After several months of preparation i was able to accomplish this trip but this is no ordinary preparation for me since in my entire travel experience this gave me stress from ticket booking to catching flights. 

First is catching promo tickets for another route which is Boracay after Davao. I was able to book Davao-Kalibo but with connecting flights. Yes and it is just not one stop over but two making it DVO-CDO-MNL-KLO adding to it is the tight flight difference to less than one hour from Airphil Express. So double check your booking before checking it out.

Second is the cancellation of my first ever booking in Zest Air and they did not give any single sh*t to book my ticket to another airlines since we have a connecting flight to catch. And that connecting flight was not even considered and they just replied is the agreement upon booking blah..blah..blah...

Thirdly, we almost left behind by our very first flight. I almost cried out begging for the check-in counter attendant to wait for us since we have a booked accommodation for that day and to add to that is they no longer have any flights for that day due to cancellation. Good thing Airphil Express is great enough to wait for us (I love you APX!). We just experienced the amazing race run at the airport just to catch the plane since we are already being paged.

I just blew the breath of relief when we landed safely in Davao. Thank God!

We had our first day in Samal Island with overnight accommodation Paradise Island Resort. This is also my second time here since we had our day tour here last 2011. But what made me more love this place is their accommodation. We booked a deluxe room and we loved it. They rooms as like cabana type best for vacation ambiance not like the hotel concrete building. The room is clean with friendly staff and delicious food. We just got what we paid for. Paradise Island Resort is highly recommended.

We had the morning til past lunchtime for the inland tour for Monforth Batcave, Hagimit Falls, and Maxima Aqua Fun. Since we have children with us and we are five, we rented a multicab for P1600 from Kuya <name and contact here> since habal-habal (motorcycle) is not an option for us.

 

Monfort Bat Sanctuary houses the largest colony of Geoffrey's Rousette fruit bat with estimate population of 1.8M   and declared by Guinness Book of World Records in 2006. But as of today the estimate is 2.4M to 3M population. From P20 entrance fee last year, they now have P100 since Sept 2011. It is a bit expensive for few 1-2 hours stay but if its for the betterment of the site and preservation of the sanctuary, ill be more than happy to pay.

We just stayed an hour or two at the sanctuary then went to Hagimit Falls. The site is still the same since my last visit except for some structures and pavements that was still previously being built. My nephew enjoyed the place very much. This might be the first time he saw these falls. I almost got drowned on the deep part of the falls but good thing i already experience drowning before so i did not panic a just did the right thing to save myself. Thank you Lord i am still here writing this entry.

Next stop is Maxima Aqua Fun. Like other spots, there is nothing new here. This time they are using their second slide compared to my last visit. I prefer the one located on the left facing the sea because it has a bridge just right beside it for viewing. It is also nearer to the steps back to the bridge compared to the other slide that it needs to swim a longer distant after sliding.

For the tip - bring an extra SD card if you want a soft copy of the slide shot aside for the printed copy. Late afternoon is the good time to here to avoid the scourging hot sun that makes the slides hot. I thing the best time to be here is when it is raining.

We bought some groceries and light baon along the way. We just requested to Kuya to drop us by a grocery store also to buy some bottled water. We went back to the resort past lunch and enjoyed tinolang manok and seafood soup at our cottage.

We stayed in our cottage for the rest of the afternoon. We concluded the night with sumptuous dinner, enjoyed a live band with fire dancers. My sister had her full body massage and she said its good.

This will be the last day of the Ilocandia exploration and we have Laoag before we fly back to Manila.Our driver and also our tour guide made it Laoag-Pagudpud-Vigan-Laoag route. We took the the farthest first - Pagudpud on our first day then Vigan on the second day and lastly Laoag since we have our accommodation here. It more convenient this way. This is also the same route itinerary recommended by other travellers.

Laoag Sinking Bell Tower

If Pisa has their Leaning Tower, we have our very own Laoag Sinking Bell Tower. Notice that the main entrance is already submerged, according to our guide, one whole carriage can go inside the bell tower during the old days.

Bell tower's main entrance.

The trip will not be completed without stopping on some museums. One of the most notable museums are Syquia Mansion (Elpidio Quirino's wife mansion) and Marcos Museum and Moseleum. Here in Marcos museum displayed his life from child until being president including all his projects and achievements being a one of the worlds statesman. 

On the side note, our guide hates the country's present president and aware of some rumors on Ninoy's death. I understand his sentiments.

Marcos statue inside the museum.

If Vigan, Ilocos Sur have their Calle Crisologo; Laoag, Ilocos Norte have Paoay Church another UNESCO world heritage site. Also known as San Agustin Church it was built around 1700s is one of the best example of Baroque churches in the country. Baroque is a characteristic of style in art in Europe. It uses strained effect and curving with elaborated ornamentation. 

