My blocmate in UP Baguio, Janelle Princess G. Jamias, went here in the Philippines for a month-long vacation. It’s her first time to go
“balik-bayan” after three and a half years of stay in London. Prior to her arrival, we had already planned to have bonding moment and we decided to spend a couple of days in her hometown—Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte.
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| This is where the most hospitable Ilocano that I have known lives. :) |
It was my second time to be in Pagudpud. The first time was way back 2004 during my fieldtrip in one of my Tour subjects in the UP Asian Institute of Tourism (AIT). A year and a half ago, I actually had been to Laoag, Ilocos Norte to attend my college friend’s wedding. At that time, I vowed to myself that never will I go to Ilocos again via land transportation. The 12-hour trip was so grueling. But there I was, breaking my promise.
Since Janelle was busy setting up her consultation agency business, the plan was, I will just be meeting her in Pagudpud. I left Cubao via Florida bus at 5:45 PM on the first of July 2011. I arrived at their place at almost 6 AM the next day. I rested for like an hour, had breakfast, then off we went to our first destination—Makagutogot Island.
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| On the way to the island... |
Being an organized person, I had texted Janelle the day before I arrive in Pagudpud if she has already made our itinerary for my 3-day stay but my question was completely ignored. What I meant is that, all of our destinations were a bit spontaneous in a sense that we did not have definite plans as to where we will be going. Since she is the host and I barely knew the tourist spots in their area, I just went with the flow. Anyhow, I am adventurous and you can bring me wherever you want so long as it’s travel-related. Hahaha!!!
Going back to Makagutogot Island, I was lucky to have been to a destination where the host has so many contacts to different people (or, should I say relatives in different baranggays? Hehehe!!!) We rented a boat that toured us all over the island. I must say that the place is so majestic. The rock formation is similar to that of Anawangin, Zambales but I get to appreciate Makagutogot more because the mountain is full of greens and we managed to get inside one of the caves along the area. It’s indeed a breath-taking view. The 12-hour trip that I had that morning was all worth it upon seeing the different sizes of boulder of rocks. One needs not to be a poet in order to admire the beauty of the island.
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| Makagutogot Island |
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| Our boat was about to pass by between these boulder of rocks. |
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| Inside the cave |
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Came lunch time, off we went to Agua River Grande Picnic Park. We shared sumptuous foods such as pancit, labong, laing, tomato and kangkong, fried fish, fish sinigang, fish pangat and yellow watermelon for dessert. (It’s my first time to taste the yellow ones. ^_^.) After eating, we decided to take a dip in the river. Since the sun is at its peak that time, it was such a refreshing feeling to plunge into the cool water that flows into the river then off to the sea. What is so cool about this place is that there is a basin at the end of the river which looks like an infinity pool. The view is just so picturesque!
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| Thank you, Tita Lita, for preparing all of these. |
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| Sea view from where we stand |
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| This is where the river ends before the water flows into the sea. |
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| Infinity pool, isn't that cool? :) |
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| I enjoyed swimming at the Agua Grande River. |
On our way home, I get to take a few snap shots of Kalbario-Patapat Park. It is like a tunnel with vegetation on its exterior. It is the place where buses and other commuters going to Cagayan would stop over. One could either buy a pasalubong or just enjoy the sound of the water gushing from the mini-falls adjacent to the high way.
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| Kalbario-Patapat Park |
We had siesta that afternoon at Janelle’s house. To kill time, I played tong-its with her and Jen (Janelle’s younger sister). At around 5:30 PM, we went to their “perya” where we played ABC. I was lucky to have won some amount from tong-its and P20 from ABC; the prize of which went to our food trip—had empanada, kikiam, pineapple juice, orange juice and ice cream.
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| I think I was lucky that day because not only did I win in tong-its but also in ABC. :) |
By the time we get to their house at around past 7 PM, we had videoke and a few shots of drinks. As usual, I would sing my heart out to one of my most favorite videoke songs of all time—I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing by Aerosmith. My first day of jam-packed fun and adventure ended at almost 11 PM. I had such a good night’s sleep. The next thing I knew is that my phone was alarming at around 6:30 AM the following day.
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| Singing one of my fave videoke songs- I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing by Aerosmith |
My second morning in Pagudpud was spent first by going to the church. It was Sunday. We started our trip late compared to the previous day because there was no driver who could drive us all the way to Bangui, which takes 30-40 minutes travel. After an hour or so of waiting, we were saved by the bells because Jen was able to convince her friends to join us. That is when I get to meet these two, cute, little angels—Yana and Kyle, the kid of Jen’s two girl friends.
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| Meet Kyle and Yana |
Before going to our destination, we first went to Barrio Caunayan, where we had lunch at one of Janelle’s mom’s friends. What I like most about the rural area is the fact that you do not need to know the exact address of the person you’re visiting. Just the mere fact of knowing one’s name, one would not get lost. Moreover, people in the provinces are more hospitable compared to those living in the city. For our lunch, we were served with tasteful chicken curry, chicken tinola, fried fish, broiled crabs and dragon fruit for dessert. Indeed, our stomachs were all set for a half day’s travel.
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| I was thankful because all throughout my 3-day stay in Pagudpud, the weather was sunny. :) This picture was taken on our way to baranggay Caunayan. |
I was so excited on this second day of our trip because it’s my first time to see windmills in person. Honestly, I was amazed by the time I stepped my feet on the scorchingly hot sands of Bangui. I felt like I was walking on a desert bare-footed. At that moment, I felt screaming at the top of my lungs where the winds and the waves would join me in chorus. It was such an exhilarating feeling. If I were a kid just like Ausch, I bet that I would tell to myself that the twenty wind turbines look like humongous electric fans. I am not sure if it is true but they say that you can climb all the way up just like when you go inside a light house.
