Ilocandia, Day 2 - Vigan City

Vigan City. It is the capital city of the province of Ilocos Sur. (Source: Wikipedia)

UNESCO Heritage Marker.

Pagburnayan Jar-Making

The art of jar-making is taught to teens for free, so that they will continue the tradition of their people. Sadly, not a lot of teenagers want to learn pottery.

Hidden Garden

Baluarte ni Chavit. 

This ostrich looks high.

Chavit even owns dinosaurs, wow

The main attraction - his tigers

Syquia Mansion. This mansion was owned by the family of the wife of Pres. Elpidio Quirino. She is a descendant of a certain Sy Kia, a Chinese businessman, and when the Spaniards came, the name was hispanized to Syquia. The mansion was later donated to the local government.

A replica of Juan Luna's Spoliarium greets visitors upon reaching the landing

A four-poster bed

A walkway for servants so they can go around the house unnoticed

Calle Crisologo. The most famous street in Vigan is lined by houses that capture the architecture of the Spanish colonial era. It's one long souvenir shop. Many of the houses have not been maintained.

Visitors may rent the calesa for around PHP 500 an hour, depending on your haggling skills

Romance and nostalgia, two of my favorite emotions.

21 October 2012

Ilocandia, Day 1 - Laoag City

Laoag City. It is the capital city of Ilocos Norte and the location of the region's only airport. 

The Sinking Bell Tower of Laoag. Built by the Augustinians in 1612 on a foundation of sand, this massive bell tower - which looks even more magnificent at night - sinks at around one inch a year. It is an imposing presence in the middle of a busy town. A few steps away is St. William's Cathedral.

A prayer of thanks

Museo Ilocos Norte. The museum is "a learning center of Ilocos Norte traditions, ancestry and legacy." (Source: http://www.museoilocosnorte.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21:museo-ilocos-norte). On our trip, the museum featured A Survey of Conical Skirts Found in Ilocos Norte.

Their shower room, where people had to crouch to avoid indecent exposure

Malacanang of the North. This place was MASSIVE. It showcased the achievements of the Marcos administration.

The Presidential office

PD no. 27 in Pres. Marcos's own handwriting, which decreed the "Emancipation of Tenants from the Bondage of the Soil, Transferring to Them the Ownership of the Land They Till and Providing the Instruments and Mechanism Therefor"

The living room

Paoay Lake. Legend has it that the lake was once a town called San Juan de Sagun whose people became very materialistic so God punished them with a massive earthquake that sunk the town. The lake now takes its place. What's even more amazing is that folks really believe this tale.

Paoay Church. The bell tower is built from corals held together by molasses. Only the facade and the sides of the Church remain from the original; even the main door has been renovated. It is one of 4 baroque churches in the Philippines that have been declared as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the other three being San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Santa Maria Church in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur, and Sto. Tomas de Villanueva Church in Miag-ao, Iloilo.

Renovation underway

Marcos Museum and Mausoleum. 

20 October 2012

Coron, Day 3

Calauit Safari Park. We woke up at an ungodly hour and prepped for a three-hour van ride to Calauit Safari Park. There's a lot to be said about the unpaved roads on the way; I felt like I was inside a blender. After a five-minute boat ride, we finally reached Calauit with our internal organs intact. Calauit Safari Park is "a small slice of Africa," said the tour guide. It has a vast open field where animals, imported from Kenya in 1977 by former President Marcos, could roam. While the tour guide went off to get food for the giraffe, I saw Calamian deers which were endemic in Palawan. We stopped to take photos near a cohort of zebras feeding on grass. The eland walked away whenever we went near them. A giraffe eyed us from the distance, and it slowly and cautiously made its way towards our vehicle. It seems that it's been conditioned to associate a vehicle with food. We got to feed four giraffes with branches of leaves. We also saw a civet cat, a python, a sea eagle, a turtle, several porcupines, and a wild pig. :)

Calamian deer

A zebra-eland soiree

Did you know that no two zebras have the same set of stripes? It's like their thumb mark; each one is unique.

Graceful loping

I think it's been conditioned to smile at cameras too

Porcupines

Injured seagull

Bearded pig

Camouflage tree

5 July 2012