Close up shot of the walls of Paoay Church

Interior of Paoay Church

Though the interiors of the church has been renovated with steel bars, good thing the locals preserved the facade and the bell tower the way it has been build more than 300 years ago surviving wars and earthquakes. The walls will serve as the witness of what really happened in our history.

A large verandah facing Paoay lake.

The social hall for visitors.

The spacious dining hall.

Next stop is Malacañan Palace of the north or locally known as Malacanang ti Amianan. Facing the Paoay lake this became the official residence of the first family when visiting Ilocos during Ferdinand Marcos' reign as president.

Inside the mansion are these paintings with intricately designed frames.

Next stop is Paoay Sand Dunes for a dessert experience. I never thought we have own piece of desert in our tropical country. This was accidentally discovered by media scouting for location and from then this became one of stops for extreme activity - 4x4 full pack action ala roller coaster ride.

Paoay Sand Dunes

4x4 Dessert Ride

Tire marks of 4x4

According to my friend's sister, this is more wild than Dubai's dessert safari activity wherein it uses enclosed SUVs while in Laoag, they use open-air 4x4 wherein the riders can stand at the passenger's seat, feel the wind, be shaken and shout at the top of their lungs (video clips to follow). Better bring a hand tripod with you to document the wild ride.

To wrap up the whole trip, our last stop is Fort Ilocandia.

This was also known as The Manila Hotel of the north. Its interior walls composed of woods and red bricks showcasing the vintage design. Along the hall are photos of notable events and personalities that graced Fort Ilocandia.

Chandelier inside the Fort Ilocandia.

First stop for the day is Baluarte. A zoo owned by a known politician. This has been one of the stops in Ilocandia trip route. I am not sure if the Singsons are wealthy family in Ilocos Sur but their zoo is something to help their locals in a little way. I believe this is a private property since it also reside near the Singson's residence and just opened to the public later. The zoo also houses Chavit Singson's tigers. No wonder he has a number of it in the entrance.

In the concrete entrance will greet number of birds including this pair of blue and gold macaw. 

A pair of Blue and Gold Macaw

I love this variety of parrot not only for their big size but with their colorful feathers though they are already in the list of endangered species. I believe this is also one of icons of Brazil.

Another type of bird that will greet the entrance that can also be feed on. Sunflower seeds are available for feeding in front of they branches.

There are other animals inside the zoo. Don't miss the interactive animal show around 4pm. Good thing they still pushed it as scheduled even there are only few of us present in the event venue when it started. Here they are able to show some of their animals. 

Bear Cat on the shoulder of my friend's sister - Jennylyn

A python showcasing its long size with the participant.

I was the first one to participate and i got a very small flying lemur. It is just that the bear cat i love above went out just after my turn. No need to pay for the photo with the animals just to be sure you volunteer in the animal show. Outside Baluarte are souvenirs for sale.

Calle Crisologo

Thank God its not raining on our second day and we are able to enjoy Vigan's iconic landmark - Calle Crisologo. It is one of the UNESCO world heritage sites in the country known for its cobblestone streets and its Spanish colonial architecture. This is a great gateway to experience the history of Philippines. I advise to buy quality souvenir shirts here at Island Souvenirs (sign visible above pic). Though i am a fan of their shirts their sign spoils the whole landmark. I hope the local government do something about this or remove the sign or at least replace it with suitable one that will mix with the place.

Since Vigan is one of the bases of Spanish colonization, churches spread on different parts of Ilocandia. The first church we visited - Shrine of Our Lady of Charity.

What i love in this church is their bell tower. It is just few steps at the left side of the church. I saw this on one of wedding photos i came upon checking the net and it caught my attention. I was amazed when i saw this personally. This is a great spot for wedding proposals.

The view from the topmost level of the bell tower with bigger bell inside it. Here i was able to see a 360 degrees of the place. This concludes the day in Vigan.

Ilocos Norte Provincial Capitol Building

Back to Laoag, i was able to have a night photography at Laoag Plaza. 

This is the official jumpstart of the Ilocandia exploration. And for the introduction of what this trip has to offer -

Kapurpurawan Rock Formation



Kapurpurawan Rock formation is indeed amazing. Many local movies used this as production location and on our way, there is an on going construction for a local fantasy movie to be shown this coming December. Some of the parts on the way to the site have been paved with concrete pathways. There is also a plattform that will server as viewing deck. Near the site is some kind of a big concrete dome i think that will serve as props for the production of the movie.

I am not against the production of local movies for it will promote the place or improvement for the tourists' comfortable travel but i hope the local government will keep the serenity of the place the way it has been discovered and maintain it for the next generation of travellers.



My very first hand stand in Ilocos.

