Second day in Ilocos! You can read about our first day here. And as I've mentioned in my previous post, I booked the tours thru our hotel. A tour guide was with us for this day and the next day. It was a jam packed day for us. Ganun talaga if you book tours, maybe next time we can DIY our tour na din. The problem with traveling with kids, schedules aren't always followed. Haha! I knew I have to be the one wake them up, feed them, change their clothes and fix our things for the day. So, I woke up extra early so I can eat breakfast peacefully at Cafe Bonita. Ha!
For the kids' food, I usually asked the staff of Cafe Bonita to serve it a take away box because my kids eat really slow. So they usually eat in the car, I also bring cereals and milk on our every trip because my kids are really picky and I want to make sure they have a full stomach in the morning.
We went on a Pagudpud Tour on the second day, it was a jampacked day! Pagudpud is about 2 hours away from Laoag. It's a challenge to keep my kids entertained especially on a moving car. We didn't bring any iPad on this trip but I gave Y my Vivitar lomo camera to use. That kept her entertained but as for R, his toys weren't enough to entertain him. Mommies, do you have tips?
Our first top was the Patapat Viaduct. This has got to be one of the most photographed places in Ilocos Norte!
Our first top was the Patapat Viaduct. This has got to be one of the most photographed places in Ilocos Norte!
From Wikipedia: The bridge is elevated 31 meters over sea level. It is a concrete coastal bridge 1.3 km long and connects the Maharlika Highway from Ilocos Region to Cagayan Valley. The viaduct was constructed by Hanil Development Co. Ltd. under the overall management of DPWH-PMO-PJHK and was completed and opened to traffic in October 1986. It rises along the town's coastal mountains, which is the starting point of the Cordillera Mountain Range that snakes through Northern Luzon. It is the 4th longest bridge in the Philippines.
We just had to have a photo taken in the middle of (an empty) Patapat Viaduct! Thank you again Kuya Darius!
Our next stop was Blue Lagoon in Pagudpud Beach. It was far from the Pagudpud I saw the first time 7 years ago, it's so crowded now with different resorts and activities. I don't know if it's just me getting older (or the introvert in me) but I prefer less crowded places and traveling on off peak season. Seeing the crowd, our tour guide suggested to go to another resort on the other side of Pagudpud na lang but first suggested we try the zipline in Hannah's Beach Resort. Of course I said yes! Andun na din kami so why not?! Make memories with the kids, right? Haha! This has been one the most eventful trips we've had, a lot of firsts for us as a family too!
We went to Hannah's to pay for the activity, I think it was Php900 per person plus a kid rate of Php350 per kid (ages 2-6 years old). They have a different rate if you want to do the "superman". You can check the rates here. We geared up then rode their L300 van up to the zipline's starting point while our van waited for us at the resort. Hannah's Zipline is reported to be the longest zipline over water in the world! It's 1.2 kilometers long! This mommas was excited to ride the zipline!
This is the view from the starting deck of the zipline. It was quite high and I was worried my kids would change their mind but fortunately they didn't haha! Expect the unexpected na lang sila. LOL!
Y rode with her papa while R rode with me. Thrilling experience! Y almost cried again, BOS had to distract her when it was their turn. They sell souvenir photos and we bought them too! Must remember to put them on a photo album or frame them!
On our way out, we made a pitsop at Bantay Abot Cave. Bantay Abot means "a mountain with a hole", the hole was a result from an earthquake in the 80's. Going to the cave is a bit tricky especially with kids, make sure they're wearing shoes and hold them as it is rocky. We went down from the main road to get to the cave, there are little girls there that will serve as your guide. Our guide was Rosalyn, a 9-year old girl who also offered to take our photos. She knew how to work my camera better than me! Haha! I gave her P100 tip after the tour.
So pretty!
Extra careful when going up, it's rocky and a bit steep.
Pa-effect ni Ate Rosalyn! Haha! So nice, parang Meteor Garden lang. Heehee! To get this photo, we had to climb that big stone/rock. Again, I have to emphasize, you need to be extra careful especially with little kids and your cellphone too!
This is the view from where we were standing on the above photo.
And this was view on our right. We were literally beside a cliff.
Thank you again Rosalyn for taking our photos and taking good care of my camera! :)
Thank you again Rosalyn for taking our photos and taking good care of my camera! :)
After Bantay Abot Cave was lunch at Saud Beach. Our tour guide took us to Evangeline's Beach Resort. It was not as crowded which I liked and the kids had the beach all to themselves. We had lunch at Emohruo Beach Restobar. We had seafood and chicken for the kids. Food was just okay, maybe that's why I almost forgot the name of the resort. Haha! Buti na lang andyan si BOS, he has a better memory than me. Haha! Are you like that too?
