La Union, Ilocos Sur & Ilocos Norte: Driving up north to Pagudpud

Our long drive up north began yesterday afternoon. We left San Fernando, Pampanga at about 2 p.m. (it was my grandmother's birthday celebration so we had lunch there) and reached San Fernando, La Union at about 6 p.m. We passed by the Ma-cho Temple so that Jiajin could see a local Taoist temple. It was closed when we got there so we were only able to go around the grounds and enjoy the San Fernando Bay sunset from the place which was high on top of a hill.

From San Fernando, it was another long drive to Candon, Ilocos Sur where we had dinner. It is a popular stopover because of its local calamay, which are flat like pancakes and covered with a clear celophane. There are two kinds, one made with brown sugar and the other with white sugar. Another product sold there is the Ilocos chichacorn.

It took another 45 minutes or so before we finally arrived in Vigan where we decided to stay for the night. Hotels in the heritage area are quite pricey. But after walking around, we found the Vigan Hotel which offered air-conditioned rooms for PHP795 a night, breakfast for two included. The only hitch though was that it was a common bathroom (they have rooms with private bathrooms just like the other hotels but it was in the same price range of over PHP1000). But since it was a Sunday, most tourists had gone back to Manila. So it seemed we had the hotel all to ourselves.

The next day, we got up early to walk around Vigan, the best-preserved Spanish town in Asia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was my third visit here so I just accompanied Jiajin around, from the St. Paul Cathedral to Plaza Salcedo, Plaza Burgos, and Crisologo Street which is the most intact of all Vigan's streets.

There are actually better houses in the other streets such as Quirino Boulevard where you can find the Syquia Mansion and the Quema House. But unlike Crisologo Street, they cannot be pedestrianized since they are major routes. From Vigan, we drove a few meters out to Bantay to check out its bell tower.

Our next stop was the town of Magsingal. It's church, the San Guillermo Church, is a national cutlural treasure. It has a very intricately-carved gold and green retablo. Outside, you could see the ruins of an older church whose bell tower is still standing. This explains why the church belfry is a bit far from the current church since they din't bother to construct a new one. Beside the belfry is a small chapel that was converted into a branch of the National Museum. There was a blackout that day in the Ilocos area so we didn't get to see what was inside.

Batac was next on our list of stopovers so we could check out the Marcos Mausoleum among other things. But since there was no power, it was locked today. But that was not a problem since the other attraction of the town was its empanada. It turns out that the empanadahan has a new home beside the elementary school. So after finding it, it was time for another binge. I have an older post on my previous empanada binge since I just adore these crispy fritters. For today, I had a jumbo special, the one with hotdog in it, aside from longganiza and egg of course.

We then went to Paoay to check out the San Agustin Church, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. A few kilometers drive between Paoay and Laoag is Lake Paoay. There is a viewing area constructed by the Kiwanis Club which is worth stopping over.

One thing I had not seen yet were the Ilocos Norte Sand Dunes, one of the national geological monuments of the Philippines. We had already visited the Taal Volcano which is also a national geological monument.

According to the National Committee on Geological Sciences (NCGS) which makes the declarations, "Though common in desert environments in the higher latitudes, the sand dunes of Ilocos Norte stands out as a unique land form in the Philippine setting. The dunes cover an area of about 85 sq kms, and stretch for at least 40 kms. Along the coast, sparse vegetation consisting mainly of grasses and shrubs blanket the low-relief area which is believed to have been formed a few thousand years ago through the combined action of wind, waves and shore currents."

A good place to view them are in the Suba Beach area. But the marker installed by the NCGS can be found near Fort Ilocandia in Laoag City. In some places, it really feels like you are in a desert. It would have been fun if we had some off-road bikes to explore the sand dunes. Maybe next time.

We made a brief stopover in Laoag to have my car tuned-up and then we were off to Pagudpud. Since we wanted to get there before dark, we had skipped several great stopvers today and reserved them for our trip back. But we made sure to pass by the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse in Burgos, another national cultural treasure, and the viewing area for the Bangui Bay Wind Power Project.

