Lakbay Norte 2013 – Vigan Once More

I felt inlove with the place the first time I went here. Yeah, I admit, i missed a lot during my first stop here in Vigan but this time, I’m making a comeback and will make sure that i will never miss each part of the adventure. After my solo expedition to witness the International Hot Air Ballon Festival in Clark Pampanga, my friends and I proceed to Vigan, Ilocos Sur.  This time it’s more exciting because we had a detour, instead of directly riding a bus bound for Vigan or Laoag, we took an Abra bound bus and drop off to La Union.  We decided to take it that way so we can move away from Pampanga because we have been waiting for more than4 hours already and all buses plighted to our destination were all full. Anyhow, we can still reach Vigan whichever northern route we may take. After 5 hours of travelling we finally reached San Fernando, La Union.  After few minutes of waiting, the bus that will take us to Vigan finally pass by.  2 hours later, we found ourselves wandering Vigan early in the morning. When I went here last year, I stayed in Casa Teofila, when i called earlier before we arrived, they have an ordinary room that can accommodate 6 persons at Php 600.00 and when we arrived the room has been taken so we found ourselves riding back the tricycle and off we went to Arcellana’s Lodging House located in San Julian Sur, Vigan City.  We got the room at Php  350.00 per person and the owner has been very kind to let us overstay (separate article will be written for the reviews regarding this accommodation).We call it a day at around 2 in the morning, we were all very tired and sleepy, we freshen up and dozed off to recharge for the morning’s adventure.

We should be awake at 7 in the morning as we will be attending the 8 am mass, but because we were so tied with our beds, we ended up with the 10 AM mass at the Vigan Cathedral. It’s good to always start the day thanking Him for all blessings.

After attending mass, we were all so hungry. Off we went to Cafe Uno, its a local restaurant famed for serving the Delicious Home Cooked Ilocos Meals.   We got to taste the best of the best: Bagent, Pinakbet and Longganisa for Brunch. Plus a Ripe Mango shake  ^_^

After the stomach development activities, off we went to Calle Crisologo, for a daytour and at the same time to buy some pasalubong.

We rove the tourist spots within the vicinity, we went to Plaza  Maestro, a mini mall containing stalls for Shirts, Shoes, Accessories and I was able to see some refreshments as well inside the place.

After a short sneak peek at the local mall version of Vigan, we headed to the Museums. Since it was a Sunday, we were not lucky to see most of them but fortunately the Syquia Mansion is Open for public viewing during that time. Talking about luck, we got a DOT representative to guide us as we rove the place and discover its history and of course, the guide served as our Photographer as well. After the Syquia Mansion tour, we went back to our place for a little rest because it has been a very hot day.

After a little rest, we then head off to the second part of the day’s tour: Baluarte and Hidden Garden.

We played around with the luscious green bushes and bonsai of the Hidden Garden and we tasted another famous delicacy of Vigan: The Vigan Empanada… and it taste really great!

 

It’s already dark when we went out of the Hidden Garden, we were having a great time there so we lost track of time. Off we went back to the Vigan Plaza and will take a glimpse of Calle Crisologo at night and  the rest of the Vigan City.

 

 

 Day one ended with a curving smile on our faces. Vigan is more romantic at night especially walking on cobbled stone in Calle Crisologo.  The place is so peaceful as well and you can be assure that you will always be on safe hands. :)

Second Day started with us taking a tour at Vigan Bell Tower, then we went to Pagburnayan Jars to check how the local create an export quality pots using their bare hands then we proceed to Ilocos Sur Adventure zone. This wasn’t built yet when i visited Vigan last year thats why I wanted to make sure to check this out. It’s a different type of Zip Line as it is situated above the Abra River. This is a bit distant from the City proper but this should be worth the ride :)

  

Vigan, will always have a special place in my heart. I will always go back and fall inlove over again. Vigan Once More Project: Food and Adventure Trip – Checked!