First Ilocandia Escapade | An Afternoon Visit in a Historic City of Vigan

The Philippines is noted for its several cultural heritage sites traced back to its history. Most of these places are preserved since the pre-colonial times such as the Banaue Rice Terraces, while others are maintained since the Spanish era. Therefore, these historical sites are visited by tourists in order to explore the history and culture of our country.

The UNESCO World Heritage City of Vigan in an afternoon visit.

In this blog, there are posts which are featured heritage cities which are preserved dating back from the Spanish colonial period. Some of these were visited and featured in blog such as Intramuros in Manila, Pila in Laguna and Taal in Batangas. These three heritage sites were featured in my blog which expressing my thoughts of traveling back in time because of the architecture in ancestral houses and structures which are made during Spanish colonial times. Therefore, I visited another heritage city which made my bucket list complete in this tour - the Heritage City of Vigan.

Vigan City is one of the New 7 Wonders Cities.

Before we go home to Cavite, we never missed the opportunity to visit this old Spanish city of Vigan. Located on the western coast of Ilocos Sur, Vigan is one of the few towns left in the Philippines whose old houses and structures are remained intact. The city is known for its sett pavements and a unique architecture of the Spanish colonial era in the Philippines. There are abundance of bahay na bato (literally house of stone) houses and an Earthquake Baroque church. In fact, the entire city was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage City after being declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. In 2015, Vigan City was officially recognized as one of the New7Wonders Cities.

The Saint Paul Metropolitan Cathedral located in Plaza Salcedo.

The bell tower of Saint Paul Metropolitan Cathedral.

Before we begin the roaming tour in the city, we visited the Saint Paul Metropolitan Cathedral. It serves as the seat of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Nueva Segovia in Ilocos Sur. It was built in 1574 as a church made up of wood and the present day church was built from 1790 to 1800 under the supervision of Augustinians.

Plaza Salcedo

Plaza Burgos

Ilocos Sur Provincial Capitol

The church is located within the Plaza Salcedo which featured a dancing fountain and light show in the evening and an adjacent plaza called Plaza Burgos which is noted for its food stalls. You can also find the Ilocos Sur Provincial Capitol within the vicinity of the town center.

Faded walls and capis windows are evidences of the 

There are many tourists walked in this century-old street.

It is amusing to see Mamang Sorbetero (ice cream vendor) with his ice cream cart.

The Kalesa or horse-drawn carriage is very common in the Philippines until today.

The sights and sounds of Calle Crisologo.

Then, we entered at the Calle Crisologo, the most popular ancestral street in Vigan. You have this time traveling back in time because of the stone houses which were preserved since the Spanish era. The sett pavements (also known as Belgian blocks or sampietrino) which are common during the colonial era and the calesa (a horse drawn carriage) is the most common mode of transportation in the street. Seeing those bahay na bato (stone houses) made and preserved since the Spanish era are quite amusing because it remained intact in the actual place. Nowadays, the ancestral houses are business establishments, historical museums and transient houses and hotels, however, the structure and architecture remained intact.

The Ilocos Sur Provincial Tourism Office.

The ancestral house of Leona Florentino, the first female Filipino poet and her son, Isabelo Delos Reyes
the first Filipino who organized a labor union.

Aside from roaming along the old streets of Calle Crisologo, you may also visit the ancestral house of Leona Florentino, the first Filipina poetess and noted for her poems such as "Blasted Hopes." Her son, Isabelo Delos Reyes played an important role in history which he organized the first labor union in the Philippines and he did a major role in the Aglipayan Church. Today, there are two establishments shared in their ancestral house - a restaurant named Cafe Leona and the Ilocos Sur Provincial Office. In addition, Elpidio Quirino was also born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur.

An afternoon scene in Calle Crisologo.

We've done a lot of things in this place from souvenir shopping, photo sessions, and strolling in the streets of Calle Crisologo. We enjoyed the last part of our Ilocos Tour and definitely, memories will be treasured and if we were given a chance to come back, definitely, we will grab the opportunity to explore more about the Ilocandia. 

Date: August 27, 2018

First Ilocandia Escapade | A Day Tour on Ancestral Heritage Treasures of Ilocos Norte

Every Philippine city has its hidden beauty, a cultural heritage and a colorful history. From the previous travel experiences I've had, I never forget to check the heritage sites in every place that I visit. For the third and final day of our tour, the weather is fine and it is the perfect time to go home. Before that, we visited some of the cultural heritage sites from Ilocos Norte back to Ilocos Sur. Let us have first the tour in the historical treasures of Ilocos Norte.

DIY Laoag City Tour

Laoag City

The facade of Ilocos Norte Capitol taken from the bus.

