Part 1: locos Sur-Vigan City

 Warning: Photo heavy post.

This was my 2nd time in the beautiful province of Ilocos [and Jan's first]. The last time I was here was way back 2009 during our college tour, but still, Ilocos didnt fail to amaze me like the first time. Jan has been convincing me to go to Ilocos since November last year, but because I've been to Ilocos already, i suggested Batanes instead. And ofcourse, the commander always win! **evil laugh**. Unlike in Batanes where we opted to take a package tour from a travel agency, we decided to do our own 4 days and 3 nights DIY Itinerary to Ilocos. Our itinerary was to head straight to Vigan first, then Laoag and lastly, Pagudpud.

Laoag  Airport

From Laoag Airport, I signed up for a free shuttle bus that would take us to Partas Bus station going to Vigan. This free shuttle bus of Laoag airport takes the tourists straight from their destination around Laoag. If you are in a hurry, you may hire a tricycle to take you to the city proper for Php200.00. We were only about less than 15 passengers [2 sets of group tourists, 1 korean and us] so we chose to ride the free shuttle.

Selfie inside the Laoag Airport Free Shuttle Bus.

We rode the delux Partas bus with wide and comfortable seat. Fare is Php166.00. The ride takes about 2 hours.

We finally arrived in Vigan Partas Bus terminal at around 5:00pm. Being the segurista that I am.. We came prepared with reserved hotel accommodation and tricycle tours two weeks prior to our scheduled trip. The fastest and most convenient way to roam Vigan and its nearby town [without the time pressure riding a Kalesa] is through hiring a tricycle tour. Kuya Alex, our Vigan Tricycle guide, was already waiting for us at the bus terminal when we arrived and upon seeing his face.. I knew right away that we are in good hands.

Kuya Alex dropped us first to RF Aniceto Mansion where we stayed overnight in Vigan. The old mansion built in the 1800's kept its colonial appearance and was later converted into a hotel to accommodate tourists . The mansion is 
also conveniently located across Father Burgos Plaza and walking distance from Calle Crisologo. A plus for location!

Our room in RF Aniceto Mansion

Hallway to the hotel rooms

RF Aniceto Receiving Area

I love our room's key

We just lodged our bag and immediately started our tour before it gets dim. Kuya Alex first brought us to Bantay Bell Tower and its nearby church.

The bantay bell tower is so picture perfect.

Due to lack of time since museums and other tourist spots in Vigan have operating hours, our tricycle tour for that day ended at the Vigan Arch for photoops.

Kuya Alex then dropped us to the famed Calle Crisologo before twilight so we were able to see the beauty of the National Heritage by day turned into night in just a few minutes. It was truly a nostalgic feeling even though it wasn't my first time here.

Calle Crisologo by day

Exhausted from our long travel after a short stroll to Calle Crisologo, we decided to have our first dinner in Ilocos in one of the most famous restaurants in Vigan, The Cafe Leona.

We ordered their delicacies-- Pakbet, Bagnet and Mushroom Soup. Dinning outside the Resto was really relaxing. We're once again blessed with a perfect weather despite the tropical cyclone warning.

Iloco's Bagnet with Bagoong na Isda dip.

Iloco's Pakbet. 

After our luscious dinner.. We decided to stroll again to Calle Crisologo and bought some souvenir items. I bought some ref magnets and shirt for my nephew.

Calle Crisologo by night

At 9pm, Jan and I felt hungry again so we ate at Mcdonalds and bought beers and junkfoods at Aniceto's grocery store. Hehe. And that's how our 1st day in Ilocos ended.


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The next morning, I snoozed my phone at 6:00am for continuation of our Vigan tour. Breakfast is included in our accommodation. Jan and I both ordered Iloco's longganisa with fried egg and garlic rice.

While waiting for our order, I was really surprised to see a well at the mansion's garden restaurant. The staff said that the well existed since 1800's and to date, they still use it for watering the plants. Cool! 

After filling our tummies with free breakfast of RF Aniceto mansion, we started 

the continuation of our Vigan tour at Baluarte ni Singson.




Then the Burnayan Pottery-making.. The oldest pottery factory in Vigan since 1920 [according to one of its staff]. You can buy custom-made and beautiful pots/jars in this factory at a lesser price. 

Next, we went to The Hidden Garden Place. We decided to have a taste of Ilocos empanada and quench our thirst with their refreshing fruit shake. The garden's restaurant was surrounded by trees, plants and flowers.

Hidden Garden's Iloco's Empanada

The only thing that turned us off in this place are the Sto nino and Buddha images placed in almost every corner of the garden with "donation" boxes or asking you to throw coins before you say a prayer or wish to Sto Nino or Buddha. We just thought its inappropriate to use these images to collect money [even if the intention is good]. Why not  just place one designated donation box somewhere in the area and not in every holly images para kahit papano it would look sincere naman. Even if you use their cr, you would see a donation placard but the staff would actually require you to pay 10pesos. It just made me wonder, what's the owner real domain? A devoted Catholic or Buddhist?

Anyway...

We then proceeded to our next stop which is the preserved family ancestral home of Crisologo turned into museum.History is one of my favorite subjects that is why visiting to museums is something I truly enjoy. By a mere donation, a guide toured us around the mansion relaying important information about Crisologo family and their political history.

Mr. Crisologo's Office. 

Ha? 

The vehicle used by Carmeling Crisologo that was ambushed but survived on May 10, 1961 was also displayed at the museum.

And our last stop for our Vigan tour is the Syquia Mansion or the old mansion of the former President Elpidio Quirino and his wife, Alicia Syquia . Just by looking at their house, you would know that they belong to a wealthy and prominent family. This mansion was given to Pres Quirino and his wife as a wedding present (or dowry) by his in laws.

Spoliarium Replica

Painting of Elpidio Qurino's daughter for her debut.

Our vigan tour ended at around 11am. We went back to our hotel to have a quick rest and pack our bags. After we checked out, we had our lunch at Jollibee. [Fast food again!] Kuya Alex took us to the bus terminal going back to Laoag and bid our goodbyes to him. If you're looking for a tricycle guide in Vigan I highly recommend Kuya Alex. He's informative, honest and respectful. His tricycle Vigan tour costs Php600.00. You may contact him at this number 09357724212.

Click here for the Part 2 of our Ilocos adventure in Laoag.

Rica ♡

Hello Baler ❤

While browsing my old pictures, I decided to post my photo of our last year's summer outing in Baler to my instagram-- thus, made me inspired to blog our awesome experience in Baler, Aurora Quezon. To tell you honestly, Im the least adventurous person and I specifically not a fond of any kind of water sports. But I love being in the beach. When I thiNk about beach, I remember my childhood summer vacation in Bicol. The sounds of the waves and just by simply walking barefooted at the sandy shore relaxes my senses. But then again since I knew that surfing wasn't really my thing, I searched online on the other things to do in Baler and I was happy to discover that there were a lot of tourist attractions to visit aside from its famed Sabang Surf beach. 

We left Paranaque at exactly 3am and drove our way to Baler for nearly 8hrs.. We stayed in Jullia's Place.. a cozy transient house conveniently located near Sabang beach and I could say we had a pleasant stay there. The owner is very hands on to his business and made sure to accommodate all of our requests. I also want to mention the clean and fresh smelling linens and matress. I think Jan paid almost Php5,000 including 2 extra beds and pillows for an overnight stay. We're a group of 10 by the way. So technically, the cost per person for an overnight stay is Php500.00 and we have the entire house just for ourselves. Too bad I don't have a descent photo of Jullias place so I took some photos from their FB account. 

Photo courtesy of Jullia's Place FB page.

We just lodge our bag and immediately looked for a place to eat. And because its peak season, almost all restaurants and hotels were jampacked with tourists. As we drive along the area, we spotted this typical calinderia made of bamboos and nipa hut with only quite a few people dining & so we all agreed to have our lunch there.. I think we ate in this calinderia twice. They serve deliciously cooked Filipino dishes in a really affordable price. I think menu ranges from Php40-50.00 per dish order with rice and free soup.

After lunch we decided to stop by to Baler Museum and Manuel L. Quezon House.

A creepy preserved Philippine Eagle.

Then we also checked the sabang  beach before we get back to the transient house to rest after our sleepless and tiring travel. At first glance, Sabang Surf Beach was just okay.. Not so enticing beach to swim at but once you experience the strong waves.. You would know why people are keep on coming back. The beach is also safe for first time surfer and for someone like me who doesn't even know how to swim because after the strong and big waves hit you, you would still find your feet grounded in the sand.

As soon as we had Our energy back, we finally hit the beach. There were a lot of surf board rentals and instructors along the beach that you can hire. Jan decided to avail 3 instructors for me, his younger brother Carlo and 12 yrs old younger sister Yna.. They gave us some guidelines and a short info about surfing.. While practicing how to stand on the board at the beach sand.. I could not even lift myself. I felt heavy and unhealthy. It was just so frustrating. Huhuhu

And so while all of them were having the best time of their lives enjoying the big waves, I was just under the bridge, hiding from the scorching sun and became their official photographer. Hehehe. It was fun though seeing their face reactions as they fall from the board. Hehe.

In her second try, Yna was able to surf like a pro and made her way until the shoreline. Bravo! She convinced me to atleast try and since I was there already.. Sige na nga. Ang KJ ko naman. On my 1st attempt, I got wounded by preventing my board to hit the girl in front of me and swallowed a lot of salty water.. Did I try once more? The answer is ofcourse NO. Not again. Trauma agad. The least I could do was to lie at the board and paddle using my hands. But I did enjoy the adrenaline rush of waiting for the strong waves to hit my body.. Its like a relaxing massage at my back by the nature.

The next morning, we woke up early so we could surf again before we get back to manila. Assual, the poor me seated under the bridge again while all of them were busy having a perfect surf pose using ate Ann's go pro that Jan almost lost after he accidentally shoved the camera off from the board. Good thing my instructor was able to find it.

A few hours of surfing and we're back to the transient to pack our bags. We didn't take shower as we  headed straight to the Mother falls. It took us around 30mins trek before we finally reached Mother falls. Along the way, you would pass by 2-3 baby falls before mother falls, thus its name derived. By that time, most of our phones were already lowbat.

Soaking in the cold and refreshing water of Mother Falls after a tiring trek to stiff and slippery rocks was just so worth it. Mother falls is probably one of the most beautiful falls I have ever seen so far.. For me, this was the highlight of our trip.

We just changed clothes at the public cr and stopped by to the historical church of Baler. I prayed to God for this happy trip and the opportunity for us to travel together. I also asked for guidance to keep us safe for another 8 hrs travel back to Manila.

So there.. Our short but sweet trip to Baler. We all went home sunbaked from the scorching sun of late April. As i look at our pictures, i suddenly had an urge to try surfing again.. Hopefully by then i would have a picture of me really surfing and not just holding a surf board just for the sake of picture. Hehe. 

Meanwhile, here's our Baler Video made by Carlo and Leon, obviously they're a huge fan of Franco:)

Rica ♡

Puerto Galera ❤

It's Saturday once more which means a free time to blog and read some good books! Yey! My simple joys! While deleting more than a hundred draft messages in my gmail (I usually write my blog post in my email first then transfer to my blogspot after) I saw this draft message written over a year ago about our 1st anniversary celebration in Puerto Galera [that I was not able (and forgotten) to post in my blog due to my malfunctioned laptop]. And even though its a long over due post already, I thought I'd share it in my blog anyway.