The wind farm project in Bangui Bay, composed of 15 towers, is the first in the Philippines and the largest energy-generating set of wind turbines in Southeast Asia.

It was close to 5 p.m. when we arrived in Pagudpud. To make sure we got value for money, we stopped by the municipal hall to ask the tourism officer to recommend a place. He sent us to the Polaris Beach House which was right beside the Municipal Beach Park or White Beach.

Although the published rate was PHP1500 a room, since there were just two of us, we got the air-conditioned room just for PHP800. I was told that during the peak season, a room for two in the said resort could go as high as PHP2000. So I could imagine how much it would cost in other resorts. It was a good choice since the facilities were good and I personally liked the place relative to the amount we paid for it.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at the beach watching the sunset. It was a bit chilly for a swim but not too cold for us to avoid the water. Dinner was at the resort as well. We got a big plate of adobo good for 2 to 3 persons for PHP200. A bit pricey but what do you expect?

We're off to Baguio City tomorrow. The plan is to leave early since we'll be stopping over at some of the places we missed on the way up.

Ilocos Norte & Ilocos Sur: Empanada binge!

Yup, I had not one... not two... but seven of those empanadas which Ilocos is most famous for! For urban denizens like myself who rarely make that long trek up north, I might as well savor as much of the local flavors as my stomach could handle.

I left for Ilocos 9 p.m. last Friday together with an Arch 17 (Philippine architecture) class I was sitting-in with. Good thing the heritage conscious professors are friends of mine - Jojo Mata, Paolo Alcazaren and Nonoy Ozaeta. So to make the long story short, I got to tag along.

The schedule was quite tight. We intended to leave the night before but since most of the students had a physics lab class they couldn't miss on Friday, we had to cut the trip short by a day. Our first leg on the itinerary was a 3 a.m. stop at La Union's Oasis Resort Hotel to continue our brief sojourns in dreamland while the bus was stopped. Our tour organizer Tracy explained that sleeping while the bus was in a complete halt had a different effect. Breakfast was at the same place. So we all got up at 5 a.m. for the usual 'silog morning meal.

The first real stop was just a few kilometers away. Popularly known as the Pindangan ruins, these are remnants of the first church of San Fernando, built of coral stones in 1674. The area was actually the old center of a settlement that was to become today's San Fernando, La Union.

Upon seeing the ruins, we quipped, had these been in the City of Manila, Lito Atienza would have had it demolished under his so called "Buhayin ang MayniLA" program, maybe turned into another park & ride facility or another school building he could actually place elsewhere. For more on Atienza's infamous heritage destruction movement, you can visit the Heritage Conservation Society (HCS) blog.

The Pindangan ruins are themselves an example of heritage issues between players such as the church, state and concerned groups. The ruins are owned by a Catholic organization, as they are within the grounds of a convent. The issue here is how the local goverment could manage the ruins from a heritage conservation point of view given that the ruins are on private property, belonging to a private religious institution.

Right beside the ruins is Balay ni Atong, residence, studio and home gallery of Ilocano artist Al Valenciano. After college in Manila's De La Salle University, Al had already "started working on his desk as an auditor at the Philippine Commercial International Bank in Metro Manila’s Wall Street District, [when] his past tugged at him incessantly that to ignore it would have been impolite."

His write-up continues, "By this time his family maintained a second residence in La Union south of Laoag City and still four hours away from Manila. The La Union home is at the corner of the rice field. Adjacent to it is the ruins of a church built by the Spanish friars in the 1700s. What are left are ramparts overgrown by tall weeds, some of its sections, the favorite nesting place of expectant sparrows. The church has been a marker of many symbols. This is where Atong resolved to go back to his interest in painting."

With this done, it was back to the bus, back to sleep and back to lala-land

An hour or so away was our next destination, Sabangan Cove in Ilocos Sur, known for its abel Iloco loom-weaving industry. What greeted us at this once beautiful beach was an Atienzic local government project! Atienzic is a term which heritage advocates quip when they see projects with the Atienza penchant for destroying spectacular views and heritage sites. The sorry sight was a concrete boardwalk with numerous hideous concrete commercial huts lining the beach.

