Ilocos Norte

When I designed the trip, there was an extra day built in – I figured we would figure it out once we got up north. What I really wanted to do was go whitewater rafting – there’s a place in Kalinga province that offers it, but Kalinga province is in a safety-and-security forbidden zone. I’ll jump ahead to say that when I got to Sagada, I met some Americans (an RPCV who is starting a business and a West Virginian who is here for a couple of weeks to train guides) starting a whitewater rafting business there. I could have gone had a group of at least five wanted to go – but out of 40 PCVs/others there for Thanksgiving, only an Australian and I had the desire, money and time flexibility to do it. It’s just as well – it would have meant skipping the rice terrace hike, which I think was my favorite day and place of all – but I remember how much I loved it in Bali and I may think about going (in Sagada? In a forbidden zone? Near Boracay?) after I COS but before I leave.

I thought Vigan might warrant an extra day, but we covered it in one. There are a couple of other UNESCO World Heritage Earthquake-Baroque Churches nearby, but the one in Intramuros covered it. I looked at Lonely Planet to figure out options and decided that what I most wanted to do was go to Pagudpud, “the Boracay of the North.” Bill had already been there, but he was willing to go along.

We took the bus to Laoag, Ferdinand Marcos’s birthplace (his embalmed body is displayed nearby, but we ran out of day – which may also be just as well!) and from there a driver offered to take us around the province of Ilocos Norte. First we went to a lighthouse – the Princeton alum I had met in Makati had told me to go there. Then we went to a wind farm on the northern coast of Luzon – the sight of all of these windmills along the beach was quite impressive (as they are in California and Iowa, where I have also seen them). Further on was Pagudpud – a beautiful white-sand beach, not at all crowded. It was raining then but we took a little walk and had lunch (our other option was not hiring the driver and just taking the bus and spending the day at the beach – again, probably just as well if it rained all day, but it was still nice there). Then, back down south, we went to the Malacanang of the North, a Marcos palace. The exterior and the rooms were beautiful, but the furniture was somewhat worn (it could have come from a ‘70s American basement – I didn’t even take a picture) – you can’t photograph Malacanang in Manila (at least I couldn’t from the Pasig River boat ride) so this (and the
Imelda home in Tacloban) will have to do! It looks kind of like both of those, but is white.

Back in Vigan, we had some pizza and took a walk in the town center; there was a concert and there were a lot of people milling about. The park was decorated with colorful lanterns. Near the town hall was a holiday tree decorated with products of the region – tobacco leaves and wine bottles (nothing says Merry Christmas like alcohol and tobacco!). There was a relief map of the Philippines showing the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and a collection of sculptures of famous landmarks – Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, Statue of Liberty, Great Wall, etc. – Bill said he recognized them all except the one in the middle, and I told him that it was a representative Spanish colonial home of Vigan. Oh well, I give them credit for trying.