 

The West Philippine Sea (formerly South China Sea)

One part of the site with sign prohibiting from the public access. We need to get to the other part of the rock formation to experience it. I have no idea for the reason, it might for safety purposes, i also hope it is for the sake of preserving and welfare of the site. These rocks were sculptured by the waves of the sea for hundreds or even millions of years. This is really a work of art of mother nature.



This site is also a favorite destination for photographers and has been used for travel and fashion photography shocasing the natural and huge rock formation as backdrops.

Next stop is the iconic Bangui Windmill--

Bangui Windmill

This is my first time to see a number windmills just few feet away. Haha! The child in me just came out when i saw this site. I also remembered the movie Windstruck when i am writing this part. TIP: Bring pinwheels when going here it will be fun since its very windy here. I can say the best time to go here is on late afternoon for a tinted colored sky.

Aside from being a tourist destination, Bangui windmill also provide eletricity for the locals. This is only one of different forms of renewable energy  that should be maximized in our country.

Pagudpud arch.

Dont forget to have a shot at Pagudpud arch on your way to Blue Lagoon. Just watch out with the coming trucks and other vehicles.

Blue Lagoon from elevated distant view.

Ilocos also offers white sand beaches and we had it up north Paugudpud. Blue Lagoon is one of the sites for beach lovers. Its shoreline is also home of Hanah's resort. We just rented a nipa hut for us a have a good rest to enjoy the beach and take our lunch there. We bought fish from a local there the time we arrived and told them how it will be cooked. After some time we just rubbing our tummy after finishng a sumptous lunch except for the sweet and sour menu. They have a different version of the recipe there with fishball-like sauce - not that tasty.

I can say you can skip or at least stay 30 minutes to one hour here if you are running our of time or not in the mood to experience beach. I am not sure if it is just me or the time we went here but its not a very good beach if you've been to many great beaches in other parts of the country.

Bantay Abot Cave

Bantay Abot cave is the gateway to Blue Lagoon, we decided to have a peek of it after enjoying the beach, it is just in time when the rain came pouring. Though we have a good weather for the week I still expected to experience rain since its rainy season every July and more of it is the weather is really unpredictable these days in the country. So if you have good sky when you go to Pagudpud, better prioritize to stop here before going to Blue Lagoon.

This is one of my notable shot for caves, there is a great view of the rocky shore including the mountain from inside. Its very majestic for me.

Patapat viaduct.

Next stop is Patapat Viaduct, this is one of the spots i am very eager to see but we are not able to enjoy it because of rain but i still manage to get out of our van and took this shot. On the brighter side I can say that the rain added effect to the photo. It makes the lushes greener and raindrops became mists from my vantage point.

Kaibigan Falls

I may not enjoyed the beach but i made it sure to taka a dip on this enchanting falls. It is a 30-minute trek from the entrance stop to the falls. Since we have elderlies with us, I made myself ready for that '30-minute' walk since there is a big difference between the walking distance in the city and in provinces. One kilometer walk in province might equivalent to 1-2 kilometer walk in the city and 1-hour ride might be 2-hour ride in the province.

And if im not mistaken. Its very tiring walk and when we saw a small falls i just exclaimed "don't say this is just what we trekked for all this time?!?!" Hahaha! and then when we keep walking for few more steps, all we just said is WOW!!! I just did some few shots and strip my clothes and took a dip in the very cold water.

We really enjoyed it very much that we want to stay longer but we have no choice since it is getting dark and we need to allot some time for trekking back to the main entrance. The relatives of my friend said that the water from the falls makes their skin whiter so better to allot more time on this destination.

Newly planted rice field on the way to the falls.

We arrived in our hotel late in the afternoon. We just change our clothes and hunt for resto for our rumbling tummies and we headed to La Preciosa. Just few right in from of La Elliana. And same with Saramsam we found again ourselves with the best seller Ilocano dishes. I was not able to get some shots of the food we ordered but personally (same with the family off my friends) Saramsam is better.

Though Saramsam got the score for Ilocano dishes, La Preciosa scored for the best cakes---

Carrot Cake

This is the best carrot cake i ever tasted as of this writing. It is well baked i can say, the fillings is so delicious just right to compliment the bread with chunks of pineapple topped with shredded carrot. At first i wondered what are those cream colored plain cakes found inside their display shelf that they are so many only to found out it is their best seller. Okay i rest my case here.

I forgot the name of this cake. Haha!

This is just an ordinary cake but still worth to try. It is like a chocolate marble cake with delicious fillings topped with shredded chocolates with crispy baked bread on the side.

Crazy Monkey Banana

Again i am saving the best for last. This is a must try and you will never forget it. Crazy Monkey Banana composed of slices of banana (of course) mixed with fillings layered on top with hardened white cholocate (not sure about this layer) topped with special cream (or icing) and chocolate syrup with cookie crust at the bottom. This is the best cake we tried at the cafe best matched with their coffees.