By Benjamin Layug
HOLY Week was just around the corner, and my son Jandy and I decided to revisit Ilocos Norte. Joining us was good friends Melissa Tinonas and her children Almira and Albert. We left Manila on Holy Monday, leaving on the 3:30 pm Partas bus. The trip took all of 11 hours and we arrived at Pamulinawen Hotel (where we were to stay two nights) in San Nicolas by 2:30 am. This three-star, 11-story hotel, along the National Highway and just a 4-kilometer drive to Laoag City, has 181 well-appointed, fully air-conditioned and spacious rooms and suites, a restaurant, swimming pool, 24-hour front desk and a spacious lobby.
After a short rest and breakfast, we were off to explore Laoag City’s historical center, which consists of the Saint William the Hermit Cathedral (built between 1650 and 1700); the nearby “sinking” bell tower; the Abolition of Tobacco Monopoly Monument (erected in 1882 as a gesture of thanksgiving to King Alfonso XII of Spain for abolishing the hated tobacco monopoly); the Marcos Hall of Justice (where the young Ferdinand Marcos was detained when accused of murder); and the neoclassical-style Provincial Capitol (started in 1918 and inaugurated in 1924).
We also visited the Taoid Museum (focuses on the ancient trade relations that Ilocanos had with the different tribes from the Cordilleras, whose culture and belief systems share many similarities) and Museo Ilocos Norte (an ethnographic museum opened in December 31, 1999, and housed in the restored former Spanish-era Camarin de Tobacco de la Tabacaler, or tobacco storage house, which was erected in 1878). The next day, we all took a jeepney for the 17-km/25-minute ride to Paoay town proper. From there, we all boarded a tricycle for the 20-minute drive to the sand dunes of Paoay, where we were to try the extreme adventure sport of dune bashing and sandboarding courtesy of Jake A. Texon, operations manager of Onse Reef Off Road & Sandboarding Adventure. Holding on tight to the roll bar of our blue Toyota 4×4 Land Cruiser, we had an adrenaline rush, as we were driven on bumpy routes and very steep 45-degree angle downward slopes, and we soon learned how to move with the vehicle, especially on high deep hills and side-winding curves. It’s literally like riding a wild horse.
After our 4×4 ride, the guides also taught us sandboarding, which is harder than surfing and a little easier than wakeboarding and skiing. All you need here is body balancing on the 10 to 15 meter stretch of sand with the board still on your feet.
On our last day, we joined a free tour of the northern part of the province, onboard an air-conditioned bus, sponsored by the provincial government. Our first stop was the Church of Saint Andrew the Apostle in Bacarra, a National Historical Landmark and a National Cultural Treasure known for its centuries-old, domeless, leaning bell tower.
From Bacarra, we next traveled 33 km (40 minutes) to the century-old (first lit on March 30, 1892) Cape Bojeador Lighthouse in Burgos, the most accessible of all the lighthouses in Luzon and the highest elevated, still original and active Spanish-era lighthouse in the country. Here, we had a good view of the rough and rocky Cape Bojeador coastline and the whitecaps of the West Philippine Sea and checked out its museum, inaugurated in November 21, 2015.
After lunch at Johnfel Restaurant in Bangui (where we already espied the gorgeous fans of its windmills), we proceeded 16 km to Pagudpud, where we were given an hour to enjoy the delightful waters of the touristy Saud White Beach, reputed to have the longest, continuous white-sand beach in the country. After the short swim and merienda, we returned to Bangui, this time to view the windmills up close. The first “Wind Farm” in the Philippines and considered to be the biggest in Southeast Asia, its site is a graceful arc reflecting the 9-km long and 100-meter wide shoreline of Bangui Bay, creates a fusion of technological and natural elegance.
Our last destination was the amazing, unique and Sphinx-like Kapurpurawan Rock Formation in Burgos, formed from sandstone naturally carved by weathering from wind, sand and water to create its surreal shape.