Taking a Road Trip to the Northernmost Tip OLA

Pagudpud Beach in the northernmost tip of Luzon, the largest island in the archipelago

I am sipping a cocoa drink before breakfast at the open deck of the beach resort looking out to the South China Sea, our lovely cottage sitting next to an inviting pool. Bill and my daughter April, co-drivers on the exciting road trip to the Philippine North, are still trying to get renewed from yesterday's ordeal. We arrived at Bauang, La Union at 10 PM the night before.  We had traveled about 830 km witht 290 to go to our base in Makati, Philippines. This has been a trip not only of amazing churches but also of tropical beaches!

penitents preparing to carry their crosses

We left in the wee hours of the morning of Holy Thursday, 2011 to avoid the morning surge of Catholic Philippines getting out of the city for annual pilgrimages cum getaways. The North Luzon Expressway now extends all the way to Tarlac City, Tarlac with the Subic-Clark Interchange Expressway but, not being familiar with this freeway, we exited too early into Dau, Pampanga whose streets were teeming with penitents in self-flagellation or chanting the ‘pabasa’ (Passion readings) for 48 straight hours.

   

Isdaan, the floating restaurant

A wonderful breakfast awaited us at Isdaan in Gerona, Tarlac, a floating restaurant with all the familiar Filipino fare and international dishes with wandering musicians serenading customers in each group’s favorite genre, just at the exit to the old highway.  At mid-afternoon we arrived in a World Heritage Site, Vigan, Ilocos Sur. It is the one place in the country, in fact Asia, where the 300 years of Spanish rule remains painted in the 17^th century homes preserved as a Heritage Village, undamaged even by war.

the World Heritage Village at night in Vigan, Ilocos Sur

St. Paul's Cathedral in Vigan

Cordillera Inn was our home in the village. We walked alongside ‘kalesas’ that ferried tourists on the cobbled roads. The St. Paul’s Cathedral, another World Heritage Site built in 1641, had its floats (Stations of the Cross) ready for the Good Friday procession. On the opposite side of the plaza is the Vigan Empanadahan, a collection of stands that make the delicious deep-fried sausage, egg, and cabbage rolls. The Crisologo Museum, ancestral home of the town patriarchs, gave us a closer look at life in Vigan.

Paoay Church in Ilocos Norte

Before reaching Laoag, we stopped by Paoay, Ilocos Norte where another World Heritage Site, the Paoay Church, built in 1594, still stands.  This was the highlight of my trip for I was not aware that the Philippines had a structure like this. In serving as the political backbone of Spanish colonial rule, churches were subject to attacks by local revolts. Thus the baroque architecture has the appearance of a fortress, with the large imposing buttresses at the sides and the massive unrestored facade. 

entrance to the Marcos Mausoleum

We passed by the Malacanang (presidential palace) of the North on the shores of Paoay Lake, built by the Marcoses during their infamous rule. At the next town of Batac, Ilocos Norte we found the Marcos Mausoleum where the lavishly waxed body of Marcos still lies inside a large, stately, and gloomy tomb preserved in a vacuum-sealed glass coffin. A cluster of 3 houses complete the Marcos estate and more than 2 decades after the dictator was deposed by a People Power, he still draws a crowd.

St. William's Cathedral in Laoag, Ilocos Norte

In Laoag, Ilocos Norte, St. William’s Cathedral and its Sinking Bell Tower, built in 1612, is another World Heritage Site known for its Italian Renaissance design and its Sinking Bell Tower, which sinks into the ground at a rate of an inch a year. Damaged by hurricanes in 1640, by earthquake in 1706, and by fire in 1843, the church was restored in 1880. The bell tower, however, is already undergoing demolition. To our delight the whole city spilled into the streets, carrying lighted candles for a Good Friday Procession.

and its sinking bell tower, undergoing demolition

the Tobacco Monopoly Monument

Too bad we could not capture all the scenes as the battery of our camera died. But we were able to take a picture of the Tobacco Monopoly Monument which stands right at the town plaza, just after the ‘Hollywood’ sign of the city, visible from the Marcos Bridge as one enters it.  The monument was constructed when the Monopoly which began in 1781 was lifted in 1881. Those 100 years gave the Ilocanos untold miseries as they were obligated to plant tobacco solely for the Spanish government.

