Exploring Ilocos Province, Philippines (Jonah’s Travel Memoir No. 3)

Hello Hivers! This is me again, Jonahlyn and for today’s blog, let me take you to Northern Luzon in the beautiful provinces of Ilocos, as I’ll share with you my travelling experience to different places on this tourist destination up north. Spoilers: Long post ahead 😄.

_{(Bangui Windmills, Ilocos Norte)}

Ilocos provinces are located in the Northwestern side of Luzon, it is composed of two separate provinces; Ilocos Norte & Ilocos Sur. Ilocos Norte is famous for its natural landscapes together with its amazing structures that can provide you an exciting adventure as you explore the province. Meanwhile, Ilocos Sur is famous for its well preserved heritage sites that date back to Spanish Colonial Period especially the historical town of Vigan which is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.

_{(Vigan City, Ilocos Sur)}

I booked a two day tour for Ilocos at the usual go to pages & sites of travel and tours. To begin our two day journey; we rode out a van from Manila that will take us up north into the Ilocos Region.

It took us several hours of travel before we arrived at our 1st destination, which is the Old Quirino Bridge in Ilocos Sur. We stayed there for several minutes as we witness the sunrise emerging from the mountains beyond the horizon.

_{(Sunrise shining at Old Quirino Bridge 😄)}

As you may know from the previous blogs, I really love sunrises that is why I took this chance to have another picture with Mr. Sun in my favorite pose. We took quite a lot of pictures and also unwind a bit to relax our bodies after the long travel we had earlier.

_{(The view of sunrise at Old Quirino Bridge)}

_{(Trying to get a good photo with Mr. Sun 😄)}

As we head further north, the next destination in our itinerary was the old town of Paoay in Ilocos Norte, featuring its century old San Agustin Church of Paoay.

_{(San Agustin Church of Paoay, though its kinda blurred, its the best photo I had 😄)}

Although it was restored several times before due to some of the damages it took from previous natural disasters, it was truly remarkable to see that this structure preserved its original beauty through time which can still be seen until now.

_{(A photo of me with the Paoay Chruch. If you can see it clearly, congratulations! you have a good eyesight😂. Just kidding!)}

After some picture taking at the church and indulging ourselves with the local delicacies, we then proceed to Laoag Sand Dunes. Arriving at the location, what comes to my mind first is like I’m on a desert and not on a tropical country.

_{(Sand Dunes at Laoag, Ilocos Norte)}

We had a thrilling ride on a 4x4 vehicle after we raced through the bumpy track of the sand dunes area. Our screams echoed through the course of the track because we felt like riding on a roller coaster during the ride and it was really fun. I also enjoyed sand boarding for the first, although it was initially terrifying, it turns out to be a really fantastic experience.

_{(Photos of me with the 4x4 vehicle after the thrilling ride, car model yarn? 😂)}

_{(A photo taken before the sand boarding, trying to smile to cover my anxiety 😂)}

Later on, we headed to Kapurpurawan Rock Formation, you can either ride a horse or stroll across the dirt path that will lead to the said tourist spot. Once you arrived there, you can see the enormous rocks along its coasts and the huge waves colliding on it.

_{(Taking a break after a long walk to arrive at the coastline of Kapurpurawan)}

_{(Admiring the view of Kapurpurawan Rock Formation)}

I relaxed there for a bit after an exhausting trip on the sand dunes as I listened to the sound of the crashing waves along its rocky shores.

_{(Having a relaxing time at Kapurpurawan Rock Formation)}

Then after a bit of unwinding on Kapurpurawan, we travelled to the last part of the trip in Day 1, which was the Patapat Viaduct. This viaduct is part of a national highway and it features a scenic view of the sea. I only spent a few minutes there to view the landscape because it was getting quite rainy already.

_{(A brief picture taking at Patapat Viaduct)}

Lastly, we arrived at a Beach Resort in Pagudpud where we spent the night after a whole day of travel. There’s still free time for me to have a leisurely walk and take a dip at the beach, but because of the rainy weather, I decided to rest for the day and prepare myself for the travel scheduled for the next day.