The view was great though! Kids played in the sand and we swam for a bit after lunch. It was so hot that day but I was also grateful for the good weather too.
Our next stop was a spontaneous one, our tour guide is a trail runner and she had a run at Caunayan and remembered the awesome view so she took us there. We climb up a small hill and WOW, the view was spectacular! It is a perfect spot for watching the sunset! It is overlooking the West Philippine Sea. You have to be there and see it for yourself! I was in awe of how beautiful Ilocos and mother nature is. I just had to stand there and take it all in, no photo or video will ever do justice on how beautiful our country is. I said this and will say again, this is one of the most memorable trips we had!
You can see the windmills from here!
There are 20 turbines at the 9-kilometer shoreline of Bangui Bay, facing the West Philippine Sea. Big magnificent turbines, each capable of producing electricity up to a maximum capacity of 1.65 MW, for a total of 24.75 MW (from Wikipedia).
Because we were too tired to walk and it was so hot, we opted to ride a horse. It's Php100/person. Riding the horse and walking have different routes. From what the kuyas told us, if you opted to walk the trail, it will lead you to the "original" rock formation spot but it's already off limits, there's a viewing deck and you can take photos. When you ride the horse, they take you on a different trail and they will take you to the other side of the rock formation and you can still go up and take photos at the rock formation.
Next stop: Bangui Windmills! By the time we arrived at Bangui, the kids were sleeping already. Too bad, I wanted them to see the turbines up close pa naman. They still did naman at Kapurparawan but it's nice to see the turbines in one line facing the sea. We took photos, bought some souvenirs then went to another next destination!
Our second to the last destination was the Kapurparawan Rock Formation. I wanted to see the rock formation 7 years ago when BOS and I went on a Ilocos trip but it wasn't a popular tourist destination yet so it wasn't in our itinerary. This time, I made sure it was on our itinerary. There's a minimal fee (environmental fee) of Php15 per person (rate may change!).
Because we were too tired to walk and it was so hot, we opted to ride a horse. It's Php100/person. Riding the horse and walking have different routes. From what the kuyas told us, if you opted to walk the trail, it will lead you to the "original" rock formation spot but it's already off limits, there's a viewing deck and you can take photos. When you ride the horse, they take you on a different trail and they will take you to the other side of the rock formation and you can still go up and take photos at the rock formation.
Kids woke up when we arrived at Kapurparawan!
Kapurparawan means "white" in Ilocano. Kapurparawan Rock Formation is a natural (limestone) rock formation caused by years of natural forces like the weather and ocean waves crashing through rocky coast of Burgos, Ilocos Norte. Fascinating!
Every time we travel, I silently wish my kids would remember where we take them just like this place. But if not, I have photos and this blog to show them.
Our last stop for the day was the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse also known as the Burgos Lighthouse. This was my third time to visit the lighthouse and a lot has changed. Cars can no longer go up the road leading up to the lighthouse and you can no longer go up to the top of the lighthouse. This was the second lighthouse the kids got to visit, the first one was at Corregidor earlier this year.
Cape Bojeador is not tallest lighthouse in the country BUT it is the highest elevated still original and active Spanish era lighthouse in the country. It was first lit in March 30, 1892. Cape Bojeador Lighthouse was declared a National Historical Landmark on August 13, 2004 and a National Cultural Treasure on June 20, 2005 by the Philippine Government. (From Wikipedia)
Since we're not allowed to go up the lighthouse anymore, we just stayed below and took photos and admire the view.
We had a long second day and I was looking forward to our dinner at Saté, an Indonesian restaurant in Laoag. I don't have nice photos of the place nor the food because my camera had no battery anymore. Sad. Anyways, Saté serves authentic Indonesian food because the owner and chef is Indonesian Chef Robby Satiawan, a former executive chef in a luxury hotel in Macau. He met his wife in Qatar where he also worked as a chef. We got to chat with him and he was very accommodating! Everything was cooked by him! Ito nanaman ako sa memory gap, I forgot what we ordered but everything was yummy! We had Nasi Goreng, a beef dish which was so good, and the noodles (Mie Goreng) for the kids.
For dessert, we had the Indonesian Halo-halo!
After dinner, we went back to the hotel, washed up and slept early again because it's another long day again the day after. It was a very jampacked day, there were places we wanted to see that was not in our itinerary but since we were running out of time and sunlight, we skipped them na. More reason to come back to Ilocos. We also saw one of the best sunsets! Sayang lang we weren't able to stop because we were on our way home to the hotel already. But really, it's different when you watch the sunset by the beach and sunset by a cliff. The sun was so big and red. It was a gorgeous sunset!
Our next tour: Vigan!
For more information of the places we went:
