BEACHELOR.com: Ilocos

Showing posts with label Ilocos. Show all posts

Cordillera Inn: Hotel in the Vigan Heritage Village

We stayed 2 nights and 3 days here in Cordillera Inn. They have reasonable rates, nice service and very convenient location on the corner of Liberation Boulevard and Crisologo St. See photos below and I hope it helps you plan your travel or in some ways. Thanks for your visit at Beachelor.

Standing outside Cordillera Inn

Bangui Wind Farm : Beauty and Power of Ilocos Norte

Bangui Wind Farm is about 30 minutes via tricycle drive from Pagudpud. Best time to be here is on a sunny morning or sunset. There are 20 beautiful windmills facing the South China Sea.

The coast looks good but it's not for swimming. Locals go here to await fishermen for their catch.
According to our guide, the reason why this project was launched was because of the low supply of electricity being received from Luzon Grid. He also added that Bangui Windmills started with only 15 windmills and later 5 more were added.

Manila to Laoag Bus Service by GV Florida Bus Transport

Due to an unexpected change in our flight schedule (Laoag to Manila) with CebuPacific, we had to take another transport that won't cost us a fortune. We ended up taking the 12-hour land trip through GV Bus Transport.

The Cape Bojeador Lighthouse - Ilocos Norte's Historical Icon

This is the most historical icon we visited in Ilocos Norte well in fact in the Philippines it is. The tower's structure is octagonal, made up with red bricks. Still it looks beautiful even after so many years.
Would you believe that there is still a free attraction in the Philippines?? Yep this beauty is free for tourists!

Pagudpud Beach -the long stretch in Laoag Ilocos Norte

No it does not have fire dancers at night. Pagudpud Beach, is not as touristy as Boracay but lets not conclude it that way. The beach stretches about 2 kilometers. Just the right kind of beach for people who want to be away from tall buildings, work, pollution, and it hurts me to say this... but you are not gonna get that Starbucks coffee for a while. The lodging facilities along the coast, don't seem to abrupt the real panorama of the beach.

The other half of the beach has most of the accommodations or lodging facilities.

The other half (northern part) what I can describe as immaculate seems to be the parking area for fishing boats and it is where most of the locals are residing.

I noticed that the boats are painted uniformly in blue, just like taxis. I wanted to walk starting from the south to the tip of the coast but I didn't make it because I only covered half of it in 30 minutes. I'm thinking that one person can cover the whole stretch in one hour, approximately.

Let me remind you that Pagudpud beach is facing the South China Sea. During our visit the waves were thick , I saw a sting ray about 5 meters from the shore and I was very careful with the slopes.

How to Get to Pagudpud

From Laoag City it is 2 hours away. Commuter buses depart from Laoag to Pagudpud every 30 minutes, sometimes takes up to an hour depending how fast the bus fills up. The fare was P60.

ATM or Automated Teller Machine in Pagudpud

Nope they don't have it in Pagudpud, ATMs can be accessed in Laoag City. Make sure to bring cash. Otherwise, or if you really need access to ATM you will have to go to Laoag City and take the same transport as described above.

If you are planning to the only a day trip in Pagudpud and want to stay or sleep in Laoag City you may consider Isabelle Suites or Hotel Tiffany.

Laoag City Church and the Sinking Bell Tower

This was a day before my birthday which I consider to be a lucky day. The door to the tower is locked and no longer open for public viewing. Coincidentally four men arrived, carrying sets of Christmas bulbs on their hands... they unlocked the door and saw us taking photos of the Bell Tower they smiled and invited us to get inside. They work for the city and they were in schedule for installing Christmas bulbs on the ledge of the tower.

The stairs was so narrow that you have to walk one after the other. And it was too dark fair, I felt I was inside a tunnel (only with stairs). The rooftop offers a birds eyeview of Laoag. After Bell Tower we went to St. William Church, thats about 30m away from the Bell Tower.