Road trip to Ilocos, Part 4: Exploring other towns

For our last day in Ilocos, we chose to explore other towns. Jay-jay was disappointed that we were leaving and said, "I don't want to go home! The house is broken! Bring the beach with us!"

The house truly is "broken" for it lacked one essential element...the beach :-)

We left our hotel at 8:30 am. The nearest tourist attraction was Fort Ilocandia in Laoag, Ilocos Norte. It took us an hour and a half to get there. Ilocos is a big province, indeed. Fort Ilocandia is a Spanish and Mediterranean inspired 5-star hotel. It's quitessential spanish "bahay-na bato" structure of red bricks, capiz windows, with creeping red bougainvilleas make it an attractive place to visit. As we explored its grounds, we were surprised to see that the place had improved a lot since our last visit. Their lobby had a assortment of fresh-water kois, arrowanas and other fishes. The aquarium
is located beneath your feet. A sturdy glass floor allows you to see the fish as you walk through a portion of the lobby. A cute little bridge/viewing deck will also give you a nice view of the pond sans the glass. Needless to say, Jay-jay was mesmerized by the fish and his "sumpong" quickly dissipated.

A mini-zoo was built to entertain and educate young kids. A variety of birds, monkeys, snakes, lizards and cats can be found there. If you're traveling with children, Fort Ilocandia is a must.




The big boys (hubby and bro) discoved the ATV (all terrain vehicle) facility of the hotel. I can see in their eyes that they are itching to ride. After forking out P550 for a 20-minute rental of the ATV, the boys were off to the ATV track. Helmets are provided for all the riders, even our little Jay-jay
was fitted with one. We can see the boys were having so much fun, despite the desert-like heat. After their 20 minutes are up, they came back and was raving about how fun it was! The boys told us that the track wasn't nearly big enough for them (it was roughly 750 meters) and would love to explore the sand dunes in the area with the ATVs. Both bro and hubby were talking about buying ATVs after that! ummhhhhmmm... Boys and their big toys.

Our next adventure was to search for Bagnet, a local delicacy. Bagnet is basically choice pork slab (with multi-layer of fat, or course), fried twice to give it's skin a crispy and crackly exterior. Despite the cholesterol content of this delicacy, it's appeal is nevertheless irresistible.

Our search began in Batac, Ilocos Norte. We arrived at the palengke (market) where Bagnet if often found. All the vendors were out of stock! The tourists had bought all of them! The vendors said that they ran out by 9am. We managed to score some sukang Iloko (local vinegar that's dark in color is a little sweet), bagoong isda and the famous Batac longganisa (local sausages made with sukang Iloco, pork and garlic). Our trip to the market is not totally wasted.

We next went to the empanadahan by the estero (creek) to eat the famous Batac empanada. Batac empanada is made with monggo sprouts, shaved raw papaya, egg and the famous Batac longganisa, sealed in dough made with rice flour and fried. Yummy to the max. Best sprinkled with spicy sukang Iloko.







After getting our fill with the delicious empanadas, we were off to Ferdinad Morcos' tomb located just a stone's throw away from the estero. It's where the ex-dictator/president is buried. A wax figure lay atop his tomb. Creepy.

At the side of the moseleo, vendors gladly show
their "kalakal". Bags, wallets, hats, local weaved products, cornick, taro chips and tinubong spread out so invitingly for you to touch and taste. I tried the tinubong, which the vendor gladly offered me. Tinubong is sweet malagkit (sticky rice) cooked inside a bamboo tube. It was so delicious! A must-buy when you're in the area.

Next on our itenary was the famous Crisologo Street in Vigan, Ilocos Sur.
Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, Crisologo Street maintains the charm and atmosphere of an old Filipino town when the Spaniards ruled the country. This is what Vigan, Ilocos Sur is known for. At present time, the houses have souvenir antique shops and local weave shops to entice you to purchase. The local weaved blankents of pure cotton cost only P180 (double) and P350 (king). Very affordable. Our search for Bagnet is Vigan is also futile. Oh well.

This street is closed to modern traffic. Only "kalesas" (horse-drawn carriages) are allowed to pass through this brick-paved road. We hired two kalesas for the children to experience what it was like to travel during the Spanish regime.

Our kutchero informed us that a nearby private residence owned by ex-governor Chavit Singson is open to the public. The house is called Baluarte (it means fort in Spanish). It is home to a variety of animals. Jay-jay was looking forward to this all day. He particularly wanted to see tigers and lions. Off we go via Kalesa. It took us about 20 minutes to get there.

Upon reaching Baluarte, a huge mob of people was already there
enjoying the view. We saw the famous tigers, lion, geese, ostrich, deers, goats, sheeps, python and the cute miniature horses. A butterfly garden provides a nice quiet place away from the hoards of tourists. The place has also rare white tigers which were not on show at that time.

After a long and tiring trek within the Baluarte compound, we uninanimously agreed to just take the tricycle back to our cars to save time for we have many travel hours ahead of us.

And many travel hours it was. We got finally home at 3am. It was all worth it.