Whenever I visit a tourist destination, I rarely go back in order to give way to visit some other places I've never been to. But as they say, for every rule, there's always an exception and Ilocandia is one of my exceptions. I've been in love with the provinces of Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte since I first stepped there way back 2011. Last week, I've chosen it to cap off my travel adventures for the year 2014. I can say, it has the most exhausting travel time of 10 hours or more via land travel but once you get there, the experiences in Vigan, Laoag and Pagudpud are all worth it. So for this post, let me share first our Ilocos Sur itineraries. By the way, a few weeks ago, the city of Vigan was declared as one of the New Seven Wonder Cities of the World. It is really cool and well-deserved for a Filipino world-class heritage site.
Baluarte - a zoo in Vigan City privately owned by Gov. Chavit Singson. Radney and I were able to take pictures with the animals such as parrots, ponies, a yellow snake, a raptor and of course, the tiger!
Bantay Bell Tower - the watchtower of St. Augustine Parish Church built in 1591. We climbed inside and it was so windy at the top. An excellent panoramic view of Ilocos Sur can be seen here.
Crisologo Museum - the house of the late Congressman Floro Crisologo, who was shot in the head by an anonymous person in 1970. It was transformed into a museum in honor of him. I had goosebumps when I saw the close-up shots of his dead body beside the clothes he was wearing when murdered inside Vigan Cathedral. His case is still unresolved.
Pagburnayan Jar Making Factory - the son of the owner had a demo on how to create a jar out of clay. He quickly created one, but according to him, the preparation of the clay to use took a lot of manual processes. They also showed us their huge dragon oven where they heat the jars to harden them the traditional way.
Calle Crisologo - a.k.a the Heritage Village. This is the most popular spot in Vigan. Amazingly, the structure of the old mansions along the famous street have been preserved and are being taken care of. Actually, these houses were no longer homes but stores selling Ilokano pasalubongs like t-shirts, blankets, accessories, bagnet, longganisa, sukang iloko, chichacorn, etc.
Plaza Salcedo - In front of the large 'Ilocos Sur' letters is where the fountain and lights show happens every night.
Calle Crisologo - a.k.a the Heritage Village. This is the most popular spot in Vigan. Amazingly, the structure of the old mansions along the famous street have been preserved and are being taken care of. Actually, these houses were no longer homes but stores selling Ilokano pasalubongs like t-shirts, blankets, accessories, bagnet, longganisa, sukang iloko, chichacorn, etc.
Plaza Salcedo - In front of the large 'Ilocos Sur' letters is where the fountain and lights show happens every night.