The Ilocos Norte Provincial Capitol

The fountain at the Aurora Park

While waiting for my colleagues to come back while having their morning exercise, I decided to go alone on a city tour to explore some of the heritage sites that you can find there. First, I visited the Ilocos Norte Provincial Capitol and roamed around the Aurora Park where you can find the monument of the Abolition of Tobacco Monopoly. 

The Sinking Bell Tower in Laoag City.

The Saint William's Cathedral or the Laoag Cathedral is a Baroque church in Ilocos Norte.

Therefore, the most important highlight in this do-it-yourself walking tour is the visit to the Laoag Cathedral. Also known as Saint William's Cathedral or Catedral de San Guillermo, this Spanish-era Baroque church was built in 1612 by the Augustinian friars. Don't forget also to visit the Sinking Bell Tower. This belfry is literally sinks into the ground at a rate of inch per year. It survived several minor earthquakes. The tower is made up of old brick and stone-faced with lime stucco plaster, the tower rises in four tiers.

Santa Monica Church
Sarrat

The Santa Monica Church, also known as Sarrat Church, another Baroque church in Ilocos Norte.

The belfry made up of bricks and covered with plants (Left) and the facade of the century old church (Right).

After my me-time in the city, I decided to pack up my things and join the team going to our next destination - Sarrat. The town is known as the birthplace of Ferdinand Marcos and for the Sarrat Church, the largest church in the province and with the longest nave in the country. In fact, we visited this cultural treasure known as the Santa Monica Church.

The old convent known as the Casa Palacio del Real.

The structure is made up of red bricks, but you need to be extra careful with these mosses.

This is the biggest church in Ilocos Norte which is made up of bricks built in Earthquake Baroque and Neoclassical architecture. It was first built in 1724 and the church witnessed several historical events especially the venue of the grand wedding of Irene Marcos, daughter of President Ferdinand Marcos and Gregorio Araneta in 1983.

Malacanang of the North 
Paoay

The entrance to Malacanang of the North.

It is a presidential museum of the Marcos family and the official residence
 of President Marcos during his administration.

The view of Paoay Lake.

Opening new doors for a bright future... taken from the doors of Malacanang Ti Amianan.

A few minutes away from the town of Sarrat, we returned at Paoay to visit the Malacanang of the North (Ilocano: Malacanang ti Amianan). The two-storey mansion is known as the presidential museum of Ferdinand E. Marcos and the official residence of his family during his administration. Inside the mansion, you can see different historical events during the Marcos administration and some memorabilla of the Marcos family.

Paoay Church
Paoay

Local and foreign tourists include Paoay Church in their bucket list of Ilocandian Tour.

The facade of the church.

The belfry played an important role in the history of this place.

After lunch, we had a chance to visit the Saint Augustine Church, simply known as the Paoay Church. Your Ilocandia tour will not be complete if you don't visit this iconic church in the North. The parish was founded by the Augustinian missionaries in 1593, the building of the present church was started in 1694 and completed in 1710. The church showed an example of Earthquake Baroque architecture made up of large coral stones on the lower part and bricks on the upper levels and its walls suggest Javanese architectural styles. Adjacent to the facade is the bell tower which served as a protection against earthquakes and an observational post by the Filipino revolutionaries against Spain in 1896 and by the Filipino guerillas against the Japanese forces during World War II.

The Paoay Church is one of the National Cultural Treasures in the Philippines and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Therefore, Paoay Church was declared  as a National Cultural Treasure by the Philippine government in 1973. In addition, the church was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on December 11, 1993, together with other Baroque churches - San Agustin Church in Manila, Miag-ao Church in Iloilo and Santa Maria Church in Ilocos Sur.

For this day, the weather is very fine and we enjoyed the heritage tour for the final day of our Ilocandia Escapade. It feels like visiting those churches from Laoag, Sarrat and Paoay makes you feel like you already had your Visita Iglesia in Ilocos plus interesting historical sites which creates an insight of traveling back in time. The second part of this post will be our afternoon visit in the Heritage City of Vigan, Ilocos Sur.

Date: August 27, 2018

First Ilocandia Escapade | Sand Dunes, Giant Windmills and the Northern Waves

Seeing and visiting a vast desert in the Middle East, the windmills of the Netherlands and beach hopping in Boracay. Well, you can see it there in Ilocos.

Setting out on the second day of our Ilocos tour, we took more escapades in Ilocos Norte despite of the cloudy weather with scattered rainfall in the place. On that day, we reached the coastal sand dunes in Paoay and the northernmost towns of Bangui and Pagudpud. Even though, it was a tiring day but we enjoyed the vast sand dunes, the cool sea breeze, the stunning white windmills and the waves that hitting the shore. So, let's begin the second day of our escapade.