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We arrived in Puerto Galera around 12pm just in time for lunch. Jan's friend was already waiting for us at the boat's dock. He was too hospitable and accommodating that he had our hotel reserved and lunch ready for us. After our sumptuous lunch,we rented a jeep to our way to Ponderosa Golf Club.

Ponderosa Gold club nestled at the top of the mountain overlooking the beautiful bay of Puerto Galera. To reach Ponderosa you can either take a one and a half hour hike [According to the jeepney driver] or 20 minutes shuttle service or rent a jeep from the resort like we did. It was very windy and breezing when we went there and the view is just so breathtaking!

Aside from golf, tourist can also enjoy a thrilling 610meters zipline in Ponderosa Golf Club. While exploring Ponderosa we had an opportunity to conversate with Donya Bea Zobel Ayala. She was very nice and low profile.

We stayed at White Lodge Beach Resort and because its lean season, our room was upgraded to a family room with 2 queen size bed. =D What I like most in this resort is their restaurant. There was nothing special in their resto as you look at it, the interior is like a typical calenderia but boy, all foods served to us were absolutely delicious and mouthwatering- most specially the chicken inasal, sinigang na miso, vegetable curry, pancit bihon, inihaw na liempo etc. And one thing I enjoyed most from their resto is their homemade salabat. I swear I never enjoyed drinking salabat until I got to taste theirs. I think they added some honey & calamansi juice to it that makes it more delicious. Too bad we forgot to take pictures. hehehe

By night, together with 2 more friends of Jan we've watched comedy shows and fire dancing.

We werent able to swim at the beach on our 1st day since our schedule was jampacked. so there.. here are some of our selfies in the beach on our 2nd day.

One of the best things in life is to drink a refreshing mango shake in the beach as you watch the golden sunset. Agree?

We were also able to stopped by to Tamaraw falls on our way to Calapan to visit Jan's mom in her office before going back to Manila.

 To give you a little trivia, Tamaraw falls derived its name from buffalo which can only be found in Oriental Mindoro. It is said that many years ago, there were a lot of tamaraws hanging in this falls to drink fresh water.

From Calapan, we rode a fast cat going back to Manila.

We sure had a great time. Indeed, one of the best things in life is to travel with your loved ones. Happy anniversary honey!

Rica ♡

Travel Guide: Batanes ❤

Its nice to know that since I posted pictures of our Batanes trip in FB and IG, i have been asked by many of my dear friends, officemates [even my boss] and relatives about Batanes. Common questions are: how much did our trip cost, where did we stay, how much is our airfare, how to get around in Batanes?  etc etc. And so I figured to write batanes travel guide and share with you our own personal experiences [that might help anyone out there) who are planning their next adventure in Batanes. With its lush green rolling hills, beautiful beaches, stoned houses and Ivatan's rich-culture, who wouldn't be convinced to go to Batanes? Although going there can be quite costly (some people would say that they'd rather spend airfare cost in Batanes traveling to Hongkong or Singapore and other Asian countries instead)  but believe me.. If you see Batanes with your very own eyes,  Every single penny would be really worth it. Hashtag choose Philippines! Wahehehe~

How to get there:

As of the moment, PAL and Skyjet are the only airline companies who have regular flights to Basco.Below are the flight schedule of PAL for your reference:

Manila-Basco

PR 2084 06:00am-07:45am (Daily)

PR 2086 07:30-9:15am (Daily)

Basco-Manila

PR2085 08:10am-9:50am (daily)

PR2086 09:40-11:20am (daily)

Please note that flight schedules  may change without prior notice.

From Basco Airport, Hotel/Inns in Basco usually offers free van shuttle/transfer to and from airport. You may also take a tricycle for alternative .

Where to stay?

