A Sweet Escape

“A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you've been taking.” –Earl Wilson

Last summer, my mom planned a trip to Ilocos for our family to relax and unwind from all the stress that work and school have been giving us and it had been ONE AWESOME ROADTRIP! In this article, I would be sharing with you the FIRST DAY of our Ilocandia Tour.

My dad welcomes you to Baluarte!

1^st destination: Baluarte ni Chavit Singson, Vigan, Ilocos Sur! For a person who does not like animals very much, I enjoyed roaming around the vicinity and catching glimpses of the wild species that are freely wandering around Baluarte. Ostriches, ducks, tigers, birds, ponies and deers are some of the animals that I got to encounter in the vast area of Baluarte.

 

2^nd destination: Bantay Belfry Tower, Vigan, Ilocos Sur! One of the caretakers of the tower have told us many stories about it, like how it has served as the people’s watchtower before and how it has been the tower that was used in the films Panday, Kampanerang Kuba and Sukob.  From the top of the tower, we were able to see the city, nearby towns and mountains that reach Abra, so many tourists that are also visiting the tower took this amazing photo opportunity! Also, the St. Augustine Church is also there but I was not able to take a picture of it.

                          

3^rd destination: Kapurpurawan Rock Formation, Burgos, Ilocos Norte! Yep, you read that right! We really went from Sur to Norte just to visit this amazing limestone formation caused by the oceanic and weather forces. From what I can remember, Kapurpurawan or ‘puraw’ is an Ilocano word that translates to ‘white’, because the rock formation is composed of different shades of this color. From the parking lot, we have to take a short walk (or maybe not that short) to reach the rock formation itself. We’ve arrived at midday so the sun was blazing but it was not enough to stop us (except for my mom) because it is not everyday that we get to see anything like this splendid view.

 

4^th destination: Bangui Windmills, Ilocos Norte! One of the most famous attractions in Ilocos is the Bangui Windmills, no wonder many tourists are flocking the area just to get a perfect photo with the mills! Lucky for me, I have been able to capture a decent photo of it before people started posing in front of me. It was a really nice view, by the way.

 

5^th destination: Patapat Bridge, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte! One of the longest bridges in the Philippines is the Patapat Bridge, which connects Ilocos Norte to the Cagayan Valley, and was built during the Marcos administration. The Patapat Bridge is also home to Mabugabog Falls, which is unfortunately dry during the summer season. Nevertheless, it was really nice to see one of the infrastructures built in Ilocos Nurte during the Marcos administration.

6^th destination: Bantay Abot Cave, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte! Nope, Bantay Abot Cave is not really a cave but a hill that has a hole in the middle. From the cave, we have been able to see the infamous Blue Lagoon. Bantay Abot Cave provides a great photo opportunity from the mix of the colors of lush vegetation and soil to the amazing structure of the cave!

7^th destination: Kabigan Falls, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte! Our very last stop, before we called it a day, was the Kabigan Falls. The trek to Kabigan Falls lasted for about thirty minutes but it was bearable because the fresh air is gently blowing and the sun is already setting. The Kabigan Falls is relatively small compared to the one that I have visited in Baler but it was beautiful nonetheless.

And that ends the first day of my family’s tour in the Ilocandia! On my next blog post, I would be sharing the next TWO DAYS of our stay in Ilocos, so stay tuned!!