First Stop: Paoay Sand Dunes
Culili Point, Paoay, Ilocos Norte

Our first stop in our Ilocos tour is the Paoay Sand Dunes. We made it to Culili Point, one of the exciting destinations especially for tourists who loved adrenaline thrill and adventure, as they go into the sand dunes.

The Ilocos Sand Dunes stretches the coastal towns in the province.

The Culili Point in Paoay is part of the Ilocos Norte Sand Dunes, a long stretch of sand dunes stretching from the towns of Currimao to Pasuquin. In fact, the place is a popular location for classic Filipino movies such as "Himala" starring Nora Aunor and "Ang Panday" starring Fernando Poe Jr. The wide coastal area covered with sand is actually facing the West Philippine Sea and it is very captivating to visit this place because you have the feeling that you visit a desert, no need to go to the Sahara or Atacama Desert; just go to the town of Paoay and explore their sand dunes.

The vast expanse of sand dunes in the province of Ilocos Norte.

Despite of wide expanse of sand dunes, there are few grasses growing in this area.

A picture-perfect place. the feeling that no need to go to the Sahara Desert, you can visit here in the Ilocos Norte.

The place is an ideal location for films and television series.

A fleet of 4x4 Rough Rider vehicles are very common in this place.

Traces of rough rider jeep in the sand dunes of Paoay.

Sand boarding experience in Culili Point. 

The most exciting part of this tour is the roller coaster ride in a 4x4 jeep traversing the Culili Point. If you want to experience this thrilling ride, rent the 4x4 Rough Riding vehicle with a maximum of 6 people per car and you will pay a total of 1,500 php. Then, the driver will tour the group at the sand dunes from 30 minutes to one hour where you can experience thrilling drops on steep sand ridges that will make you scream in excitement. Don't forget to hold on to the steel bar while standing on the 4x4. The sand ridges can go as high as 10 to 20 feet and you will encounter a series of sand hills in this adrenaline ride.

You may also try the sand boarding, where a plank of wood is your equipment to slide over sand folds in the landscape. It is similar with skateboarding, you may stand or you may sit down while sand boarding. Don't also forget, sight seeing and picture taking are also part of this package. In other words, this part of the tour is such an intense, thrilling adrenaline rush as you go into the sand dunes. There are other tourist destinations such as the La Paz Sand Dunes in Laoag City where you can experience the same adventure and activities.

Second Stop: Bangui Windmills

Bangui, Ilocos Norte

After visiting the sand dunes, we went to the coastal town of Bangui where we can see a line of enormous electric fans. The town is popular for its giant white windmills which is the source of wind energy in the province. As we go along the way, we can see these windmills from the lush highlands of Burgos. Just to avoid confusion,  there is also the Burgos Wind Farm, located in the said town, which is the largest wind farm in the country and the second wind farm built in Ilocos Norte.

The wind turbines in the green mountains of Burgos.

This wind farm is facing the West Philippine Sea. In fact, there are many people on that day aside from our team.

A series of giant windmills in Bangui, Ilocos Norte.

The Bangui Wind Farm, also known as the Northwind Bangui Bay Project is located at the northwest tip of Luzon Island where the wind turbines face the sea from where the wind blows towards the land. It is also the first power generating wind mill farm in Southeast Asia which was inaugurated in 2005 by then Ilocos Norte governor Bongbong Marcos.

As a matter of fact, this wind farm is the source of energy in the province of Ilocos Norte. Aside from the Bangui Wind Farm, there is also the Caparispisan Wind Farm which can be found in the neighboring town of Pagudpud.

The tall windmills of Bangui Wind Farm.

The turquoise waters of the sea is another captivating view here in the area.

You can also notice on the other side is a light brown color of the water because of turbulence of wind.

Staying in this tourist spot is like feeling the strong breeze carried by the windmills while enjoying the view of the sea. You can also noticed the light muddish-brown color of the water on the other side of the sea, maybe because of the turbulence of water due to the strong winds carried by the wind turbines. Therefore, it is just natural, so we just enjoyed the view of the windmills.

Third Stop: Plaza Del Mar Resort
Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte

It feels like you are in Boracay, an island in Malay, Aklan which is noted for
its white sand beaches and tropical blue waters which is an ideal summer destination.

For our final stop for today, we visited the Plaza Del Mar Resort in Pagudpud. The town is known as the "Boracay of the North" because of its fine white sand, clear aquamarine waters and an ideal summer destination in the North. 

A signage art of Pagudpud in Plaza Del Mar Resort.

The waves are hitting the rocky shores.

The waves of the ocean and the view of the green mountains where Caparispisan Wind Farm can be found.

