"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not." – Ralph Waldo Emerson
For more than two years, I had been confined within the walls of our home and the corporate place due to the Pandemic. It has been my usual routine every quarter of the year to move around places of interests like historical sites or simply walk through a trail at the middle of a jungle to unwind and remind myself that there is life outside the walls of the corporate world.
My sister and I had been planning this trip for a month. After confirming that transportation had finally been resumed and Pagudgud, one of our favorite places to wander, had finally re-opened to local tourists, we had finalized the date of the trip and so the adventure that we had long been dreaming finally came to reality.
June 10: Travel from Manila to Pagudpud (Barangay SAUD)
Pagudpud is in the Province of Northern Ilocos (Ilocos Norte). It is approximately 562 kilometers away from our home in Manila and a 10H drive. We decided to take the 9:30PM trip from Sampaloc Manila via Florida Bus.
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| On-board Florida Bus bound for Pagudpud |
June 11: Arrival at Pagudpud
We reached Pagudpud and alighted at the bus terminal 08:41AM. After making an early reservation at the bus station for our trip going back to Manila, we took a tricycle to bring us to our accommodation located inside the public beach area in Barangay Saud.
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| Operator and Driver |
We met Manong Jerry Galat at the bus station and asked him to bring us to Polaris Beach House.
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| On-board Manong Jerry's Tricycle |
Getting excited, we squeezed ourselves inside the tricycle and then drove to Barangay Saud. We reached the Beach House at 08:58AM, however, our room at that time is still getting cleaned. While waiting, we decided to have a breakfast and also made an arrangement with Manong Jerry to come and pick us up the following day for the tour. We had finally checked-in at 09:30AM after waiting for several minutes for our room to be prepared. We were supposed to check-in at 12:00NN, however, the reception officer was so kind to let us check-in early.
We chose a basic accommodation since most of the time, we will be out to enjoy the beach and the surroundings. I must say that we enjoyed the accommodation - spacious enough for the 3 of us, clean bathroom and strong aircon. Staying beside our room was Luisa's sister and her family. They came from Tuguegarao City in Cagayan for a vacation.
After setting up my things, I immediately went out to smell the sea and feel the wide blue clear sky.
We started our adventure at 08:00AM. Gem and I took the tricycle with our driver and tour guide, Manong Jerry, while Luisa took the van together with her sister and family. We went out on a convoy. Manong Jerry was leading the way to the tourist sites.
Pagudpud Shell
We had a quick stop of the Pagudpud shell monument. This is actually the entrance to Pagudpud town proper.
Pagudpud Welcome Arc
From the concrete shell monument, we moved to the Pagudpud Welcome Arc. This Arc welcomes tourists from Laoag City to Pagudpud. This is one of the well known tourist destinations in the area. After having a quick photo op, we moved to the souvenir shops to see somethings. I'm glad to see that tourism is slowly getting back to life after the series of lock downs brought by the Pandemic.
Wind Mills in Bangui
From the Welcome Arc, we moved to another tourist site - the Wind Mills in Bangui. The Wind Mills in Bangui are the first in Southeast Asia. Today, there are more Wind Farms in the area. Several Wind Mills located in Burgos and nearby areas can be easily seen from Bangui.
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| Bangui Wind Farm |
Kapurpurawan Rock Formation in Burgos
From Bangui, we moved to Burgos to see the Kapurpurawan Rock formation. Kapurpurawan in the Ilocano language means "white". We had to transfer to another tricycle in Burgos to move us to the rock formation. New ordinance states that tricycle in Burgos will take tourists bound for Kapurpurawan and Light House. Outsiders had to wait at the registration area and so did Manong Jerry.
From the registration area, we moved to the jump-off point and then started walking towards the rock formation. The road leading to the jump-off point is now completely cemented. It used to be a rough road. We started walking on the stairs from the jump-off point and then passed-through a short trail covered with vines and then we reached the exposed area. One can also hire a horse to ride from the jump-off point going to the viewing deck.
Eleven years ago, I was able to set my foot on the rock formation itself. Presently, getting into the actual rock formation is already prohibited to preserve the rock formation. A viewing has been built where tourists can have a nice photo of the site.
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| Kapurpurawan Rock Formation View from Viewing Deck |
While tourists are now prevented from setting their foot on the rock formation, there is a smaller version of the rock formation at the back of the hill near the Kapurpurawan Rockies. This is an open area.