Laoag, Hollywood style

the Bangui Wind Farm

The road to Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte is not as good with an unfinished kilometer of concrete road. But soon after this stretch we were in awe at the Bangui Wind Farm, 20 units of 70-meter high wind turbines with a total capacity of 33 mw, describing a graceful arch as they stretched on a single row along a 9-kilometer shoreline off Bangui Bay. Finally, we reached the northernmost tip of Luzon, the largest island of the archipelago we luxuriated on the white sands of Saud Beach.

fishermen awaiting their early morning catch

We listened to the music of the ocean by day and relaxed to the music of the bands by night, feasting on local seafood and we lingered till after lunch the following day, thinking that the drive to Bauang would just be 4 hours (it was 8!). The night drive gave us priceless photos of fishermen waiting for their early catch in their bancas, glittering like fireflies on a still ocean below a crimson sky.  Our road trip on the northwestern coast of Luzon not only gave us beach time but an amazing Visita Iglesia, a most fitting getaway during Holy Week in Catholic Philippines!

delicious Vigan empanadas

Next: Enjoying Day Trips from Manila

  

OLA: Driving to Cool Philippine Mountain Air

Kennon Road from Rosario, La Union to Baguio, built by Americans in 1903

From Ifugao and Mountain Province in the Cordilleras, the Philippines’ mountainous region with temperatures ranging from 17 (winter) to 30 (summer) degrees centigrade, we now go to Benguet. Its biggest city is Baguio, the country’s summer capital, nestled about 5,000 feet above sea level with a population of about 450,000. When Bill sold his business in 2009, we came for his first visit and one of the first things we did was the trip to Baguio, Holy Week 2009. 

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Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan

The road trip itself was quite eventful. In the province of Bulacan we visited 2 friends of mine. The first is a former Commissioner of the Commission on Elections who now owns a private resort in Hagonoy. Going to Pulilan to visit a former Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and her Butterfly Haven, we also stopped at the old Barasoain Church in Malolos, site of the framing of the first constitution of the Philippines.

penitents in Pampanga on Holy Week

The Philippines is 90% Catholic and the next province, Pampanga, is known for classic rituals for the penitent during Holy Week. At a gas station where we were filling up, we chanced upon a group of men who stopped to rest from their procession. With red, bloodied backs, they had been flagellating themselves relentlessly. One of them was carrying a large wooden cross which will be used later on to crucify him, simulating the Passion of Christ.

view from our apartelle

It took us 6 hours to reach Baguio, ascending the steep and winding Kennon Road which the Americans built, together with Camp John Hay, in 1903 for the recreation of Americans in the country. Little by little the unmistakable scent of pine trees signaled the arrival of the precious mountain city! Our chosen apartelle was atop one of the highest hills, overlooking a section of the city. We lost no time getting ready for the day trips we had planned.

the Lost Cemetery of Camp John Hay

First is Camp John Hay which had been turned over to the Philippine government (like Subic and Clark). The historical parts were preserved but new hotels and condominiums have been built. The camp is a haven in a city that has grown beyond the limits of its hills, bursting at its seams. I love going back to the Mile-Hi Recreation Center, its golf courses, the Lost Cemetery where you bury any remaining traces of negativism, the vast gardens and picnic areas.

Baguio Botanical Garden with the natives

The flower-ful Botanical Garden is where we found some colorful tribal people who wanted to earn some money by posing for pictures with a WASC (white Anglo-Saxon Catholic). The Mansion is the summer home of the president of the Philippines with Wright Park and its horseback riding activities just in front of it. Further down is the Mines View Park, overlooking old copper mines, where little boys wait for the coins tourists throw for good luck.

Mines View Park

At the center of the city is Burnham Park with its large man-made lake where families can go boating in swan-like paddle boats and biking or skating on its perimeter roads. Nearby is the city’s main artery, Session Road, where shops, restaurants and bars abound. At the higher end is the magnificent Baguio Cathedral and at the opposite end is the Baguio City Market, famous for cheap souvenir items and fresh local produce that can only be found in the cool capital: strawberries, Baguio lettuce, Philippine grapes, etc.