A few minutes north was a UNESCO World Heritage site. As Toti Villalon puts it, "The uniqueness of Filipino church architecture was honored by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee by inscribing four churches in the UNESCO World Heritage List as the Baroque Churches of the Philippines." And for Ilocos Sur, it is the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion in Sta. Maria. The National Historical Institute also declared the church, used as a fortress during the Philippine Revolution of 1896, a National Landmark.

According to Villalon, "Built in 1765 under the direction of the Agustinian order, the ensemble resembles a citadel sited on the crest of a solitary hill rising above one side of the Santa Maria town plaza. The architectural ensemble presents its side and detached pagoda-like bell tower rather than its façade to the town. Thick contrafuetes (buttresses) are attached to the walls, reinforcing the structure against earthquake damage. The bell tower is constructed a distance away, protecting the main church structure from possible earthquake damage. Approached on foot by ascending a long, wide flight of piedra china, steps that rising from the edge of the town plaza, the small, cramped plaza at the top of the steps is bounded by the church façade that faces the convento, enclosed by an arcaded bridge that connects both structures."

Most people don't know that the UNESCO site stretches to the other side of the hill, where the ruins of a hidden cemetery could be found. Trekking to the place was a blast from tomb raiders since we had to brave the tall weeds and foliage that covered most of the path. But we weren't disappointed with what we saw.

What disappointed us was that several large trees were cut, allegedly on orders of the vice-mayor. In front of the stripped part of the hill were a group of men with shotguns. We let the authorities in the NCCA know about it since this is a UNESCO declared site.

That was up the hill to the church, and down the hill to the cemetery. And then back up the hill and down to the bus... pant, pant, pant! We were off to another UNESCO World Heritage site, the Historic Town of Vigan.

The photos from Vigan could speak for themselves. But let me point out that this beatiful heritage city is not without faults. And McDonald's, Jollibee and Chowking are among the culprits. The ruins of a magnificent seminary were demolished to give way to these "signs" of progress. If you were to ask me, the solemnity and elegance of Plaza Salcedo should have been preserved. Now, these three fastfood chains stand side-by-side with the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Paul, the Arzopispado de Nueva Segovia, the Ilocos Sur Capitol, the City Hall of Vigan, and other important heritage structures in the vicinity. The people responsible for this desecration of heritage should be burned at the stake!

While the students enjoyed (or despised) the "amazing race" planned for them in Vigan - they had to look for a painting of the Basi Revolt in the Burgos Museum, mold a clay pot the traditional Ilocano way, have a photo taken at the Quema House, measure the perimiter of Plaza Salcedo using a one-foot wooden ruler, draw the retablo of the Vigan Cathedral and identify all the santos, and eat five Vigan empanadas and a bag of chichacorn among others... hehehe! - I went straight to the market to buy woven blankets.

Back to the bus, back to sleep, and off to Batac where we were to spend the night. Batac is said to produce the best Ilocos empanada. So after dinner, we went to downtown Batac to savor the fried delight Batac is proud of. Heaven indeed!

Time to disect the famous fritters with empanada anatomy 101... the shell is made of rice flour with orange food color to make it "attractive." The bright orange color makes it look artificial though and coupled with the oil, can turn-off any health-conscious individual. But together with a filling of grated green papaya, mongo sprouts, garlic, longganiza and an egg, this delicacy fried to a crisp is scrumptuous and irresistable! And don't forget to eat it with the vinegar-chili dip made from pure sukang Iloco.

After having two that night and taking a short walk around the plaza, I realized that there was an empanada variety unique to one of the shops. We all know about the double special - that's two servings of egg and longganiza in one empanada. But one shop had a jumbo - the usual ingredients plus crushed hotdog! So I just had to try it, which raised my empanada tally for the night to three! Simply superb!

Lot's of school work. To be continued...

For the meantime, you can visit my photos at http://photos.yahoo.com/ivanhenares