In this destination, we made our team building activities. It is enjoying, yet physically demanding games, therefore, we managed to reach the third place. However, rainy weather strikes again with the cloudy skies. In other words, it is better to visit Pagudpud during the summer season where you can enjoy the blue sea and beach bumming.

As a result of this rainy weather, we were not able to visit the Kapurpurawan Rock Formation, a limestone rock formation in the town of Burgos. We weren't able to visit also the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse in the same town which is a century-old lighthouse and you can enjoy the view from the top. As a matter of fact, we are glad that we finished the second day of our tour safe and free from accident. Definitely, I will come back again in this place and visit more tourist attractions in Ilocos. 

Date: August 26, 2018

First Ilocandia Escapade | Exploring Ilocos Sur in a Rainy Day

As I woke up, I noticed that raindrops are drenching the windows of our bus. It is an exact opposite of the dry weather when we left Cavite as we go ahead to the North, even we reached our first stop over in Sison, Pangasinan. In fact, it was raining in Northern Luzon because of Habagat (southwest monsoon), however our tour continued as we proceeded to our first destination - Ilocos Sur. 

A cinematic effect of the strong waves hustling the rocks during the rainy weather in Ilocos Sur. 

The view deck as we entered the town of Santa, Ilocos Sur. 

The first town that captured my attention is Santa, Ilocos Sur. From the refreshing view of verdant rice fields and lush, green mountains to the view of the sea from the highway, it reminds me of the Coastal Road (part of Cavite Expressway or CAVITEX) where you can have a glimpse of the sea from the bus. In fact, the big, hustling waves hit the rocks and the gray sky teemed with the waters due to rainy weather in the place.

The view of the Old Quirino Bridge during that rainy day.

After the coastal town, we also have the chance to pass on Quirino Bridge. This arch bridge is preserved as a tourist attraction and located between two mountains, traversing the Abra River. Due to the bad weather, we weren't able to visit the old bridge, just passed the new Quirino Bridge. The bridge usually connects the towns of Santa and Bantay which is built to honor President Elpidio Quirino. It was destroyed by Super Typhoon Feria in 2001, but it was restored by the Chinese engineers in 2007 which is a stone throw replacement from the original bridge. Since 2009, the original bridge is currently preserved as a tourist attraction.

The vintage calesas aligned in the streets of Bantay.

The Neo-Gothic architectural style of the church mixed with Romanesque design.

A few minutes away from the bridge, we went to the town proper of Bantay, Ilocos Sur. We visited two tourist attractions in the town - the Bantay Church and the Bantay Bell Tower. The Saint Augustine Parish Church, also known as the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity housing the miraculous image of Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Charity, as the patroness of Ilocandia on 1956. The church was establised in 1590, it is one of the oldest churches in Ilocos Region

The Bantay Church is one of the oldest churches in Ilocos Region built in 1590.

A closer look of the Bantay Bell Tower.

Adjacent to the church is the Bantay Bell Tower. This belfry on the hilltop is made up of bricks and mud which was used as a watchtower for invading the enemy forces during the World War II. This tower is overlooking the green pastures of the town and the neighboring province of Abra. 

The geese were aligned in the Baluarte while they were taking a rest.

Before we proceed to Ilocos Norte, we made it to the neighboring heritage city of Vigan where we visited the Baluarte, a zoo owned by the politician Luis "Chavit" Singson. There are very few animals in this park such as deer, lion, geese, parrots, and birds. 

Newly-made potteries ranging from different sizes from small pots to big clay jars.

The tourists are trying to make pottery in traditional style. 

Lastly, we went to the Pagburnayan Pottery Place, the iconic pottery place in the city where they used old and authentic methods in pottery. The term "burnay" is an earthenware jar which is crafted by potter's hands with the help of potter's wheel. It is made up of sand fired at a high-temperature in a huge brick and clay ground kiln. Burnay jars are used in fermenting fish sauce (bagoong), sugarcane vinegar and basi wine. 

Different jars and decorations can be found in the Pagburnayan Pottery Place.

This backyard is like an archaeological site where there are several burnay jars kept in this area.

After our day tour in Ilocos Sur, we took our lunch and traveled going to Ilocos Norte despite of the rainy weather. We are still seeing the rain is never stop pouring where there are flooded streets because of the bad weather condition carried by the southwest monsoon due to typhoon Luis which is found outside the country. As a result, the region particularly Ilocos Norte was under the state of calamity because of the weather condition. However, there are many tourists who are enjoying their stay in Ilocos despite of this weather. They enjoyed the sights and explored the culture of Ilocos Sur on that day.

Therefore, if I were given a chance to come back in Ilocos and make a tour in the summer season, definitely I will come back to savor the moments in Ilocandia. I need to explore more about their culture and tourist spots.

Date: August 25, 2018