Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte

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I have only read about Pagudpud on books and seen it on the Internet before. In fact, I once imagined getting married in it even though I actually haven't visited the place yet. So, when we planned for this Ilocandia tour, of course, missing out on Saud Beach in Pagudpud is a criminal offense to my long overdue dream.


Since Vigan is a really small place, we were able to finish touring it in a day. By the afternoon, we were all set to go to Pagudpud. We took a bus from Vigan going to Laoag which was almost 2 hours. It was not an easy trip. Some roads were bumpy but I took delight in it and appreciate the very "probinsya" feel of the road while the bus window was open and was blowing my hair until it was unmanageable. Anyway, when we reached Laoag, we rode another bus that'll take us to the municipality of Pagudpud.

 Travel Tip: If you have enough money for the trip, it would be wise and more time-saving if you'll ride a plane to Laoag if you're coming from Manila. And from there, it'll be just an hour and a half trip to Pagudpud.

 We weren't able to tour Laoag which is a usual stop for a usual tour of Ilocos because we didn't have time but we promised we'd come back to see the sand dunes and Paoay Church.

 Anyway, on the bus to Pagudpud, we asked the konduktor to drop us off at the municipal hall because that's where we'll be riding a tricycle to reach the resorts of Saud Beach. The guys sitting across us heard us and asked us if we already have room reservations and I said none but we already know where we're going. He said he owns one of the resorts there, John Ronald Resort, and said he'd give us discount if we choose his resort. Of course we did! Yes, we're suckers of accommodation discounts! :) 

 And so, instead of staying at Palm Grove for 2,500 a night, we stayed at John's resort for the rate of 1,500 per night. It was the perfect timing that we arrived before the sun sets so we had enough sunlight to take pictures and swim for a while and then watch the sunset from the horizon.

Saud Beach is one of the two popular beaches in Pagudpud; Blue Lagoon being the other one. A lot of people and bloggers say that Blue Lagoon is better because the resorts there are more comfortable (and more pricey of course!) and that the shore line is more breathtaking. If you choose to go to Blue Lagoon, it'll be another hour ride from Pagudpud's municipal hall as opposed to just the ten-min. tricycle ride if you choose to go to Saud.

As with Saud, I cannot complain even though I haven't been to Blue Lagoon yet so I have no point of comparison. Saud's sand was fine and white and very photogenic.



Facing the sea, we had a flawless view of the sun setting from the far distance.


 That night, we had dinner by the beach at Terra Rika's which was very nice because it was right beside Evangeline Resort and the latter had a stage and a bossa nova singer is serenading the guests. This was such a perfect evening. The sea breeze, the famous Vigan longganisa, and the music...

And sige na nga, it's because of the person I was with... This was our first out of town trip, just the two of us.

The next morning, we woke up early to swim. We explored the other parts of the shore. Facing the sea, we walked to the leftmost part to the point that you can almost see the Bangui windmills. There, we found the part of the beach that has lots of rocks and algae and it just looks too pretty not to take photos.










In the afternoon, we had lunch and ordered this local dish called the INSARABASAB. So I hope I got that right. It's a tongue-twister, noh?


I know an overnight stay in paradise is  not enough, but what are we gonna do about it? We didn't have enough time and we were not able to go to all the places we really wanted to see in Ilocos. We saw the windmills of Bangui from afar while riding the bus but we're not able to see it up close, and we also didn't get to see Patapat Viaduct and Kabigan Falls which are two other attractions in Pagudpud.

All in all, combined with the Vigan trip, it was the epitome of a trip that happened and passed by too soon. Two days was not enough to explore all of what Ilocos has to offer but I am glad to have seen what we've seen in this trip. 

 On our next Ilocandia tour, we're hoping to round out all of the places we didn't see. 
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The Cobblestoned Streets of Vigan

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On April 12, we set out to Maria de Leon bus station in España and since we didn't have reservations, we were not able to ride via MDL. Personally, I think the beauty of this trip is that everything was impromptu. I mean, yeah we planned going to Vigan and Pagudpud and made our own itinerary because we decided we wouldn't avail a pre-planned tour by travel agencies, but what we did not foresee are what we thought would be smaller details such as reserving bus seats and etc. So we turned out to be chance passengers. 

Anyway, we were lucky that there are lots of Ilocos-bound bus stations in Espana and so we moved on to the next bus station we saw which was Farinas, but still no luck. We then decided to go to Partas and as luck would have it, we scored two seats but had to wait 2.5 hours because it was only 8pm when we got to the terminal and the bus leaves at 10:30pm.

Anyway, enough of the chit-chat. This is where I bombard you with photos. LOL.

