were also other people, so after taking some pictures we proceeded with our next destination.
NEXT STOP: AGUA PARADISO
Perfect para sa photo shoot ang lugar. Parang di kami nasiyahan sa mga batong dinaanan namin sa Kapurpurawan at pati mga bato sa agua paradiso na-invade namin.
It is really beautiful. Now I know why it's called Agua Paradiso...
We spent around 20 minutes in the place. It is not a big area but there are a lot of corners where you can take really really good pictures (both of the scenery and yourself).
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| emote kung emote (sila..) |
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| infinity ...falls... =) |
We also stopped by at Paraiso ni Anton. Actually, bukal lang yung nakita namin kaya di kami nagtagal. Yun pala, may healing powers daw yung tubig dun. Di man lang nakainom. (wala lang. hehe)
We also passed by the ship wreck... wala lang din... sana maubos na yun ng mga nag-jjunk shop para kumita sila at di dumumi yung dagat.
Our next destination is Timangtang Rock. May entrance fee which is good for the visit to Timangtang Rock, Bantay abot and Blue Lagoon...
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| Timangtang Rock - Si Lalaki |
We saw this rock from afar and we thought 'there is nothing special or grand about it'.
We asked Mang Arnel to just skip this place since we still have other places to visit and it's already 3pm, but he insisted. He explained "kailangan nyo po yang puntahan. kasi magkapareha po sila nung kabilang bato. yan yung lalaki," (us = puzzled) "at yung isa yung babae" pointing at Bantay Abot Cave.
And after analyzing what he said, we finally got what he was trying to say.. oo nga naman.. (kaw, gets mo?)
So after picture taking with LALAKI, we headed to the BABAE: Bantay Abot Cave.
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| ayon naman pala si babae... |
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| Bantay Abot Cave |
From there we also learned that Bantay means Bundok and Abot means Butas. Hahaha! yown naman pala!
Our next stop was Mairaira beach or Blue Lagoon... The place was very photogenic . Just by looking at the blue waters and white sand, i feel refreshed already.
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| blue sea+ white sand |
We also asked Mang Arnel to take us nearer the Dos Hermanos Island. But he said it is best viewed from afar. So we moved on to our next destination which is KABIGAN FALLS.
The place was beautiful as well. but going there, i consider as Torture. Plastic ang tsinelas ko. at bawat tapak ko as in madulas talaga. hay... And it was not just a 10 to 15 minute walk. I am pretty sure it was more than 20 minutes. There was even a point where I decided to just walk barefoot. But nevertheless, the view of the falls took my stress away.
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| pose pa din, kahit pinupulikat na... hehe |
Matinding lakaran ulit pabalik....
It was almost 6pm when we finished our trip in Kabigan Falls. We wanted to see the sunset at the beach but I know then that it was already too late. We drove to Pagudpud proper for some food and then headed to NorthRidge at Saud beach.
After our dinner, we just laughed our selves to sleep with the loads of pictures we've taken during the past two days. Stolen shots were hilarious! hahahahahahahahaha! (won't run out of laughs for them!)
by 5AM, I was already awake. Actually i don't know if I really slept or just closed my eyes the whole night. Anyway, I got off the bed at 5AM and...
watched the moon.
It was so bright. And because it is still dark around beach, all i could see were the silhouettes of the trees and rocks by the beach. The ocean shows the reflection of the moon. It was dramatic. Just couldn't get the drama into the photos.hehe
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| Hindi nacapture ng camera ang drama... |
Few more minutes, few more photos, and skies lit up little by little. It revealed the beautiful shore of Saud Beach.
FYI, mabato ang dalampasigan sa harap ng Northridge. Not suitable for swimming, I think. Pero maganda sya kung para sa photo shoot. hehe. anyway, pwede naman lakarin ang kahabaan ng Saud para makahanap ng part na maganda ang sand. That's what we did. =)
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| rocky saud beach.... |
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| white sand. that's more like it.... =) |
By 11AM, It's time to leave Pagudpud.
We ate at a nearby Carinderia before continuing the tour. May Part 3 pa! hehehe.
We're off to Bangui Windmills!
They were BIIIIIIIIGGGGG! I love them... hahaha..
We stayed for awhile since it's too early for our next destination. So there were alot of candid shots for the nth time...hehe.. Then we headed to the Bangui View Deck where one would see not only the wind turbines but the whole of Bangui farm fields and shore line.
Few minutes more then were off to the long, winding, steep, high (whatever) road to the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse... (Someone tell me please why it is called Cape Bojeador. I don't know what it means... hehe)
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| mang arnel and me at Burgos Lighthouse! yahoo! |
And since it was still early (not later than 3 pm I think), we decided to drop by Robinson's Ilocos Norte for the finale merienda...
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| shakey's! mojos! pizza! pasta! chicken! i want more! haha |
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| tambay sa rob. |
We were still too early for our flight but we didn't mind... hehe.. Before Mang Arnel and Mang Rodel left, they took a picture of us (aaaaawwww, how sweet...) I'll surely miss them. And i'll surely miss Ilocos... It was an awesome experience!
It was cool surviving the trip. Not that it's too dangerous. There were just a lot of things going on around us. Earthquakes, Tsunami, earthquakes again... One realization: Go Out and Experience Life. You might not have that same chance tomorrow. (naks. may realization).
But it's true... Naalala kong pinipigilan pa ko ng nanay ko na umalis dahil may lindol, tsunami at kung ano ano pa. Baka daw may mangyaring kung ano sakin. And I told her, that's exactly why I'm gonna pursue this. I might miss this chance, forever. Kawawa naman ako. hehe
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| first time sa plane! weeeeeehhhh! |
In about an hour after take off, I'm back in Manila.. haaaay! i love the feeling. Sana makamove-on pa ko. hehehehe.
I love Ilocos!
P.S. I shall return! =)
