Exploring North

Exploring North

I've been dreaming to go to Ilocos ever since I was high school perhaps. My longings grew when Vigan became one of the seven wonder city of the world because of the Spanish Heritage. We have plans before but circumstances said no. Two weeks ago, P-Noy announced that NCR will have a five non-working days because of Papa's visit here in Manila. So, my office mates and I planned for our Ilocos Escapade.

Despite of all the pending projects, lack of finances and transition stage of our department, we pushed it through no matter what.

One of my bucket list for the year has been checked!

Everything went well. The only thing that we did not foresee was the long line in the bus terminal. We did not get a reservation because we cannot really tell what will be the time we will be finished working. We took almost three hours just to have those precious tickets. So, our itinerary was revised.

Upon arrival to Vigan bus terminal, we decided to put our things at Casa Arcellana. Good thing there is no early check in fee. :) To those people who wants to go to Vigan with tight budget, I strongly recommend Casa Arcellana. It ranges for only Php 160 – 200 pesos per person per night. Grabe mura nuh?

o diba nakauniform pa kami.. :)

My favorite part of my day 1 (Ilocos Norte) was, of course, the afternoon walk in Calle Crisologo. 

















I just love the feeling of bumming around with your most favorite person, no stress in your workplace. I also love the museums and the old houses (especially the Sy Quia Mansion), it really felt that you return to the Spanish Era. I love the history behind those old windows and doors.

























Paoay Church, Malacanang of the North and the Sand Dunes were the highlights of my day 2. The Paoay church and its garden is so wonderful. It is so nice to have a picture taking there. :) Really. The window, oh I love the windows. While in Sand Dunes, uou will have an adrenalin rush , but I must admit the one hour ride and all is kinda bitin and expensive. The Malacanang of the North's Architectural design was superb for an old establishment like that. Swimming in Pagudpod beach was also part of the day 2 itinerary but I did not enjoyed it because the water is soooooooo cold. And the beach was average compared to other beaches in the Philippines. Maybe I put lots of expectations there or we did not go to the beautiful beaches in Ilocos such as for Ilocandia and Hannah's? I don't really know









Kapurpurawan Rock Formation and Bangui windmills are my day 3's highlights. I was so amazed in God's creation. Sad thing it is not allowed to go near to the famous white rock but, I am more amazed how the wind can create a electricity that can supply to the daily needs of the people there. In fairness, the wind there was really strong! :)

Kaibigan Falls, Patapat Viadact and some other rock formation was also part of the day 3.

When I was researching for the said trip, there are many feed backs that it is hard to visit all the tourist spots in Ilocos Norte for one and a half day since the said spot are far from each other. We were so blessed!!! We met a woman from Sy Quia Mansion that offer us a van for only Php 1,000.00 per head. I don't know of its cheap or not, because our initial plan is to commute from Vigan to Ilocos norte. But at the end of the day, we were so satified and we did not regret to hire a van. Come to think of it, it is really hard to commute from one spot to another. So I suggest, hire a van too if you are planning to go there. Okay?

Wiw. I am so happy that it end up well. I was really worried that our budget and plans will be palpak and I was the mastermind of this escapade.hihi.

Looking forward for many trip for this 2015!

#2015to4ever






Comments

  1. Leslie9/03/2016

    Jetots! Mas maganda kung may pictures! :))

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mrs. Galvez9/08/2016

    hahaha! sige. I'll put pictures next time. :)))))

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mrs. Galvez9/23/2016

    May pics na! Yay!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mrs. Galvez9/23/2016

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

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