Trip to Ilocos Norte

We traveled north at around 3:00 p.m. The trip is hassle free, no traffic given its Holy Wednesday where people around the Metro go home to their provinces. When we hit NLEX, there’s a tolerable build-up on the toll gates. We had our tire pressure checked and filled up our gas as we arrived on SCTEX’s PTT gas station. We bought some snacks and had our pee time then traveled far up north. We arrived at Urdaneta at around 7:30 p.m., decided to have our dinner at Mang Inasal.

After dinner, we started the long travel from Pangasinan to Ilocos Norte. It was a 7-hour drive from Urdaneta to Pagudpud, giving us back pains. We arrived at a private beach resort in Pagudpud at 3 a.m. Together with my father, we proceed to their front desk to ask for their rates. Our budget doesn’t permit us, so we decided to go to another beach resort. As we stroll along the stretch of Pagudpud, we found a public beach resort with no entrance. The cottage is only 150php, enough to enjoy the beauty of Pagudpud beach. We enjoyed the white sand and waves, but we need to stick to our timeframe to see other itineraries on my wife’s DIY list.

The shoreline of Pagudupud beach.

With my little boy. The windmills serves as a background to the beach.

You can rent a boat for more adventure.

Fine, white sand of Pagudupud. Little boy doesn’t want to get his feet dirty.

Next stop, the famous Bangui Windmills. We arrived there at noon time (it’s an hour away from the beach by the way) forcing us to use our umbrellas and hats. The entrance is full of souvenir shops where I bought my Bangui shirt. The sight is breathtaking; the gigantic windmills makes me think that I’m just a grain of salt in this world.

Daddy it’s too windy!

Perfect for cover photo.

After Bangui windmills, we decided to go to Kapurpurawan Rock Formation as our next itinerary. It was a 20-minute drive from Bangui so no worries regarding our time frame. Like Bangui, there are many shops at the entrance. They have ample parking space, enough to accommodate several guests.

Perfect for a photo shoot.

Grilled tourists.

After hiking through the rock formation of Kapurpurawan, next destination is Cape Bojeador. It’s a lighthouse that guides ships since 1892. Parking space is not a problem, but it’s a 15-minute walk from the parking lot to the lighthouse. You can also ride a tricycle going there for just 10php per head.

After a very tiring day, we decided to check in on our hotel in Vigan. It’s a 3-hour drive, another 3 hours of dealing with our back pains. As we enter the hotel, there wasn’t much guest that time, so they have ample parking space. I went to the receptionist to pay the remaining balance of our bill. Hotel’s accommodation is 10,500php for three days, inclusive of breakfast. After that, we moved our things to our room then decided to eat dinner in Jollibee Vigan.

Such a beauty.