the great ilocos get-away (last part): PAGUDPOD

continuation...

blue lagoon

its where some of the well-known resorts in pagudpod are located. this picture is taken from the road going to the said place.

some of the cottages at the shore

fine sand pero masungit ang panahon, hindi namamansin :D

kapuluan vista

one of the well-known in pagudpod is kapuluan vista. it is rumored to be owned by jericho rosales ayon kay kuya arnel, chismis!

i think it became famous because of the two mountains :D

kabigan falls

a must see spot when you visit pagudpod. you might want to do stretching before you take on the 1.5 km hike to the breath-taking falls. i'm not sure of the exact distance, basta lagpas 3km ang balikan kaya make sure to wear a trekking shoes or sandals or any kind na pwedeng ipanglusong sa rumaragasang ilog. nakasurvive naman un tsinelas na gamit ko, sobrang iningatan ko lang dahil baka mapigtas, hindi naman kasi sinabi sa'kin na may trekking na magaganap.

ang daan sa patungo sa tuwid na landas, landas sa kabigan falls. i really enjoyed the view while we hike (kaya nga im always a few step behind them), nakakawala kasi ng pagod, samahan mo pa ng sariwang hangin, nice :)

sa hinabahaba man ng prusisyon, sa falls din kami napadpad (gulo ko!). anyways, kahit medyo nakakapagod ang akyat, baba, tawid sa kung saan-saan, mabasa ng ilog, maulanan, maputikan, etc, ay sulit na sulit naman pagnakita mo ang falls na ito. very refreshing ang scene dito, i do not know why but i do feel relax and calm when i'm on a scenic view like this. its great to know that still, the best things in life are free.

what nature has to offer

pagudpod arc

nothing to discuss, hehehe.. every town/province has its own arc and this is what pagudpod has :)

 

bangui windmills

the famous bangui windmills. sobrang gigantic pala pag nasa paanan ka nito at sobrang lakas ng hangin, mula sa dagat ng south china sea o dahil naka-number 3 ang mga fans, hehehe.. sa sobrang tuwa ko dito, bumili ako ng souvenir, a mini windmill na umiikot ang elisi :D

view deck

another way of seeing the windmills is thru the view deck. its just like a mini-resto na may souvenir shop which gives a great view of the windmills from afar.

 

cape bojeador lighthouse

standing 160 meters above see level, cape bojeador lighthouse is the highest elevated lighthouse in the philippines (taken from a karatula just outside the lighthouse, see picture below, piniktyuran ko na lang kasi mahirap kabisaduhin at tamad akong masulat nun).

nasa manila na ako ng malamang kong haunted pala itong lighthouse na ito at na-feature na daw sa 'misteryo', isang kababalaghan show sa 7. madalas daw magparamdam ang mumu sa tanghali at hapon, saktong 3 or 4pm yata kami nandun kasi minadali namin ang ibang tour dahil until 4:30pm lang daw open itong lighthouse. kaya medyo scary at eerie ang dating doon lalo na un isang maliit na room na ginawa nilang museum o imbakan ng kung ano-ano, hehehe..by the way, this lighthouse is still functioning pa din daw.

a view from the top... tandaan: humawak ng mahigpit pagnasa itaas na ng lighthouse dahil sobrang lakas ng hangin at tiyak na magigimbal ang nakastrong-hold wax na buhok mo.

kapurpurawan rock formation

last stop: kapurpurawan rock formation. isa din kilalang tourist spot ng ilocos. no words can describe this kaya let the pictures speak for themselves (tama ba? themselves? diba pang-tao lang un, so dapat itself? calling grammar teacher, hehehe..)

yan ang 'sobrang' rough road na ginawang ATV ang tricycle ni kuya arnel, may mas malala pa diyan at hindi ko lang napicktyuran. 

after a 15-20 minute ride on the 'ATV trike', another 10 minutes of walking to get dun sa mismong spot kung nasaan ang white rock (see the picture below, un maliit na rectangular-like stone sa bandang left side na parang pinatong lang kung saan).

locate the target :)

...and finally!

just in time for sunset.

