The summer 0f 2007 was the first time I was able to visit Ilocos Norte province. Before that, all I know about the place aside from being the home province of former President Ferdinand Marcos was that it’s about a 12-hour ride away from Manila. Together with some friends, I finally ended up in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte.
Pagudpud is a coastal town located in Ilocos Norte and one of the farthest places north of Luzon. It is the site of one of the most beautiful stretches of white sand beaches in the Philippines. It is also fast becoming a tourist haven for both local and foreign tourists alike. A few days before Holyweek I joined Kate, Roland and some new friends on a journey more than 200 miles to Pagudpud. The trip took us more than 16 hours (including stops at Vigan, Gasoline stations, Mila the dog’s pit stop and a radiator repair shop).
Along the way we passed by the scenic white windmills ( Sydney Sheldon’s “Windmills of the Gods” comes to mind) along the shores, the famous lighthouse which dates back to the Spanish colonial era, the sinking Bell Tower and lots of wonderful coastal town sceneries.
We settled into a resort called Blue Lagoon, yeah a 14 year old Brooke Shields comes to mind. The place was surrounded by hills and an eerie peace reigns over suitable for those escaping the mad jungles of Manila.
Lobsters, crabs sells for like 250.00 per kilo. Remember at SM its about 600.00/kilo. I bought 2 kilos of lobster which we ate up in like an hour the first night after I got home.
I would not mind taking another road trip to this place, I know it aint easy sitting on your butt for 10 hours, but the stopovers on interesting places along the way plus the destination itself make it all worthwhile coming back again.
We stayed at Blue Lagoon – a place where there’s a few houses that rents rooms for visitors. We took one room and the rest including me camped out in a tent for the night. The next morning I got up just in time to see the wonderful sunrise and we all had a quick breakfast and went out to swim in the beach.