The first tourist spot we visited was the Bantay Bell Tower. We put this first in our list because it's the only one in our list that is not inside the Heritage Village, so that we will have a more fluid route. 
BANTAY BELL TOWER

The historic belfry of Bantay Church known as the Bantay Bell Tower was built in the 
Spanish colonial era. Established in 1950, this also served as a watchtower for pirates.

The first batch of photos we took were mostly selfies and we took photos of one another alternately because there's only the two of us. But good thing, a tour guide came and volunteered to take our 'illusion photos' (PS: Please give a tip to the tour guide afterwards because he will also entertain you with old stories about the church and the bell tower). 

When we reached the top of the belfry, I swear to God I can almost feel Raf getting a little bit annoyed because I was just too excited and I was almost jumping in joy and asking stupid questions about the tower and whatnot. I was just too excited that I forgot that the wooden ladders were verrry old and can break anytime.

Anyway, (below) this is the largest bell inside this tower. And because I was too excited and jumpy, I forgot the metal that was used to make this bell, as told by the tour guide. According to him, this bell is not rang anymore because of the very strong vibration that it creates which will weaken the limestone structure of the tower and soon enough, the future generations will not be able to see this amazing belfry.

Aside from the biggest bell, there are four other bells inside which are rang during town fiestas, weddings, baptisms and funerals. 

We then proceeded to the Heritage Village of Vigan - a declared UNESCO Heritage Site in the country!
VIGAN HERITAGE CITY

PS: We are not professional photographers so let me tell you that these photos do not do justice to the charming colonial streets of Vigan. If you want to see its real beauty, you can Google Vigan's images and be amazed.



 Calle Crisologo was the only street left that displays pure Spanish architecture and is the only one which street is made up of cobblestones. We originally planned to ride a calesa to tour the Heritage Village but I am glad we didn't because the vicinity is too small and you can walk it out for less than an hour. It's also a better idea since you can stop anywhere and anytime you like because the calesa charges 150 per hour. Walking is a good option if you do not mind walking under the heat of the sun if you're going here during summertime. We didn't mind because we're well-prepared and had SPF 80 sunblock an hour before we got here. I am a girl scout, you see.




Some street shots...

It was so nice to find out that even the fastfoods here were built in colonial-like structures to create a uniformity among buildings and preserve the original look of Vigan. 






CALLE CRISOLOGO

 Calle Crisologo is one of the most photographed streets in the entire country. The structural line it portrays when photographed just brings you back to the colonial era of the Philippines complete with the cobblestoned floors and capiz windows on the houses.



After getting mesmerized by the cobblestoned street of Crisologo, we went to Syquia Mansion. 
SYQUIA MANSION

 A little trivia: Vigan is the proud birthplace of the Philippines’ sixth president, Elpidio Quirino. It was also where she met the love of her life, Alicia, who lived in this actual mansion.


The Syquia Mansion, which houses President Qurino’s extensive memorabilia, is actually owned by his wife, Dona Alicia Quirino.

This is where they keep all the fine china. The wooden floors were polished until they shine, so kudos to the caretakers of the mansion! :)

The Masters Bedroom

This is the sala-mayor of the mansion. This is where esteemed guests and VIPs are welcomed during their time. If you are not "too fancy" then they will just entertain you in the ante-sala.



CRISOLOGO MUSEUM


 We then headed to the Crisologo Museum. This was established after Floro Crisologo's death. The Crisologo Museum contains the possessions of the Crisologo Family, particularly of Floro's, the family patriarch, who is a former congressman behind many landmark legislations.

 Open on weekdays and found on the Liberation Boulevard of Vigan, anyone can enter for free to view the antiques and other prized possessions of the clan.

 Teeming with history, let's take a look at this vintage car: Governor Carmeling Crisologo was ambushed in this car on May 10, 1961 but luckily, she survived! 

The women of Crisologo must be so fabulous back then! My favorite part of their house - a room full of clothes and shoes!


And some great antiques...



 An old TV set inside Bongbong Crisologo's room.



 Raf and I were starving by the end of the Crisologo Museum Tour and looked for Cafe Leona.
CAFE LEONA

 Before this trip, I read lots of blogs on where to eat, and 90% of those bloggers were talking about Cafe Leona, so we put this in our itinerary and boy, have we never been any right! Food was foodgasm! 


Of course, it would be a crime not to try Vigan's Bagnet. But personally, I fell head over heels in love with the mushroom soup because I am a sucker for anything with mushrooms in it.


Our Ilocos Tour isn't over as we plan to head to Pagudpud which will be told in a different post.
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