From
Pagudpod we went to the Patapat Viaduct, which is an elevated concrete highway
that connects Ilocos from Cagayan. The view here is awesome. The bridge snakes
along the mountainside and at the other side you have an unobstructed view of
the open sea and the waves.
Next
was Paraiso ni Anton, which is a mini waterfalls that the locals say gushes out
miraculous water with healing powers. There are also souvenir shops here that
you can visit. I bought a bracelet as a little souvenir for this trip.
We
then went to Timangtang Rock and Bantay Abot Cave. Timangtang Rock is a bell
shaped rock while Bantay Abot Cave is a rock formation that has a small opening
like cave in the middle. It has a very lovely view of the sea, but the wind was
so chilly and was blowing relentlessly while we were there that we did not stay
long and only took some pictures.
During
lunch, we were able to convince our driver to find a place that serves local
delicacies. And luckily, just a short drive away from Timangtang rock there was
a restaurant that serves just that. Unfortunately, my excitement with the food
resulted in me not getting any pictures (you should see my instagram, full of
half-eaten food) from this restaurant. But it was not anything special to tell
you the truth. We ordered bagnet, dinengdeng and dinakdakan. I did like the
bagnet, but there were no fireworks, it just tasted like fried pork, it wasn’t
even that crunchy and we left the restaurant feeling bereft.
After
lunch, we were off to Blue Lagoon at Hannah’s Resort which is also popularly
known for it’s zip line which is reportedly the longest over water in the whole
world. Here are the rates:
I
did not do the zip line (bashes head on the table). I will probably forever
regret it. I was on a tight budget and it was pretty pricey considering that
it’s just sliding down rope. Rope that I would not take home and will stay
there and be use by other people. Yeah, but still, the beauty of the beach with
its white sand and aquamarine waters was lost to me as my brain see-sawed from
“I want to go and try” to “it’s pricey, I don’t have to go, forget it”. In the
end we just drank San Mig Apple and then later stared at people who were wading
at the beach while the cold wind of Ilocos seeps through my bones.
There was
a 30 minutes hike to get to Kaibigan Falls that we did not expect. I was
wearing my trusty slippers, but still, a warning would’ve been nice. We walked
through farming fields while a tour guide led the way. Here we see people
living simple lives on their manmade kubo’s. I was a little out of breath from
the hike (yes I am not that fit). But seeing the falls was worth it. And the
water coming down it was so friggin cold let me tell you. My feet protested
when I dipped them in but there were actually people diving in, yikes.
We
then went back to our rooms in Saud Beach. We were so tired from the hike that
we fell asleep as soon as we hit the bed. We went down the beach at 6 pm. The
sun was setting and it was getting dark and the temperature was dropping lower.
There were a lot of restaurants at the beach front of Saud and we walked around
looking for something like a decent food. We first had cocktails at one of the
restobars there called Emohruo. I think the staff, again became overwhelmed by
the influx of tourists, because orders took too long and there was a British
guy talking to a waitress and complaining about the service. And the cocktails wasn't even really that good. The menu looked wonderful, but it was a little
too expensive for us.
We
had dinner at a restaurant called Apo Idon. The food was affordable and the
ambiance there was relaxing. Although it took about close to an hour before our
food was served, my pork chop was still undercooked. I was very close to losing
it by this time and sent the pork chop back to the kitchen. I don’t know why
but we kept getting bad service from day one in Ilocos. I actually attributed
it to the fact that there are so many tourists, but they should have been
prepared right?
My Ilocos Experience-Day 3
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