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| Open Area Kapurpurawan Rockies |
From the Rockies, we trekked back to the jump-off point, had a tasty Empanada snack and a refreshing sweet Buko juice.s
Light House in Burgos
On-board the same tricycle from Kapurpurawan, we moved to the famous Light House. This infrastructure was built in the 1800s and still operational. Eleven years ago, I had the chance to climb up the winding rusty steel stairs leading to the top where the actual light bulb is located.
Our tricycle driver is a well trained and a multitasking talented person - he is a tricycle driver, a tourist guide and a photographer. We were surprised to learn several tricks from him using the "PANORAMA" feature of the mobile phone.
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| Panorama of the Light House Museum |
Downstairs, we had to follow a quick and easy instruction from him moving from one point to another while he maneuvers the camera on Panorama mode. We were surprised to see the results.
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| Panorama shot from the ground floor |
Kabigan Falls
Completing our South tour at the light house, we moved up North. Kabigan Falls being our first destination. We reached the registration area at 1:20PM and from there, we proceeded to the jump-off point. I was expecting and told Gem and Luisa that there will be a lengthy trek towards the falls, however, I was surprised to see the that road leading to the jump-off point is now cemented.
From the jump-off point, we walked 20 minutes and then presto, we reached the Kabigan Falls. Clear and cool water, we enjoyed refreshing ourselves.
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| Kabigan Falls |
Lunch
We had a late lunch along the way towards Patapat Viaduct. We had Sinanglaw, Fish Soup and Buko.
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| Lunch at a restaurant near Patapat Viaduct |
Patapat Viaduct
After having lunch, we moved to the Famous Patapat Viaduct, a bridge snaking between the mountains of Cordillera and Sea joining the Ilocos and Cagayan Valley Regions.
Bantay Abot
We descended through a concrete stairs and passed through a narrow passage that leads to the Bantay Abot. The word "abot" in the Ilocano language means "a whole", thus, a mountain with a whole.
Hannah's Resort/Blue Lagoon
The final site of our North tour is the white beach at Barangay Balaoi where the popularly known Hannah's resort is located. I felt sad to see that Hannah's resort seemed to have closed with some of buildings no longer maintained well due to the lock down caused by the Pandemic. I'm hoping that Hannah's resort would be able to recover soon. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the white beach.
June 13: Travel from Pagudpud to Laoag to Paoay
We travelled to Laoag City on-board ordinary bus from Pagudpud. We left Pagudpud at 08:45AM. We reached the bus terminal in Laoag City at 10:14AM and decided to have a quick breakfast a nearby Chowking restaurant.
We took a tricycle from the restaurant going to the terminal for Jeepneys bound for Paoay. We alighted at Paoay town center passing through the magnificent Paoay Church and the municipal hall towards our accommodation. We stayed at Dona Emilia hotel.
From the Hotel, we took a tricycle going to the nearest Sand Dunes spot to try the 4x4 ride and the Sand Boarding. We were told that there are 3 Sand Dunes spots in Ilocos Norte. Suba being the most famous of the three while Culili point is the nearest to us as it is located in Paoay. We decided to go to Culili point.
We registered at the Culili point for a 4x4 ride where our exciting adventure started.
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| San Dunes 4x4 & Sand Boarding Registration Area |
We took 4x4 truck #18, Green colored Mitsubishi Pajero model converted to 4x4. We on-boarded the truck at the back, standing and holding on to a steel bar. Highlights of the 4x4 ride include travel along the slopping sand dunes and a sharp descent from the top of a sandy hill, providing a feeling of excitement similar to riding a roller coaster. Another highlight of the adventure is the Sand Boarding.
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| Sand Boarding |
Malacanang of the North
From the sand dunes, we moved to the Malacanang of the North which is now a museum. The place is well maintained. The water sport at the Paoay lake located at the back of the Malacanang is a the newest attraction in the area.
Paoay Church
Before going back to our accommodation, we visited the Majestic Paoay Church and I am so happy to see that both exterior and interior of the church had been renovated. This is a UNESCO World Heritage church together with 3 more century old churches collectively known as the Baroque Churches of the Philippines.
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| Newly Renovated Interior |
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| Newly Renovated Exterior |
Dinner
To complete our day, we had a sumptuous dinner at SMOKE restaurant nearby the Paoay Church. We had BAGNET as our main course.
June 14: Travel from Paoay to Laoag to Pagudpud to Manila
We travelled back to Laoag City the following day and then took an ordinary bus bound for Pagudpud. We spent the day enjoying the beach at Pagudpud before heading back to Manila at 07:00PM on-board Florida Bus that day. We reached Manila at 04:30AM the following day, June 15, 2022.
DIOS TI AGNGINA!!
-o0o-