Accommodations in Batanes are limited as the local govt restricted the infrastructure of buildings in Batanes to preserve its beauty [unlike what they did in Boracay]. Due to the high demand of tourism in Batanes, the Ivatans have found their way to earn a living by offering their humble homes to accommodate tourists-- so one can definitely enjoy the warm hospitality of the Ivatan people by staying in their homes.  We stayed in Marfel's lodge (Annex) during our whole stay and paid Php700 for 2pax per night (for a fan room) and we could say we had a pleasant stay there and even gained more new friends with our housemates. The lodge has every basic things you need for a comfortable stay in Batanes.

Below are the list of Hotel/Inns in Basco:

Marfel's Lode - Rate starts at Php350.00/ night (for a fan room) . Marfel's has 3 branches: Main branch (located near the airport), Annex and Extension

Nanay Cita Homestay- Rate is Php350.00/ night (for a fan room). Located behind Marfel's Lodge Annex

Troy Lodge Homestay- Rate is Php926 - Php1,147.00 (according to google)

ShaneDel's Inn- According to our group joiner, rate is Php2,000/night

Amboy Hometel-  Rate starts at Php2,200.00/ night

Fundacion Pacita- Rate start as Php5,000.00/night

Where/What to eat?

Since our lunches were included in our package tour, Jan and I cook for breakfast ..  then for dinner we made sure to dine in famous restaurant in Basco to have a taste of Ivatan's delicacies. For our 3 nights in Batanes, we've tried dinning in Octagon Restaurant (twice) and Shanedel's Restaurant. Some suggest Pension Ivatan Restaurant .

Must try:

-Seaweed soup, Coconut crab, Venes, Ivatan rice (turmeric rice), Ivatan Pork Lonyes, Pako Salad and Tubho tea. Dont also miss the chance to try their root crops such as Camote(sweet potato) because we all agreed [with our tour joiners] that Camote in batanes taste better than what we have in Manila.

What to wear?

We went to Batanes during the winter month (January) If you're planning to go to Batanes from November-February like we did.. Pack clothes that would keep you warm & comfortable during your whole trip such as Jackets, scarf, sleeves, socks and etc. I also highly suggest that you wear a sturdy pair of sandals for trekking on slippery hills.

What to bring?
-Lots of cash. There are only 2 ATM machines available in Basco--PNB and Allied Bank. Majority of establishments and restaurants only accept cash.
-Sunblock, waterproof bags for your gadgets (esp if u're going to Sabtang Island)

-You're own tumbler (for water refill) so you wont feel dehydrated exploring the destination.

How to get around in Batanes?

Its not a smart idea to do a DIY tour in Batanes.. To best experience your Batanes adventure I highly suggest that you avail a tour package. The cost if you do DIY tour and getting a package tour is just almost the same cost if you compute less the hassle and bargaining with tricycle drivers to tour you around [lesson learned from our other housemate]. If you will avail a 4days 3nights group tour with Bisumi Travel (North & South Batan and Sabtang Island), they will quote you Php5,200.00 per person  (Rate as of Jan 2015).

How much did our trip cost?

Our trip was not bongga nor thrift vacation. Jan and I hate thrift travels as we believe that we are in vacation for pleasure and enjoyment. We could compromise with our accommodation since we're out most of the time exploring the destination pero sa food is a big No-No for us. We usually dine out to experience the destination's delicacies. I think what only  makes Batanes Trip expensive is the airfare.  We're lucky our airfare was free as part of our employee benefit working for an airline company. Just keep an eye out for seat sale promos so it wont cause you a fortune for an expensive airfare to Batanes that usually ranges to Php12,000-15,000.00 or even higher . One of our housemates in Marfel's said that she was able to get Php2,000.00 roundtrip airfare through seat sale promos. Just be patient. :)

All in all, we spent more or less Php15,000 including Tour Package for two, Accomodation in Marfel's, dine outs and Pasalubong shopping. Airfare is not included.



Hope these help! :)



Rica ♡