Ellen's Lot

Bill and I took a look at my sister Ellen’s lot which she wanted to become a memorial to tribal people before she succumbed to cancer in 2003. Her ashes are there and now it is green with Baguio vegetables. The city evokes such precious memories like summer getaways my mom gave us at the Teachers Camp with the cool mountain air and the scent of pine. Baguio has grown so big though that Sagada and Banaue (pop: 11,000 and 21,000) are the new Baguios.

Burnham Park

Next: Driving along the Coast to the Philippine North 

OLA: Breathing Cool Philippine Mountain Air!

Batad Rice Terraces in the Ifugao Province of the Philippines

One of the couples we met in Palawan, Jure and Katarina of Slovenia called to tell us that they were flying into Manila that afternoon, ready to breathe the cool mountain air of the Philippine North, after exhilarating in the breezy sea winds of the South. Since I also wanted Bill to see this part of the Philippines (we visited Baguio 2 years ago), we were with them that evening on a bus and by 8 am of the following day, the tip of the world’s 8^th Wonder of the World was at the window of the lodge café where we were having hot breakfast.

Hapao Rice Terraces

We lost no time and proceeded first to the Hapao Rice Terraces in Hungduan which have been planted the earliest and are now the most verdant green. Next we proceeded to the Viewpoint of the Banaue Rice Terraces, not yet fully planted. The Ifugao Rice Terraces of the Cordilleras, the mountain region of Luzon, largest island in the Philippines, were inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1995. 

Banaue Rice Terraces

There are five sites, not including the Banaue Terraces: Batad, Hungduan, Bangaan, Mayoyao, and Nagacadan (we did not see the last three)  These are 2000 year-old rice paddies carved into the mountain slopes largely by hand, without the help of machinery, by ancestors of the indigenous people. They are located about 1500 meters (5000 ft) above sea level, fed by an ancient irrigation system, virtually unchanged, from the rainforests above.  It is said that if the steps are put end to end, they would encircle half the globe.

Hanging Coffins by the roadside

The following day we decided to go to Sagada in the Mountain Province, three hours away, that is, without a landslide. As it turned out, 1/3 of the way from Banawe, a landslide had happened 2 days earlier and was still impassable by vehicle. We arranged for a jeepney to take us to the site of the landslide. Soon 7 other people heard what we were trying to do and decided to join us. With the permission of Engineer Gerry of the DPWH which was still working on the clearing we crossed the area on foot and took another jeepney waiting for us at the other side!

Hanging Coffins at the Burial Cave 

By then we had a Spanish couple from Barcelona, Antonio and Sheila, a Dutch couple from Bonaire in the Caribbean, Remco and Vanessa, and 3 young men, Ryan from Alaska, Sam from Tanzania, and Kennedy from Nigeria, currently all studying in Silang, Cavite, Philippines. The Hanging Coffins were an interesting sight to behold. The practice stems from the mountain people’s belief that their elders, after all the affairs on earth are settled were finally buried in hanging coffins to be closer to nature, with freer spirits, not stuck to the earth.  The entrance to the high main cave, Lumauig, in Sagada was a Burial Cave.

Sumaguing, the other cave

This was connected to another cave, the Sumaguing Cave. Since we had very limited time, the men and Vanessa (the 2 other ladies and myself remained at the souvenir store by the entrance), took the 2-hr cave tour (not the 4-hr through theconnected caves). They still got to sneak through the little hole down below that connects the 2 caves, and experience the coolest of underground rivers they had known. They came back to tell us that the water was so cool, that their hands let off steam as they touched it. And as they headed back up, they saw all the wondrous formations they had just gone through.

the whole gang stopped by a bulldozer

On the way back we thought we have had the day’s final adventure but, alas and alack, 1/3 of the way out of Sagada, there was a bulldozer that broke down, making the road impossible to pass. Since Antonio and Sheila had to take the bus that night to Manila to catch their early morning flight the following day to Australia, I took to the other side and negotiated with a van that was there to take us to the landslide area. As the fog was already settling in, we finally negotiated a better cleared trail that took us to the other side where our jeepney had been waiting for us the whole day!

the foggy landslide area cleared by end of day

The following day, another European, Didier from Belgium, joined us in our last day trip, the one to the Batad Rice Terraces which everyone said we should not miss. A jeepney took us through the virtually impassable, rutted, rocky, muddy roads to the Saddle Point from which we trekked through 400 steep steps down and then on a long trail to the viewpoint on the other side of the mountain. It took Bill and I an hour to negotiate this going down (later it took us 2 hours going up!).

