Ironwulf.net Ver 6: En Route - Philippines, Travel, Photography

I never get tired of seeing these northern steel structures at Bangui, Ilocos Norte. These windmills are well placed along the Pebble Beach, adding to the historic attractions of the North. Fortunately, on my second visit here, we were blessed with good weather, unlike my cloudy first visit.

My recent visit to the North finally gave us a chance to visit a more secluded beach beyond the Saud beach in Pagudpud. The scenic cove of Maira-ira beach also known as Blue Lagoon is a 20 minutes drive from Saud Beach. I don’t know why they coined the place as “Blue Lagoon” since it’s more of a cove than a lagoon. I guess the title has a more mysterious or romantic feel to it. Romantic may be a better term as this once secret beach has only one resort available and is perfectly tucked away from the crowds. There are exotic cottages there for rent for only Php 20 if you are not planning on staying by the nearby Kapuluan Vista Resort.

Spanning 77 hectares in area, Fort Ilocandia, the only five-star hotel resort in northern Luzon, is also considered as one of the largest resorts in Asia. This historical fort is adorned with terra-cotta brick walls highlighted by warm lightings in the hallways and numerous paintings on the walls. It will surely warp you back in the Grand Spanish era.

I’m glad to be home again. It didn’t take a week before I hopped on another plane, but this time its more of a travel assignment. I didn’t expect to be back soon in our proud heritage of the north in Ilocos. Little did I know that there are a lot - and I mean a lot of off-the-beaten path destinations in this area! It was a whirlwind trip but exciting covering places and taking shots of food (then eating them after)

This would be the last entry for Northern Luzon adventure and would be a perfect climax for the series. When going to Pagudpod, you’ll never miss these spectacular windmills left-side of your view. It’s one of the most amazing view you’ll see up there on the north. When at the beach of Pagudpud you’ll still be able to see these afar.

It was around 3 in the afternoon when the bus departed from the Laoag plaza to head to the far north region of Pagudpud. Seems now we’re getting used to a lot of bus transfers and stop overs. But what we were looking forward to was the beach! The road was scenic, nonetheless, with the view of the sea at your left and the mountains at your right. But it was quite anoying to hear some old 80’s hits covered in a karaoke style by some low rate artist play again and again in the driver’s cassette radio. Good thing there’s portable mp3 players now to save the day or it owuld be a mental brainwash after this long ride. In about 2 hours, we reached the town center of Pagudpud.

Will try to finish up the entries on our northern Luzon trip in the coming days. I will also have individual posts on some interesting objects along the way. The first couple of weeks has been very busy at work. Double deadlines as they say. Well to continue on…