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Ilocandia: Ilocos and Vigan Tour

August 15, 2006

Another long weekend is coming up. I’m hoping that the stormy weather would die down a bit so you can enjoy it with a trip up north. As for me, I’ll be busy this entire week for my project in school. So I’m just gonna share with you an itinerary that you can use for this long weekend. What do you say? Interested? I’m talking about August 21, Ninoy Aquino’s death anniversary which is officially declared a non-working holiday. And since the 21st falls on a Monday, “hurrah!” for us hardworking folks.

Here’s an itinerary that you can use:
At around 1:20am of Saturday, start heading up north. Count around 6 hours and you would’ve reached La Union by then. Nope, no surfing this time but you can drop by Patio del Sol, a scenic restaurant /resort with a view of the sea. They also offer cozy rooms made of native materials at very affordable rates. You can ask the owner himself, known as Mr. Bert, and he will be the most accommodating and candid host you’ll ever meet. He might even have a few stories to tell on how he started and what his future plans are.  Just enjoy your moment with him.


After an hour, you’re ready to head further up north.  You will be passing by several scenic views so just have your cameras handy.

 

           

 

Come noon, you should be in Vigan already.  Have lunch at one of their restaurants along the cobblestone path. Try their Vigan specialty like pinakbet, bagnet, empanada, longganisa, and other Iloco delicacies. Once your tummies are filled, you can join a Vigan Heritage tour. The ancient Kalesa will be your mode of transportation  and the kutsero will tour you to the following places:

 

Crisologo and Burgos Museums, Bantay Bell Tower, Pottery Factory,  Hidden Garden, and  Singson’s Mini Zoo. You will be pretty exhausted after this tour so a dose of shopping along the cobblestone streets might uplift you a bit. They sell very cheap native ornaments, clothing and artifacts. So you can do away with bargaining if you’re not that fond of making “tawad”. All this, you can accomplish the whole afternoon. Around 4pm, you can start heading to Laoag if you still have the energy. Anyway, it’s just 2 more hours of driving.  If not, you can ask around for some cheap inns where you can stay for the  night. This way, you can explore the other restaurants and shopping centers in the area.

 


       inside the musem                  Bantay Bell Tower                  Pottery-Making

 

   Pottery Factory                                      Hidden Garden

 The next day …

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