I kinda missed the fun of packing light, catching early morning flights, meeting the cottony clouds above, and all the ecstatics there in travels. Well, it has been a couple of years since my last out-of-town trip. In 2019, before the existence of the Coronavirus, I had Camiguin where a snippet was already inscribed here in Hive. And moving backward in 2018, I had Ilocos, which I traveled from North to South or Norte to Sur, where I would be taking you today as I stroll down memory lane.
I had been to Ilocos twice. My first was in 2015, and the second was three years after. I would say Ilocos was the most memorable one among the places I'd been to as it was the first place I had visited in my first-time airplane experience. Yes, it was 2015, 3 years after college, and exactly the same number of hard years in the corporate world, that I had first tried riding a plane. Also, in 2018 on my second visit to Ilocos, I was not a joiner, unlike most of my travels. I and the whole gang slash friends had the entire van exclusive.
* * *
It was early August in 2018 when I and my friends explored Ilocos, both Norte and Sur for 3 days and 2 nights. We availed of the Ilocos tour package from Triple 8 several months ahead, and then personally booked our airline tickets the following month. While I agree that a DIY or Do-It-Yourself trip is a lot more fun, but if you want less hassle, and save more effort and time, having your itinerary arranged by a travel agency is more appreciatable.
We left Cebu at 8:00 in the evening on Thursday and arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport at around 9:00 pm. We headed then to Mall of Asia, our pickup point to Ilocos, then left at 10:00 pm.
Day 1
From the Mall of Asia, it took us roughly 7 hours to arrive at our very first stop in Ilocos Sur. Yes, we really had quite a long road travel, that we were like spending our whole night in the van, from 10:00 in the evening to 5:00 in the morning the next day. So better be ready with your night kinds of stuff like a pillow, jacket, or blanket that you would need to sleep. No worries about where to pee or something, as your transport driver slash tour guide would stop over gasoline stations and convenience stores where you could use the comfort rooms.
Calle Crisologo in Vigan City was our first stop. It was actually one of my most favorites in Ilocos Sur. I found the place really romantically beautiful. More that we arrived there early morning, the sun hadn't risen yet totally, so the street was a bit dim. It was just lit with the lights from the lamp posts that shed golden yellow sparks on streets. Calle Crisologo was very peaceful and calm. And with its cobblestone streets and ancestral homes, it gave a unique atmosphere that was taking everyone around back in time. Also, there were "Kalesa" that could roam you around the place just if in case you don't like walking. Of course, you have to pay for the service of the horse.😁
After the time in Calle Crisologo, we headed directly to Hidden Garden, still in Vigan city, and had our first meal in the entire Ilocos trip.
Hidden Garden is not really hidden at all. It is just away from the center of the city, and maybe that's the reason why it was called the Hidden Garden. It's like a backyard restaurant that's filled with tropical plants, blossoms, Bonsai, and some more of the kind.
We didn't spend more time in the garden as we hadn't had taken a bath yet for the day, and we were badly wanting to take a shower and freshen up right then.
Next on our itinerary after the breakfast was the city tour, which included more of the churches' visits, before heading to our hotel accommodation. We had visited Crisologo Museum, Burnayan, Bantay church, and some more churches. However, we didn't spend much time in each place, as we really had not rested well the other day. We even had not taken even a few pictures of these places. Maybe some other time soon. Ilocos is such a lovely place to visit, so this is worth my 3rd time the soonest.
DAY 2
This was the most adventurous day in this entire Ilocos trip. We left the hotel as early as 7:30 in the morning and had Baluarte as our first stop for the day. Baluarte is a hundred-hectare mini zoo which is owned by the former Ilocos Governor Luis “Chavit” Singson.
It was my very first time seeing wild animals closely, like 2 to 3 meters apart. I had seen Tigers, Lions, Zebras, Camel, Deer, Donkey, Reptiles, and other kinds of animals, even those which are endemic to the Philippines.
I was even more amazed by the Safari Gallery inside the zoo. It was my 2nd time in Baluarte, but it was just my first time visiting the gallery. It featured a wide display of preserved wildlife that were said to be Singson's memento of his hunting activities in foreign countries.
Adding to the thrill in our day 2 was our Sand dunes adventure. After enjoying the experience with the animals in Baluarte, we had the 4x4 craziest ride ever. We rented two 4x4 which each cost Php 1500.00. Each could cater to a maximum of 5 passengers. So, we paid Php 500.00 per head.
I would say this was the highlight of our day 2. It was really fun to experience in group, as you have some people to join you in screaming your lungs out on the thrilling drops on steep sand ridges.
Aside from the 4X4 ride, in the middle of this desert-like area, there was also a wide space allocated for sandboarding. Of course, with the gang, I tried it too. We were like kids playing with sand. It was really a fun adventure and experience that was very worth the long road travel.
We spent more or less 3 hours in Sand dunes including everything - the ride and the picture taking. We ended our 4 X 4 adventure with of course a group photo that says it all!
Let me just end here for the part 1. Thank you so much for time. See you in the next one!
* More of my Ilocos travel will be contained in the part 2 of this blog. Stay tuned!
'Til then!
Congratulations, your post has been added to Pinmapple! 🎉🥳🍍
Did you know you have your own profile map?
And every post has their own map too!
Want to have your post on the map too?
Thank you!
I've been wanting to visit Ilocos, I was so jealous of my best friend who was able to visit there last 2015. There's something I want to experience and I love the idea of walking around and riding kalesa 😁😊
You should try Ilocos too. It's really worth a vist jud. Been there twice, now im planning to come back soon.
Yay!! So happy for you. 😊😇
I will try my best to visit Ilocos. 😊
Yayy. Cheersss to more laags soon!
Hahahah yes but of course amping amoing ta. 😉😊
Kaya nga. Ingat ingat din tayo..
Hehehe very true
Wow nice po
Thank you po!
Congratulations @jenesa! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s):
Your next target is to reach 29000 upvotes.
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPTo support your work, I also upvoted your post!
Check out the last post from @hivebuzz: