Buguey’s seafood buffet was more than enough to fill us during the two hour journey to Claveria, the last town in Cagayan next to Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte. I was enjoying the view from my window despite the rain while sliding sideways from our seats as we traverse the twisting highroads to the town of Claveria. A coastal town where the river flows, numerous blue boats parked on the shore and people in their blue rain coats were tending their nets were seen. It was really interesting.
Rain still followed us in this town but the tour went on. We passed through the long gray sand beach of Claveria where the waves were tumbling wild under the stormy skies at that time. Claveria is also known as a popular jump-off to Babuyan Islands which is 4-5 hours away by boat. At least once a week, boat(s) come in from the islands but the frequency is unpredictable.
Oh great, another lagoon, I thought, when I saw an arrow of it pointing to where we were going. But it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting, it was even better. The lagoon which they call Lakay-lakay has a cove filled with boats and on opposite ends are pyramid like rock formations. They even named the rock formations to resemble a happy family with “Lakay-lakay” (Old Man), “Baket-baket” (Old Woman) and “Ubing-ubing” (Young Person).Everyone agreed that despite the somber weather, this was one unique and scenic beach.
Back at the slushy streets of the town center, we met up with the very amiable Lady Mayor of Claveria at the municipal hall.Talks over a warm and delicious ginataang revealed their ambitious plans to install a zipline at the site. Of course most of us suggested it was better to leave the place as is.
It was dark and the wind was furious when we arrived at the entrance of Kapuluan Vista Resort in Pagudpud. Albeit no storm, the wind was pounding on the canvass curtains but it was the warm and welcoming presence of the young owners Mike and Alma Oida that filled the dinning room and common area that night. It was inspiring how these young Filipino Couple who worked at Ikea decided to set up a resort and found this beautiful piece of land. Their resident poodles Drew and Julia were so friendly that Julia slept beside me all throughout the dinner that night.
Their food (Check out Happyfoodies.com) with ingredients taken directly from their garden was one of the highlights of Kapuluan. I never got to see their main rooms as the gentlemen stayed at the dorm which is not bad in itself with its comfortable basic bed, really high ceiling and clean common shower and toilet areas. The dining/common area has wifi which made most of the group stay there to just chill, share stories play sungka. I on the other hand was reveling in the music which seems to have an easy listening music playlist straight out of my iPod.
The whole resort is oozing with good vibes and hippy feel which I liked, maybe because of the use of natural materials on its design and architecture. It’s definitely a gem here at Maira-ira beach, Pagudpud. Too bad the weather wasn’t cooperating but it’s another reason to go back.
Ferdz Decena is an award-winning travel photographer, writer and blogger. His works has found print in publications such as Singapore Airlines’s Silver Kris, Philippine Airlines’ Mabuhay, Cebu Pacific’s Smile and Seair InFlight. He has also lent his expertise to various organizations like the Oceana Philippines, Lopez Group Foundation, Save the Children and World Vision, contributing quality images for their marketing materials.
