A birthday up north

Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur

2015 November 19-22

One of the perks of being a government employee is that I get to know in advance the merits of holiday declarations. I'm just grateful that our office didn't have major tasking during the recently concluded APEC Summit (unlike some in the Department), so the Ilocos get-away that Gabriel and I planned for the past few months pushed through.

We originally planned to have a DIY tour with just the two of us, to celebrate my 25th birthday. But we thought the better of it and just opted for a package tour and invited our friends. At first, we thought not many would be interested to join us, but as the date approached, our group got bigger and we ended up filling the van with 13 people from my (and Gabriel's) different social circles. Hehe. 

I honestly thought that it was a good decision to have friends with us. Their personalities, despite coming from different backgrounds, melded so well. There were no awkwardness at all, everyone was game for the adventures (and the photo ops), and it felt like my different sets of friends knew each other since long ago.

Day 1

Our first day, straight from the eight-hour journey by land, was filled to the brim Ilocos landmarks and tourist spots. It was during the first day that we visited a handful of churches, witnessed traditional pottery, walked under the sweltering heat, tasted Vigan longganisa (but not hot choco hehe), strolled along the famous cobblestone street of Calle Crisologo, made to wait for an hour for our lunch at a famous restaurant there, wandered around Baluarte in search of the tiger Aiba Masaki took care of when he came to the country many many years ago, visited Marcos landmarks, enjoyed the rough road ride atop a 4x4 and tried sandboarding immediately after. It as a packed day, indeed. And I felt relieved that after all those activities, we didn't encounter untoward incident (save for Marifel's injury hehe) nor any foul weather.

San Agustin Church and the Bantay Bell Tower

 

 Atop the Bantay Bell Tower
© Bam Sun

PAS Ilocos Chapter. Haha.

Hidden Garden Restaurant in Vigan

Someone's not happy with her breakfast at Hidden Garden. Haha.

A National Folk Artist at work, at Ruby's Pagburnayan in Vigan

National Folk Artist for Pottery Fidel Go, in his 70s, still practices the traditional art of making jars in his shop in Vigan, Ilocos Sur. Go said that their products used to be in high demand, locally and abroad, reaching as far as some renowned hotels in Europe. After the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001, the demand for Vigan's clay jars plummeted. Today, Go's pagburnayan shop earns most of its keep from selling souvenirs and donations from tourists.

A photo posted by Riza Atienza (@noriza__) on Nov 30, 2015 at 10:37pm PST

© Toto

Turistang-turista! :))

Calle Crisologo, finally! :D

Dooooorrrr!
© Toto

© Claire

Mother and dowter. :))

Very very danger tiger at Singson's Baluarte

In Batac, the Marcos Museum was closed because of power interruption. It was actually funny how none of us were really disappointed about not seeing yet another Marcos estate, let alone the remains of the late president. Our tour guide wanted so much to take a photo of us outside, but we were like, "Nah, that's okay. We're not really Marcos fans." I know, it's kinda dismissive towards history to say that, but really, I believed then that there were more things to see and that another glorification of the Marcoses wouldn't be much of a loss.

Speaking of history, I asked the history major boyfriend how come Ilocos managed to keep (most) of its Hispanic architecture, while most of the provinces in the country didn't. According to him, aside from the strong grip of religion in the province, the residents had managed to establish a thriving economy on tobacco. Joining the revolt would have meant the disruption of their income-cutting ties with Spain-so they didn't.

Not far from the Presidential Museum was the Immaculate Concepcion Church. I asked our guide, who isn't Catholic, if I could drop by there and say a prayer. Inside, there were portraits of St. Josemaria Escriva De Balaguer, Patron Saint of the Ordinary. I whispered to Gabriel, "There. I found my patron saint." Actual thing he said as I was taking this photo:

"You have them for friends. So what's that about being an ordinary person?"

Point taken. :p

We traveled some more to Paoay, where we visited the (another) San Agustin Church, famous for its large buttresses. For me, the most distinct feature of the churches we visited was the presence of pulpits. I felt like I was transported back to the height of the Spaniards' rule, the new paint replaced by the gray-brown tint of adobe, and a prayle was standing atop that pulpit preaching to the masses.

San Agustin Parish in Paoay remains to be one of Ilocos' iconic churches.

Paoay Church's Bell Tower

 

©Bam

Malacañang of the North, the Marcos residence in Ilocos turned museum.
©  Bam

No One must know the tyrant's abode... :))

No One must blend well with the surroundings. :))

No One must take photos in a clearing. :))

I envy the Marcoses of yore, if only for this view.

Aaaand... we're off to our 4x4 adventure!
© Bam Sun

Desert renegades. :))

My phone's plastic pouch creating an instant bloom filter. :))

Saaaaand! And sunset!

#candid :)))
© Toto 

Chasing sunsets
© Claire

#AryaLakwatsera goes to... Dorne? :))

A video posted by Julio Gabriel Ubas (@julygrapes) on Nov 21, 2015 at 5:04pm PST

Actually easier than it looks. Sandboarding is fun! :)

When your travel mates have the eye for artistic photo shoots and all that stuff, and are fans of things cheeseballs, you get sunset couple photos. Haha.

Grinning because it was kinda silly in a kilig way. :))

♥
© Bam Sun

© Toto

Day 2