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| Bangui Windmills is the "first 'wind farm' in the Philippines consisting of wind turbines on-shore facing the South China Sea and considered to be the biggest in Southeast Asia." (http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Bangui_Windmills) |
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| The wind mills are so huge and tall! |
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| This souvenir is gorgeous but I did not buy it. I prefer the small ref magnets. :) |
The next destination after Bangui Windmills is Saud Beach. We did not stay that long in the area because our driver needed to be back in Pasaleng at 5 PM. Nonetheless, we get to take a plunge into the clear blue waters of the South China Sea and walk along the pristine, white sand beach. I just love the place because it is so invigorating and ideal for retreat. Indeed, it just apt to be called the “Boracay of the North” minus the crowd and noise of Boracay.
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| Saud Beach: the Boracay of the North |
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| Lovin' the clear, blue water and white sand beach |
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| The far away resort in the background is where I went 7 years ago, the Arinaya Beach Resort. |
Every one I guess is familiar with the saying “save the best for last.” That would perfectly describe my third and last day in Pagudpud. We used different modes of transportation all throughout my stay: tricycle on the first day, van on the second day and motorcycle (the locals call it Wave) on the third day. As far as I remember, it is my first time to travel that long distance using a two-wheel drive. On our way to Malingay Beach, we get to pass by Patapat Viaduct. It is the 4th longest bridge in the Philippines and it connects the Maharlika Highway from Laoag, Ilocos Norte to the Cagayan Valley region. One gets to see the beautiful scenery of Pasaleng Bay while traversing this area. Since we are riding on a motorcycle, I get to have 360 degrees view of the whole area. It was like adrenaline rush when my face brushed against the swirling wind while my hair freely swayed into motion. I just loved the feeling.
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| Joy ride. Yeah!!! \m/ |
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| Taken at the end of the Patapat Viaduct |
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| Long winding road. Mountains on the left and sea on the right. |
We had our first stop over at Bantay Abot Cave, which is located along the seacoast of Sitio Gaoa, Balaoi. The view here is so stunning. Once inside the cave, one gets to experience a different kind of meditation wherein all you would hear are the soft sound of the smashing waves, the whirling wind and the chirping of birds that inhabit the what- others-call as the “underground sea” since the top of the cave is covered by lush green vegetation.
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| The view from this part of the cave is so amazing! |
Moving forward to our main destination, our bikes needed to traverse a not-so oblique course in order to get to the hidden paradise of Malingay Beach. We first went to Hannah’s Beach Resort and Convention Center where Janelle toured me throughout the place. The resort’s theme is family-oriented and they made use of these human-sized statues as an attraction. I get to meet Transformers, Mr. Bean, Pirates of the Caribbean, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Indian Joe and the astronaut from NASA. Although we did not check-in at the resort, we get to try their water sports facilities. We decided to go kayaking and explore the waters of Blue Lagoon. Too bad! Our boat was not able to go to the coral reef area because I and my companion were having a hard time rowing our boat towards the said area. Nonetheless, we enjoyed the beach of Malingay so much, got soaked under the sun until our stomachs told us to stop. It was already lunch time.
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| Saw this beautiful spot on our way to Hannah's. Nice! :) |
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| Outside the resort |
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| Up-close and personal with Mr. Bean |
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| Swimming pool on top of the mountain |
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| The kayak team |
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| We paid Php 150 for 30 minutes of kayaking per boat. |
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| Malingay coastline |
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| Hannah's Resort offers various water sports facilities and banana boating includes one of them. |
We had a scrumptious lunch at Kapuluan Vista Resort, which is 2-3 minutes motor ride from Hannah’s. The restaurant is so cozy with its Filipino-inspired interiors. The price is a bit expensive but the quality of the foods that were served to us was superb. We get to try their Kapuluan kilawin (a must-try appetizer), empanada (Men! It’s that huge!), seafood sisig, pork sinigang, pinakbet and eggless leche flan for dessert. Oh by the way, I also enjoyed their virgin margarita freezie (so refreshing!)
After lunch, we headed to Kabigan Falls. One needs to hike for 1150 kilometers, or approximately 30 minutes walk, from the jump off point going to the site. It was not that hard at all because we did not encounter any rough terrain. If you are not from Pagudpud, visitors who are going to the area needs to pay P10 per head as an entrance fee and P100 for the tour guide fee. Since Janelle and my other companions are all locals, we only paid the latter fee. The weather was warm when we went there but by the time we get near the falls, the cool breeze of the air coming from the stream started to surround us. After half an hour of trekking, we finally get to our destination. Whoohoohoo!!! is all I can say when my feet felt the cold water flowing from the falls. Our bodies felt so sticky that time because of the combination of sweat and salty water from Malingay beach. Thus, it was the perfect time for us to rejuvenate our body by diving into the chilly waters of Kabigan Falls. It was just divine.
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| You would see this sign if you are driving along the high way. |
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| Distance from the jump off point going to the site |
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| Rocky, Janelle's younger brother and the basketball star of baranggay Pasaleng. :) |
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| Jen, Janelle's younger sister. |
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| Tita Lita, the caring mother of Janelle. She used to call me ‘Lisa’ because Jen has a friend who has been there too and her name’s Lisa. |
However long this blog may be, one thing that summarizes my Pagudpud experience would be the word AWESOME. Indeed it was!
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