Golden sands of the north

Pagudpud Hammock

A cozy hammock in the golden afternoon sun

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.

Golden sands

Golden stretch of sands

From the town center, it’s another 10-15 minutes tricycle ride towards Saud Beach where a round of resorts line up the beach. We ended up at Jun and Carol lodge where we got a room for 4 at the top floor with a verandah facing the beach for. Really cool! The amenities were ok, but our cable was busted. It was ok though, since we didn’t go there to watch TV. Most of the resorts here are quite expensive. Even the food, so if you plan to go here on a budget, bring food. Which we forgot to do.

Ilocano Kid

An Ilocano kid enjoying the hammock

It was fortunate that we arrived there before the sunset and the warm glow of the sun illuminated the beach’s long stretch of golden sands. Thank god I wasn’t disappointed! The place looks great. A lot of people somehow made Boracay a standard when it comes to beaches in the Philippines. Ok I don’t deny that Boracay indeed have a nice stretch of white sands and child friendly azure waters, but I certainly didn’t like the crowded environment and the noise. Pagudpud has a very rugged characteristics with it’s waves and golden sands. I heard people say it could get crowded here as well. I guess we just came there at the right time where the beach isn’t much crowded. But at that time it was just relaxing to sit on a hammock or read a good book without the noise worry about.

Rocky shore

Rocky end of the beach

The sky was gloomy the next day, we wanted to go to Maira-ira but our budget fell short, so we just spent the morning exploring the long stretch of the beach. We were able to see some of the resorts, from the exquisite Bali inspired to the ordinary house turned lodging. Fishermen with their fresh catch. At the end stretch of the cove, the beach turns rocky yet scenic still. After the exploration, we spent time enjoying the waves.

Footprints

Time to head home.

Our Northern adventure is about to end that day. But still, we have two more major destination to pass by before we head home to Manila.

View from our lodge

View from our lodge