the end of a long journey

it was past 5pm when we head back and kuya arnel just drop us at the kapurpurawan entrance which is just along the highway. good thing that we did not wait long for a bus to laoag because our flight back to manila is at 9:30 pm. we arrived at laoag and there's still time for diner (chowking na lang afford ng budget namin) and to buy pasalubong (empanada, chichacorn at pastillas) which i bought from the market na halos lahat ay sirado na, tipong madaling araw na sa manila which is really just 7 or 8pm only. we arrived on time on the airport, 45 minutes earlier pa nga yata at sa konting paghihintay lang, boarding gates were opened, 10 minutes earlier! one hell of a three-day adventure. till next trip guys!

mapanuri, ako, babaeng lakwatsera and tekamots (the only pic i had na kumpleto kami at nasa airport pa)

the great ilocos get-away (last part): PAGUDPOD

the last and final stop of our ilocos adventure, pagudpod..

day 2: january 16, 2011 / sunday 

it was past lunchtime when we leave vigan to go back to laoag and then transfer to another bus going to pagudpod. it was almost a 2-hour bus ride on an ordinary bus na sobrang high-tech ng bintana at muntik pang makaipit ng manang ale si mapanuri. kahit ngarag sa bus ride, sobrang natuwa ako ng nakita ko ang beach! ang babaw diba? kasi naman walang beach sa manila, hehehe, saka i find it relaxing just being on a beach with the sound of the waves on the shore, emo mode!

 

we're supposed to meet our tour guide/driver, kuya arnel, at 2pm to start the southbound tour pero dahil late kami at maulan pa daw sa pupuntahan namin, he  decided to postpone the tour and start it the next day. dahil 40 minutes pa ang byahe papunta sa hotel kung saan kami nakareserve, kuya arnel suggested that we stay somewhere na malapit lang sa town proper para we can early start the tour the following day. he offered cathy's home-stay.

cathy's home-stay

cathy's home-stay is only a 10-minute drive from the town where we choose to stay kasi affordable nga naman compared to other at sobrang bait pa ni ate cathy. it only costs us 1K for the aircon room with 3 beds and a common CR, sulit na sulit. ate cathy did even cook us our diner which is noodles lang naman, hehehe. sobrang lamig kasi dun at diet kami. very accommodating si ate cathy at kakwentuhan pa namin. it is also a few steps away from the beach at sobrang ganda ng view dito, just look at the pictures to see for yourself. enjoy the sunset :)

so lovin this :)

day 3: january 17, 2011 /monday 

was supposed to view the sunrise pero maulap at nagtago ang haring araw

7am call time and our tour starts. since apat lang kami, 2 tricycles ang gamit namin. kung maramihan kayo, kuya arnel has his van na pedeng gamitin. and the cost of this tour, 500php per head (600 nga daw ang talagang bayad pero since hindi naman peak season un, natawaran namin c kuya arnel, bait diba).

patapat viaduct

 first stop of the northbound tour, the patapat viaduct. sabi ni kuya arnel (yes, may trivia from our tour guide), noong dati na wala pa ang viaduct, sa taas ng bundok ang daanan. mas convenient na ang travel thru this viaduct, galing!

 

agua grande

isang resort ang agua grande and it uses the water from the falls that go straight directly into the sea.

kalbario-patapat natural park

i don't why its called a natural park pero parang hindi naman kasi park ito considering its space, isang waterfalls na may mini-groto sa tabi. diba pagpark, malaki dapat ang lugar kung saan pwedeng magbike paikot, hehehe. anyways, they said na miraculous ang tubig dito kasi may mga taong kumukuha ng tubig dito para ipainom sa may sakit. i did taste the water and wala namang akong sakit so bale wala din :)

side trip: ang barkong ng cause ng oil spill last year daw at nasa shoreline na lang

timmangtang rock

funny how is sounds but this timmangtang rock is one rock that you won't get to see everyday, o kung malikot ang pag-iisip mo ay makikita mo din ito kahit saan, hehehe..

bantay abot cave

bantay abot cave - naubusan na ako ng description :D

to be continued on the next post..

