We woke up at 5 a.m. again and had a quick breakfast in order to hit the road early.  By 7 a.m., we had started the third day of our adventure, going to the northernmost tip of Luzon. Our first stop was a photo session of a beautiful church in Alcala, Cagayan. The brick structure stands out along the highway. The only drawback is the new G.I. roof which could have replaced the original tiled roof. But the facade is a splendid sight and I was told of other churches built during the Spanish Colonial era in other nearby towns. Dendo was closely studying the centuries old brick material and concluded that it was made of a sort of coral material, unlike the bricks that we use in our present day projects. We even managed to say a little prayer inside the church. We had a grand time taking pictures for posterity.

As we approach Sta. Praxedes, the sight has become spectacular with the mountains on the left and the Babuyan Channel on the right. We reached a favorite stopover of travelers, where a pretty waterfall lies just beside the road. The forest trees offer a cool shade against midday sun.  It looks like that its lunch in Laoag and it is still an hour away. But the scenery of the sea somehow made us forget our hunger and we again had a photo session again right on the famous Pagudpud Viaduct. I believe that this is the real northernmost tip of Luzon. By this time, the three must have eliminated all doubts and indecision about embarking on this kind of a journey by the breathtaking landscapes they have experienced. At this point, I declared to them that we are halfway through our journey since our direction from now on is heading towards Manila again.  After Pagudpud Viaduct, we are now traveling Southward. The roads here are superbly paved and clean. It seemed that we are the only people who were on the road at this part of the country. From hereon too, the sight of the seashore will be joining us along the way.

We reached Laoag at around 1 p.m. and I took no time in bringing them to a favorite native restaurant of mine. We had the usual local delicacies of bagnet and pakbet. After lunch, we had a short tour of the city, the capital of Ilocos Norte and then passed by the I.L. building, the third project of mine in this region. It was only Arnel who is a first timer here so the three of us acted as tour guides for him.  As artists and builders, We were amazed by the century old structures that still stand today and could only imagine how could these structures survived the elements. How we wished that our own structures would also survive for centuries.

Me, ADING & DENDO in front of Fort ILOCANDIA Hotel, Laoag

We then proceeded to Fort Ilocandia hotel partly to reminisce the old times. Dendo and I were somehow involved during the construction of this hotel made of bricks some 15 years ago., Dendo did the pre-cast mouldings and I was part of the design team. A Taiwanese firm now owns the hotel.  Dendo and I noticed that the sand dunes that we marveled during the hotel's construction are now gone and what was once the little Sahara desert we fondly called is now full of vegetation. Local films were shot here highlighting the sand dunes like the Panday of FPJ and Himala of Nora Aunor. But we still saw some of the remaining sand dunes or what is left of it, when we proceeded to the beach. There we saw the numerous resort and restaurant that were non-existent 15 years ago. The place has indeed progressed. And before leaving Laoag, we bought onions and garlic as pasalubong to our respective families.

We then proceeded to Batac, to pay homage to the most controversial Philippine president so far, Ferdinand Marcos. We viewed his so called 'preserved body' in the mausoleum and wondered if it was the real thing. Some say that what was being displayed was only a wax figure and the real body was buried beneath the wax figure. We also toured the mansion that displayed various Marcos artifacts. Batac aside from his infamous son is also rich in centennial history, as this is where Bishop Gregorio Aglipay broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and formed the Philippine Independent Church. But we missed touring the reconstructed Aglipayan Church.

The streets of VIGAN

By now we are mindset of spending the night in Baguio, to enjoy its cool weather. We continued our drive and reached Vigan late in the afternoon. We toured this rustic city and marveled at its preserved structures. The sight of cobblestone road and centuries old buildings made our centennial trip very appropriate. I could only imagine that as we celebrate the centennial freedom, this city might look almost exactly the same a hundred years ago. One must not miss the famous langonisas of Vigan and so we searched the city for this another pasalubong. I believe that this is the real northernmost tip of Luzon.  It seemed that people in this locale couldn't care less of what was happening nationwide. Or maybe it is due to the fact that Gabriela Silang made her mark in history (together with her husband Diego) centuries earlier (1762-1763). Nevertheless, the sad state of the monument shows the local authorities' neglect and indifference to our rich history.

A beautiful sunset along the La Union coastline offered us a spectacular photo session and so Ading and Arnel had beautiful photos of them with the sunset in the background. We reached San Fernando, La Union at around 8 p.m. and had by now experiencing traffic along the road. By this time, the rigors of the long drive is beginning to show as I was experiencing headaches and feeling very tired as we had dinner at the famous Oasis Hotel and Restaurant in Bauang, home of the beautiful beach resorts in La Union.

I surrendered the driving chores to Dendo and sat in the back to sleep the rest of the way. Naguilian Road follows one of the oldest trails, which has been used by our forefathers since time immemorial to enter the mountains according to my little travel book. And since the three guys have not yet ascended Baguio via Naguilian Road it was unfortunate that it was already dark for they missed another spectacular sight along the way, perhaps more beautiful than the sights of Marcos and Kennon Road. I have driven along this route to and from Baguio a number of times and somehow I have always enjoyed this route except maybe for one occasion where I threw up. Aside from the scenery, the road is well paved and the slopes very gradual. I was already fast asleep as we drove the zigzagging roads up to Baguio and only the occasional bumps of my head on the window would wake me up. I could hear Ading and Dendo talking in the front seat, probably just to keep each other awake. The only consolation of night travel to Baguio is the spectacular sight of the city lights that welcome you as you approach it and I woke up in time to view this. We reached Baguio almost midnight and I know Arnel was very excited for he had his own mission here. We checked out the previous hotels we stayed in and found out they were fully booked. No wonder, it was a weekend and so we were left with the prospect of sleeping in the Tamaraw. We then proceeded to Burnham Park and ask the park boys for advice as to where is the best place to stay for the night. But the prices of their recommendations seemed to be a rip-off and so we decided to consult our little travel book and looked elsewhere. But by accident we landed at Hotel Renica, a secluded inn along Kennon road and found the place nice and clean and so we settled in. We were really very tired from the trip as we all went straight to the beds and forego of the usual beer drinking and story telling just like we did the previous nights. I too, was too tired to plan the next day's trip since I figured there is nothing critical with our schedule for we are going home the next day. It seemed that it was only Arnel who was restless as he was trying to call somebody and failed in doing so. Day Three is now over, we are about 3/4 into our journey and most of all, still in one piece, thank God.

INTRO

DAY 1

DAY2

DAY 4

HOME