virtually impassable roads

What we saw are a glorious amphitheater of rice terraces surrounding a little village at the bottom. The group split into 3: the strongest proceeded to the Tappia Waterfalls (another hour of trekking), another explored the magnificent terraces (also another hour), and the weakest and the oldest (Bill and I) had to be content with marveling at the magnificent scenery, taking in all that pure, fresh, cool mountain air, sipping icy soda pops and nibbling at native tomato and egg ‘pizzas’. 

a roof load of jeepney passengers

chewing concoction ingredients

But I cannot end this post without telling you of the indigenous mountain people of the Cordilleras who make full use of the colorful jeepneys that take them to and fro the mountain, riding dangerously on roofs and hanging onto the back railings and continually chewing the concoction of betel nut, tobacco, and leaves nut even if they make their teeth very red so that they can keep their bodies warm in the cool Philippine mountains.  

colorful mountain couple

Part 2: Baguio City

OLA: Marveling at Palawan's Beauty, Part 2

Baker's Hill a la Knotsberry Farm

Would you believe there is a smaller version of Knots Berry Farm called Baker’s Hill? Children can play on its themed grounds for free while their parents saunter around for souvenirs, baked items (especially hopia, their flagship product, and great views of the city. Nearer the city is the Bay Walk which is the half-finished area around Puerto Princesa Bay reclaimed from squatters who have been relocated to tenement houses nearby.  A statue of Princess Eulalia (born in 1864 to Queen Isabella II of Spain) lords over the city named The Princess’ Gate, the largest in the country in terms of land area. 

Princess Eulalia at the Baywalk

And it cares for the future of people.

Viet Ville today

 Here, on the road back from the Underground River, you will pass by Viet Ville, the camp established for about 90 refugees from Vietnam after it fell to Communist rule in 1989. The population grew to 1,600 until the US finally agreed to give them asylum in 1995. Now only about 7 families (those who intermarried with Filipinos) remain in Viet Ville, largely propped up by the Catholic Assistance for Displaced Persons who took over their care in 1996. A Vietnamese Restaurant, a souvenir shop, and a noodle factory remain as sources of livelihood.

prison without walls

Then, there is the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm. In contrast to a penal establishment one would have in mind, it is essentially a ‘prison without walls’, a village of about 28,000 hectares, for about two thousand inmates. One will be surprised that the colony only has barriers for the maximum security sectio). No prisoners attempt to escape because they would face certain death on the mountains. Besides, the inmates (minimum and medium security) are allowed to live with their families during the time they are serving their sentence and are provided with the resources to build a livelihood such as land and farm animals. The sign in front says (translated from Tagalog): ‘A prison can be a paradise if it is conceived with God in mind and run in a humanitarian spirit.’ Part of the land is actually used by freed prisoners who have made Palawan their permanent home!  

Palawan's famed cherry blossoms

Conclusion

Skylight's breakfast buffet

With our stay at Skylight Hotel for just $30 a night, inclusive of a huge breakfast buffet every morning, we spent only a little over $500 for our 5-day/4-night stay inclusive of airfare (40%), accommodations (25%), tours (25%), food (5%) and souvenir items (5%)! It is not a backpacking trip and neither is it a first class vacation but it was a vacation where we met people who belong to the same generation as us, the Z Generation and their cruising lifestyle: Jure and Katerina from Slovenia with whom we shared the Underground River tour and a crocodile dinner at Kinabuch; Bryn and Sofia from Hongkong with whom we shared the Honda Bay Cruise and a seafood feast at Kalui.

Mendoza Park at night

The beauty of Palawan is forever preserved in eco-tourism, abundant in her many natural playgrounds, and etched in her heart for many humanitarian causes. It is such a special place on earth and the tropical cherry blossoms among centuries-old acacia trees adorn its streets. Mendoza Park and its eternal Christmas trees rock with variety shows on Saturdays.  Then when you think about how affordable it is to create a magical vacation there, it has become a top Philippine destination and a place not to be missed by Filipinos and foreigners alike. And we have not even seen El Nido, Amanpulo, Coron, the Palawan Safari, and Tubbataha Reef! We eagerly await the next chance!

Daniel, Jure, and Katarina with Bill

Bryn and Sofia with Bill