ilocos

dubbed as the "boracay of the north", pagudpud is a stretch of white sand beach in the ilocos region. though the sands of pagudpud is not as powdery fine as boracay, you would appreciate its facade as it is not as commercialized as its visayan counterpart.

before we reached the beautiful shores of pagudpud, we travelled for seven hours from manila to vigan. after a hearty breakfast of longganisa (jollibee's and not vigan longganisa as we hoped), we started walking through the stone path that characterizes the old city in the north. the excitement when we got off from the bus could not sustain us for long and soon enough our feet were aching. everybody took the opportunity to ride the kalesa to go sight-seeing. we first went to the bell tower in the next town --- we saw the whole of vigan atop the tower. then off we went to the house of father jose burgos which was converted to a museum. we didn't have enough time after that so we just passed by some other places in vigan aboard the kalesa. after that, it was time to say goodbye to vigan and hello to laoag.

the cua residence in laoag was a welcome sight for all of us, much more so the food that was readily prepared at the table. after filling our stomachs with ilocos' special vigan longganisa, everyone's enthusiasm was restored. our first stop was paoay church, the oldest church in the country. we were a bit disappointed to see that we just missed the time when it is open so we just contented ourselves in taking pictures outside. after that, we went to malacanang of the north, the place where the late president marcos and his family stays when they were in ilocos. the place was still beautiful eventhough some areas were not fully maintained anymore. and the view from the balcony of paoay lake was simply breathtaking! and since the real reason why we went all the way from manila to the north was to go to the beach, we proceeded to currimao. we first went to the coral beach, where everyone dipped their feet into the cool water except me! (more on that later.*) we decided to go to currimao beach to get the rest of their bodies (and my feet) immersed in the water. it was a great way to end the day with the sunset as our background.

at this point, everyone was tired and ready to call it a day. the guys were actually excited to go out since they wanted to go to the casino but their spirits were dampened when we said they could go on their own. but einstein's mom persuaded us to go to fort ilocandia and so off we went again, with tintin craving for ice cream and rose, for cake. fort ilocandia was a big resort with everything that one might need to entertain themselves. there's a gym, a pool, a casino, a karaoke bar, a sports bar, a cafe and the beach, of course. well, i would imagine it does not come cheap either.

the next day, we heard mass early at a nearby church. returning home, we found the rest of the folks awake and after another hearty meal, off we went to pagudpud. in the middle of the long ride, we decided to go beyond pagudpud and head for patapat bridge first. i couldn't remember why this was a famous bridge but the view of the sea was fantastic so we did not let the opportunity to pose in front of the camera slip by. a long ride back, we finally arrived in pagudpud at around noon. eventhough the sun was shining full blast, we went on a banca and headed to a more secluded part of the beach. the one great thing about pagudpud is the crystal clear water. i finally got my chance to swim in the cool waters of ilocos. alas, time flew by and we had to go back home. on the way, we stopped by the lighthouse and took more pictures of the breathtaking sea. soon, we were packing our bags and our loads of pasalubong and heading back to manila.

it was a tiring trip, with around 19 hours of travel from manila to pagudpud and back but the trip was well worth it. ilocos is definitely a place to visit!

=============

*i was going through my things while packing for currimao when i realized that i left my bathing suit back home! *pok* i was kicking myself for leaving the one important thing that i need for the beach. good thing i packed a sleeveless shirt and a pair of shorts "just in case". when we were ready to go, i reached inside my bag to check if my slippers were there. and when i felt the plastic bag at the bottom of my bag, i thought i was good to go. stupid me. the plastic bag contained my after sun gel (something we "inherited" from art) and no rubber slippers. and since currimao coral beach would strip my feet raw if i attempted to walk barefoot, i was not able to enjoy the coral beach. (still kicking myself for the stupidity).