the great ilocos get-away: LAOAG

4 friends, 3 provinces, 3 days, 2 nights, 1 hell of an adventure...
with mapanuri, ang babaeng lakwatsera and his own lakwatsero (na ngayon ay may blog na din, tekamots), we all embark on an adventure to conquer the ilocos province. enough with the intro, simulan na ang countdown ng mga tourist spots na hindi namin pinaglagpas sa ilocandia, some i would even love to go back. 

day 1: january 15, 2011 / saturday

dahil sa promo fare ng cebu pacific, mapanuri had us booked this flight 5 months ago pa yata for this manila-laoag round-trip ticket na talaga namang ay nakamura kami. it was an hour and a half flight na medyo delayed and pag-alis namin from manila for about 10 mins dahil daw sa busy runway ng naia according to the pilot. it was the first ever cebu pac flight na naranasan ko ang isang matinding turbulence which i really enjoyed dahil parang nasa isang rollercoaster ride on a theme park.

we arrived at laoag airport, around 2pm and our first itinerary is to get to the town proper. it took us a 40 pesos jeepney ride from the airport to the city.  buti na lang may kasabay kaming pasahero na papuntang city din kaya mabilis nang nakaalis ang jeep. meron naman daw tricycle pero you'll have to bargain to get the lowest fare possible.

st. william's cathedral

 

the jeepney's last stop is right in front of the st. william's cathedral. too bad dahil may wedding na nagaganap so we just take pictures sa labas lang. i really admired how old churches stand the test of time, sobrang tibay nila. siguro dahil na din sa pagmamaintain ng local government kaya naman astig ang mga probinsya ng pinas. 

the sinking bell tower 

 

sa labas lang ang simbahan naroon ang sinking bell tower. at first we did not notice that it is actually the sinking bell tower, kala ko nga isang old ruins lang, not until we asked the locals. see the picture na lang :)

saramsam ylocano restaurant

 

dahil nga nasa ilocos na kami, we crave for an ilocano dish. we ask some locals kung saan masarap kumain at sabay turo "dun sa jalibee, masarap dun. me makdo din dyan sa kanto." sikat talaga ang combination ni jabee at mcdo. anyways, dahil sa nabasang blog, highly recommended ang saramsam resto so we then proceed to the said place. i think it cost us 40php for the trike ride from the town to the saramsam resto.

the place was good and welcoming naman ang ambiance plus the 'sari-saring chairs' match with 'antique tables na yata' adds to the province ambiance na mararamdamang mong wala ka na talaga sa manila. on with the food.. we ordered their specialty: ang famous bagnet, the saramsam pasta and the poque-poque pizza. the prices were affordable and the food was great!

ang bagnet ay ang ilocano equivalent ng lechon kawali pero malalasahan mo talaga and difference nito sa pangkaraniwang toasted meat. 

the saramsam pasta tastes really good with the bagoong sauce and chili oil on it. gusto ko nga ibulsa un bagoong at chili oil. meat lover ako pagdating sa mga pasta pero this veggie pasta definitely make it on my list!

the poque-poque pizza (hindi ko alam kung bakit yan ang pinangalan nila, sounds like ano..basta) main ingredient is the eggplant. pang-vegetarian itong pizza na 'to dahil walang kahit anong meat, its all gulay. pede din palang gawing pizza toppings ang talong! ma-try nga ang ampalaya toppings, hehehe..

museo ilocos norte

next stop, ilocos norte museum. just besides the town capitol is the museo ilocos norte. as what its name implies, this museum holds all the rich cultures of  the ilocos norte provinces as well as its origins. check out the photos below :)

the back, right-side and front view of the museum; medyo creepy diba..

how it looks on the inside

the museum displays old collections of the different barangays in ilocos norte which shows how simple the way of living is in their own communities, astig talaga ang kulturang pinoy. mula sa lumang damit hanggang sa modelo ng kanilang bahay, makikitang payak ang mamuhay sa rural area. they also have a souvenir shop inside.

the ilocos norte capitol

makakaligtaan ba naman namin ang city hall ng ilocos norte? op kors nat! :D

that ends the first half of day1 in laoag. kailangan naman naming lumipat sa vigan dahil dun kami nakabooked for our hotel then lipat ulet sa pagudpod the next day naman. so next post will be the VIGAN expedition!