On the start of the 2nd day, I was really excited as I was looking forward to visit the remaining tourist spots in our itinerary in which the first destination we headed to was the Pagudpud Welcome Arch. Despite that the area is quite crowded because of other tourists flocking on the well-known land mark here in Ilocos Norte, we still able to take some pictures for ourselves.

_{(Me at Pagudpud Arch, this is the best picture I have, together with some photobombers. Gonna tag them here at my blog later 😅)}

As we leave Pagudpud, we head to Bangui Windmills where I had a relaxing time there. Unwinding there as I just casually listened to the waves, felt the breeze and bathed in the sunlight as the towering windmills serves as a backdrop of an idyllic location.

_{(Unwinding at Bangui Windmills, with picture taking and posing of course 😅)}

As usual, we also took plenty of photos in this tourist spot and spend the rest of our time there enjoying the ambiance along with the other tourists.

_{(A somewhat silhouette photo of me at Bangui Wind Mills 😄)}

Subsequently, we proceeded to Cape Bojeador Lighthouse which looks vintage and mysterious to me. This tourist spot is also a bit crowded like the previous ones, maybe because it’s Sunday that’s why tourists and locals visit the area. We walked around the vicinity of the lighthouse and also took some pictures to preserve memories of this place for myself.

_{(The best photos I had at Cape Bojeador Light House 😂)}

Malacañang of the North was next in our itinerary and it is also the last tourist spot we visit here in Ilocos Norte before we head back south to Ilocos Sur.

_{(Malacañang of the North)}

This mansion seems to be retrofitted already but at the same time it still preserved its old-fashioned design. Aside from the vintage structure still on its shape, the furniture and other decorations are quite antiques as well and are taken care of preciously also.

_{(Antique interiors in one of the rooms at Malacañang of the North)}

As we head south, we arrived again at Ilocos Sur, where the next destination we travelled to is the Baluarte Resort and Mini Zoo. This place consists of a zoo and a museum of taxidermized animals from hunting.

_{(Photos taken inside Baluarte Resort and Mini Zoo)}

I am not quite fond of the preserved animals, the reason is I am not a fan of animal hunting for the sake of hanging them as trophies.

_{(A gallery of taxidermized animals at Balauarte Zoo)}

Afterwards, we continued our trip to the next tourist spot, the Bantay Bell Tower. It is located near Vigan, this tower is also a century old structure that stood proud and tall through the test of time. This tower sits on a small hill and is surrounded by plants & flowers along the sides of its stairways.

_{(Exposing myself under the heat of the sun to have good photos with Bantay Bell Tower 😅)}

You can also visit Vigan Cathedral which is just in the proximity of the bell tower. Like the other century old churches, it is also preserved nicely and we can see that it was taken care of by the people of its community.

_{(The Vigan Cathedral)}

Then last but definitely not the least on our Ilocos itinerary is the world renowned town of Vigan. The most famous place worth to visit here in Vigan is Calle Crisologo, where you can see firsthand the well preserved ancestral houses built during the Spanish Colonial Era.

_{(One of the many ancestral buildings along the famous Calle Crisologo)}

_{(Strolling along the cobblestone streets of Calle Crisologo)}

Numerous establishments, structures and even roads you can found here were all constructed centuries ago, but still their physical appearance remains unchanged by time. You can also experience riding on a calesa (a horse ridden carriage) as you roam across the cobblestone streets. But by simply strolling by, you will be more flabbergasted by how this historic place was almost kept untouched by modernity.

_{(Trying to have a good photo with a calesa at the background 😂)}

By the way, you can also buy different kinds of souvenirs and pasalubong here, I took my time strolling and going about anywhere on this area as I buy souvenirs from one store to another since it’s the last destination of our tour. I also took a lot of pictures here and there and have a really good time wandering around Vigan.

_{(Wandering through the streets of Vigan City )}

Finally, after two days of incredible adventure, I was totally amazed that those places I just once saw on books and travel guides were now in front of me. It was really an achievement for me as I was absolutely ecstatic in travelling to different places I know but I’ve never been to before. I really appreciate the different sorts of emotions I feel during this trip.

That's all for my this blog. If you've been here in Ilocos previously, I am also happy to hear your experiences as well. If you still manage to read my blog this far, Thank you very much!, I'm really grateful for it. 😊

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog. Thank you so much and see you on my next blogs!