Northern Escapade 4 - Pagudpud / Burgos, Ilocos Norte (Going Home)

Though we had our fair share of night swimming, I did not let the 4th morning of our trip pass without snorkeling. While I was able to see schools of fish that thrive within the sea grass in the area, surprisingly, I was the only one snorkeling at that time. Maybe this is one of the untapped potentials of Saud Beach which the resorts in the area are yet to take advantage of

Clean and Clear

Underwater World

Wanna Fish?


Lots of 'em



Do I hear Sharkbait? Ooohh haa haa




Sea Weeds

Swim with 'em fish

Corals

Finding Nemo

Vibrant Marine Life

Eric

Yipee

From Rinnovati, we went to see the Patapat Viaduct. This engineering marvel is a 1.3-km. coastal bridge that snakes through a cliff where the mountains of Cordillera meet the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Hence, Patapat offers fantastic views of the sea, the mountains and the rocky shore. Just be careful in parking your vehicle since buses and trucks speed through the area as it is still part of Maharlika Highway.

Patapat Viaduct

Yikes...Hunny's afraid of heights

Where the Ocean, the Sea and the Mountains converge

Watch out for passing vehicles

Jump Shot in Patapat

As we traverse the highway leading to Cagayan, we were able to see the North Korean Vessel that was beached in Pagudpud.

Closely guarded ship

A few kilometers farther is the Agua Grande River Park. It is a place where waters from the mountains and the sea meet. Since we are already supposed to be on our way back to Manila at that time, we just had our photos taken at the place and did not take a dip on the natural pools of Agua Grande.

Agua Grande

Raging Waters

Fresh Water Pools

The Gals

The Guyz

We asked people if there are restaurants, or even eateries in the area. Fortunately, they told us to go straight to Panzian.

Panzian

At first glance, the Panzian Beach Resort is just a plain house with a garden, although a building is being constructed at that time. Surprisingly, the place offers much more. At the back of their restaurant are cottages for weary travelers. There is also a camp site where the adventurous may pitch their own or just rent tents. There were also lots of hammocks and a place for a bonfire. I could just imagine spending there the chilly night listening to the crushing waves.

Camp Site

Huge Tree

Gazebo

Enjoying the Hammock

Oh my...it's EJ

Peek-a-boo

While the beach at Panzian has pebbles and is not of the white sand type that may be found in Saud and Maira-Ira, the place has its own reasons for it to be beautiful. The Patapat Viaduct can even be seen at a distance. Aside from this, we also feasted on the food served at Panzian. Their monggo and KBL tastes very good.

Driftwoods

A different view of Patapat Viaduct

Seems so close

North Korean Vessel...taken from Panzian

Panzian Beach

Children enjoying the waves

Pebbles

Panzian Beach with a view of the Dos Hermanos Islands

Going back to Pagudpud, we stopped at the Paraiso ni Anton. Here we drank water, believed to be miraculous, that fall down the mountain. Stalls may also be found selling souvenir items like shells and bracelets and other local delicacies such as the birabid.

Clean Drinking Mineral Water

Jumping in between

Mini Falls

As we continue to travel back south, we also went to take pictures at the clamshell monument of Pagudpud. Like what I said, we were all sucker for photo-ops.

Pagudpud Clamshell Monument

Our next stop is the Kapurpurawan Rock Formations in the town of Burgos. Kapurpurawan is a piece of rock which outcrops from the South China Sea into the hills of Burgos. This piece of geological marvel derived its name from the word “Puraw” which means White in Ilocano. One proof of its significance is the presence of geology students who were at that time conducting a research around the area.

Kapurpurawan

Low Tide

Push

Atlas

Kapurpurawan can be reached through a rough road that will take you about 10 to 15 minutes to navigate depending on the type of vehicle that you are using. My philosophy in situations like this is, “if a tricycle can be used in going to the area, then certainly one does not need an SUV to visit the place”. Just be careful in driving and be patient as the ride will feel like an eternity, lest you want to compromise the shocks of your car with a little bit of speed.

One alternative is to walk from the highway. This will take you about 45 minutes to reach the Rock Formations itself since it will already take you around 10 minutes to go to the Rock Formations from the parking area.

The Resting Dragon

The Plunge...on the other side of the "Head"

Roswell

You will be delighted to see Kapurpurawan from afar, but there is no better way to enjoy it than to go to the actual rock formations. Since it was early afternoon when we arrived there, Kapurpurawan is blindingly white. We passed through an area which seems to be submerged in sea water during high tide since there are a lot of sea creatures in the small pools where seawater has accumulated. Bonsai plants are also prevalent making it a very unique place. Be careful through in scaling Kapurpurawan since on the other side is a very high and steep ravine.

Don't look now

Amma Apunayen

Crevasse

Rocky Shore

I’d love to go back to Kapurpurawan and enjoy the sunset. It’s very risky though since the place is somewhat remote and there is no electricity in the area, but only time can tell, there’s no stopping an eager-beaver right?

Kapurpurawan Rock Formations

Natural Bonsai

We also had to go back to the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse since Abner & Jen were not able to go there on our way to Pagudpud. Too bad, Manong was not around at that time so they were not able to go to the Lens Room.

Cape Bojeador Lighthouse


More than 100 Years of Solitude

Blind Spot



Final Glance at Cape Bojeador Lighthouse



Sunset taken at the Bridge in Laoag City

Finally, we tried to roam around Vigan to look for some souvenirs, but since it was already getting late then, the establishments were already closing. Hence, we just had to settle for the Royal Bibingka at Sister’s and our other companions, at Marsha’s.

Old Spanish Heritage Houses



Calle Crisologo


Seems like yesterday

Though we have already visited quite a number of attractions in Ilocandia, there are still a lot of interesting places to explore. Surely we, the Guyz and Gals, enjoyed this one roadtrip that we all hope will happen again next summer. Dios ti Agngina, Ilocandia.