Mina's Birthday - A road trip to the Ilocos Region

A 9-month hiatus on the blog is hard to catch up to. I apologize for not posting and blogging. I'm not just busy, I am also in a rut. So please bear with me as I catch up for this year.

Last January, we went into a some kinda of a road trip to the North, minus bringing a car. We embarked on a very long journey to Vigan and Pagudpud, all in the name of Mina - the birthday girl. Haha!! The usual suspects - Doc Nathan, Jap, Keith, me and of course the birthday girl, Mina!

After a quick take out dinner from Recovery Food, care of Jap, we set out on a long 12-hour cramped bus ride from Quezon City to Vigan. A lot of people are traveling, not sure why, but yes, it was a super cramped ride and a very cold one too. 

Fast forward to Vigan very early in the morning, with the sunrise looming. It was very cold, mind you. This is what greeted us, going into our hotel, Grandpa's Inn. Pretty majestic! This is my second time in Vigan, but I have never seen it like this. We went straight into the St. Paul Metropolitan Cathedral to since we were kind of lost looking for our hotel on foot. Blessing in disguise I guess. We ended up taking a moment and saying prayers before we went ahead and find our hotel.

Calle Crisologo during sunrise.

Below are some photos of the place we stayed at. It has a vintage feel to it, from the staircase, the bedrooms and the furniture. It's because, it was an ancestral house turned into a hotel. Great place to stay, not just because of the interiors and how cozy it was, it was also s stone throw away from Cafe Uno, where we had coffee and dinner that night. This is one of the famous restaurants that Vigan has. They serve almost everything, food was actually good and also cheap. Check TripAdvisor for more tips and details.

After breakfast, and a quick change of clothes, time to explore Vigan! Vigan is a walking city it seems. You can go from point A to point B just by walking. Or maybe we chose to walk because it was breezy even if the sun was really up there shining. We went and window shopped from almost all the stores lined up at Calle Crisologo, we went to the pottery thing, the museum of the Crisologo's then we ate lunch at that famous Cafe Leona, then headed back for a much needed bath and nap. 

More walking, picture taking, and window shopping. It was so cold! That's why we are always wearing our hoodies. There were scheduled festivities when we were there, so the streets and plaza were busy and there a lot of street food to choose from- bagnet, Vigan empanada, corn, and then you order beer from Cafe Leona, solb na! But as much as we want to really stay out late, we had an early morning bus trip to catch going to Laoag to meet our van and head out to Pagudpud the same day. 

Breakfast, then pasalubong shopping, we're off to the bus termina. Marsha's bibingka, selfies and a whole lot of space at the back of the bus was all we need to not get bored.

This is my second time in the Ilocos Region. So the itinerary was not all new to me. But I am still excited to see the sights. Fast forward to the middle of the day, we reach our first destination, the Lighthouse of Cape Bojeador. Still breath taking views when you are on top. And the winds are really strong. Its scary. Bangui Windmills are so surreal when you really get close to them. Sobrang ganda!

  

Photos below pretty much sums up what happened when we touched down on Pagudpud. The sigh of relief that finally we can have a decent lunch, sleep, and swim a bit maybe. Unfortunately, the weather, apart from it being too cold, is not really cooperating. Doc Nathan needed to travel back to Manila as soon as we got to Pagudpud. So we let him and Mina spend some quality time together. Haha!

 

 

It rains every now and then, plus, strong winds to add to that already cold temperature. we only had two days in Pagudpud. The first day was spent sleeping in. So I missed the rainbow that afternoon. Anyways, food in Pagudpud is expensive, compared to Vigan and Laoag. I guess because a lot of tourists really go there. But, on our way to Pagudpud, we stopped at a mini grocery to get snacks, and booze. And what do you know! A liter of Jack Daniels, priced at Php1200. Cheap!

The next day, the sun cooperated and shone the whole day. But again, it was still very cold!!! Imagine yourself swimming on ice cold water. Yes, that is how cold it was. So, just did a lot of drinking, taking photos and sunbathing. Celebrated Mina's birthday by just chilling, having very good conversations. Simple and meaningful. Oh and by the way, we did a happy birthday video for Mina!! Hilarious!! So I will not post it here. Hahaha!

 

 

I hope Mina had a wonderful time during her birthday celebration although we were all kind of tired because of the long travel and lack of sleep. The Core Friends started the year with travel, it was a sign of good things to come for the whole year. And also, Mina and I brought our laptops since we have things that cannot be transitioned, it might just also be a sign of how our vacations are going to look like this year. Stay tuned. :)

I have a strong urge to always get out, travel and find perspective away from all the familiar.