Kalesa Tour: Bantay Bell Tower and St. Augustine Parish Church

From the pottery shop of Mr. Fidel Go, our Kalesa Tour brought us to two of Vigan's best known and picturesque sight - the Bell tower and St. Paul Cathedral. Before we could all get off the kalesa, we saw lovely Chinese couple who were probably in their 70s about to leave the place with their hired kalesa as well. They smiled as they bid bye bye to us. They seem to be enjoying their romantic kalesa tour like us. We also also said hi and smiled back at them as we get down and started walking our way up.

Bantay Bell Tower and St. Augustine Parish Church

It was already noon at that time and we could really feel the burns on our skin so we just contented ourselves with merely taking photographs and a quick tour as we marvel at the two remarkable landmarks.  We really don't have the luxury of time to climb the bell tower as we needed to be in Pagudpod hopefully before sunset. So off to tour last historical site for the day, the St. Paul Cathedral.

Vigan's Pagburnayan: Meeting Philippine's National Folk Artist, Fidel Go

Right after a fun tour at Baluarte, Kuya Arnel of Calesa #157 brought us to one of Vigan's must see attraction, the Pagburnayan. This is where traditional burnay jars of varied shapes, designs and sizes are made. It was also here that we get to meet and talk to Vigan's pride, Philippine's National Folk Artist, Mr. Fidel Antiporda Go.

Fidel Antiporda Go, National Folk Artist

Mr. Go although pure Chinese by blood, has been living in the Philippines for a very long time. He speaks in Filipino and warmly welcomed us with stories about their business and was even candid about his life here in the Philippines. He said their Burnayan business, the Ruby Pottery Shop started in the year 1920 by his father when eventually most of the family went back to China until he was the only one left in the Philippines. Now at 72 years old, the artist is still passionate at his craft.

He was named as National Folk Artist by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) in 1990.

This post is part of our 2 hour Kalesa Tour in Vigan.

Kalesa Tour: Visiting Baluarte

We started off the kalesa tour at the end of Calle Crisologo Street at Heritage Village. Getting to Baluarte from Heritage Village through a kalesa is not a wise decision since they charge per hour - it basically ate up our half an hour tour because it was far! We suggest getting there by tricycle.

Baluarte is 80 hectares of gently rolling terrains, hills and mountain sides, the structures of facilities and amenities, its phases of construction is in its best possible realistic and natural habitat for good and sound animal care.

Located along the western seaboard of Northern Luzon 408 kilometers north of Manila, bounded in the South by South China Sea, Baluarte has its breathtaking view of Vigan City. Baluarte is open to the public and admission is FREE. It is actually Governor Chavit's gift to the people of Vigan where residents are accorded free use of spaces for their livelihood programs. (source)

When we arrived, a line of colorful birds greeted us at the entrance and an ostrich strolling freely around the area. It was already noon when we arrived, the people  were saying we're lucky because it's feeding time! We get to see the animals in action! Feeding time you say? Sounds like a scary Jurrasic line to me!

Presenting the familiar faces of Baluarte!

Have the courage to come face to face with the world's largest cat?

Right after the live animal show, the host started presenting to us this huge Siberian Bengal tiger as he was being brought out from a nearby cage. It was amazing to see a tiger that big outside of its cage (don't worry he has steel chains). My cousin wanted to hug the tiger while I am gathering my guts to get near it, it left me with no choice. It was a scary decision but I'm glad I did.

Touching the tiger is like touching one of God's magnificent masterpiece - so beautiful yet so fierce! But I guess Mr. Tiger has long been used to being surrounded with people. For Php100, you can have your picture taken with mr. tiger and will then be given the print out copy after 15 minutes.

my cousin Leah with Baluarte's parrot

You can also ride a pony to get around the circle. You can also race with the ostrich if you want! Lol! Oh, don't forget to take a picture with the birds, you can ask someone there to put the bird on your shoulder or on top of your head, your choice, really! 

If you get to visit Vigan, don't forget to stop by Baluarte. Kids and animal lovers will surely love the place, like we did. 

Kalesa Tour: Morning Stroll at the Heritage Village

From Simbaan a Bassit, we started walking our way to Heritage Village...

On our way, we passed by Crisologo Museum and stopped for a while to get some photos. We weren't able to tour the inside of the museum because we're really running out of time. 

Calle Crisologo is Vigan's most picturesque street. A walk down the cobblestone streets and rows of ancestral houses in thick brick walls standing side by side to each other made me feel like I'm frozen in time. It definitely brought back the mood of the historic Spanish times - the grandeur of the past. There were a number of shops seen along the street selling souvenir pieces, antiques,  furnitures, food parlors and I even saw an Island Souvenir shop. You an also visit the Administration office to grab some brochures.

Calle Crisologo 

I've always wanted to taste the authentic Empanada of Vigan as well as Bagnet, but my cousin said, empanadas are sold in the afternoon. We didn't get to see a store selling one.

Vigan offers a wealth of historical and cultural wonders best experience on foot and through a calesa ride. And so after the stroll, we decided to ride a calesa driven by Kuya Arnel. He said he's been a cochero for the past 15 years. Calesa ride is priced at Php150 per hour.  My 5 year old nephew Cocoy who's always been fascinated with all sorts of cars and trucks fondly calls the calesa #157 the Ferrari! And so we drove the Ferrari til we get to our first stop, the Baluarte.

click here to see more photos of Calle Crisologo.

Hello Vigan!

We left Baguio at about 7:30pm. Bus tickets going to Vigan costs Php294 (Partas Bus Airconditioned). My friend MC and I got our seat at the very front row of the bus while my cousin Leah and son Cocoy were seated at the back. It was a long 5 hour drive, good thing we bought Jollibee hotdog sandwiches before getting on the bus. We haven't eaten our dinner yet because of the long line at the Partas Bus Terminal. That was the day when the Panagbenga Grand Float Parade happened.

Simbaan a Bassit at night

The winding roads of Baguio to Vigan is much scarier than when going from Manila to Baguio.  Good to know Partas drivers are known for excellent and safe driving. A note to those who frequently suffers from motion sickness, I recommend taking your Dizitabs before leaving.  The bus took a 15 minute stopover in a restaurant and passengers had the chance to go to restrooms, stretch and buy food. How I only wished to have taken photos of Vigan's Heritage Village at night but it was too late when we arrived.

We love the house where we stayed. It's a typical old Vigan house - very roomy with dark wooden floors, bedrooms that has doors connecting to each other and wide capiz windows. Near the staircase leading of the second floor is a large sala with fine antique furnitures, a classic piano organ and a dining room holding lots of silverwares and china plates on display. Special mention would be the bed we slept, a sturdy old fourposter canopy bed embellished with a charming white mosquito net. Felt like royalty right there! But I must be admit though, it was  quite scary the first time we set foot, considering we arrived at the old house at exactly 12midnight!

Upon waking up, I looked around and saw pictures of owners along with prominent personalities like former U.S. President Bill Clinton as well as former President Gloria Macapagala Arroyo. No wonder it's such a great house, it belonged to a well known family in Vigan. We're indeed lucky! After a great Vigan breakfast, the group went on its separate ways for a while. MC and I started going around town by foot - we went to a nearby Internet shop to transfer all the Baguio pictures to my portable hard drive, we also went to look for an optical shop to buy a contact solution and withdraw at a BDO atm machine. Surprisingly, all these establishments are just walls away from each other. My cousin Leah and her son Cocoy took a short visit to their Lola, a couple of blocks away from where we stayed.

After 30 minutes, we started walking our way to Heritage Village.