Bye Vigan, Hello Pagudpud!

Our 2 hour Kalesa Tour ended in Plaza Salcedo right in front of St. Paul Cathedral. We paid Php300 and had a quick dinner at McDonalds, just beside the cathedral. There are also a number of good local restaurants you can choose from in Vigan such as Cafe Leona, Epectos Bar and Grill, Cindy's, Hambre, Tessie's, Uno Grille and Los Majitos. And yes aside from McDonalds, there's also Jollibee and Greenwich.  

Dadapilan, Center for Ilokano Studies

After lunch, we went back to our lodge, the Dadapilan and bid farewell to Ate Malot for the warm welcome and hearty breakfast meal. Our accommodation fee is an affordable Php 300 including breakfast. Their area is just a few blocks away from Heritage Village and a stone throws away from Simbaan a Bassit and an internet shop :)

We left off and made our way to Partas Terminal heading to Laoag. It was an hour and a half trip and paid Php121 for the bus ticket (air conditioned). From Partas Terminal in Laoag, we quickly rode a tricycle to take us to the terminal bus going to Pagudpud. The ticket cost a cheaper Php60 but unlike Partas, the bus we rode was just ordinary and crampy. But heck, we enjoyed the 2 hour trip anyway with gorgeous views to feast on!

On the Road to Pagudpud

Our trip going from a historical tour in Vigan was such an "amazing race" experience. We moved swiftly and wasted no time dashing up and down the buses and tricycles of Vigan and Laoag, all while carrying huge backpacks full of bottles of strawberry jams we bought from Baguio! Yup, I know stressful! The whole amazing race drama made us want to get a day of full body massage.

Just after an hour on the road, I started seeing beautiful stretches of powdery sand, sparkling blue waters, and vibrant orange boats. I immediately transfered to a window seat to capture those gorgeous views. And then minutes after, we saw a line of towering Bangui windmills. The last drop off point was at a building after the municipal hall. From there we rode 2 tricycles at Php40 each (tricycles here like those in Laoag are pretty small!) and stopped by at Rlyns Homestay. Since we'll be leaving early the next day, we opted to just stay at a homestay/transcient house located right in front of Saud Public Beach. When all things are set, I immediately went straight to beach to capture the glorious sunset in Pagudpod beach. Since the beach in front of our lodging is not owned by any private resort, the entrance fee is a cheap Php10.

  view more photos at The Walking Tripod.

Vigan: A Haven of Cultural Heritage

Vigan is synonymous to history. When we think of Vigan, pictures of old Spanish houses, century old churches, of calesas, longganisas and bagnet comes to our mind. It magically walks you down memory lane.

Vigan, the only World Heritage City in the Philippines was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list of sites and monuments on December 2, 1999. It represents a unique fusion of Asian building design and construction with European colonial architecture and planning. Today, Vigan remains to be the home of proud Bigueños who welcome everyone with warm smiles to the city where traditions blend well with the present demands of the times.

From Baguio to Vigan, join me as I drive you up North and transport you to thousands of years back during the Spanish colonial period,  minus the war of course.:)

Backposts:
Hello Vigan!
Kalesa Tour: Morning Stroll at the Heritage Village
Kalesa Tour: Visiting Baluarte
Vigan's Pagburnayan: Meeting Philippine's National Folk Artist, Fidel Go
Kalesa Tour: Bantay Bell Tower and St. Augustine Church

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. 

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.