Day two of Ilocandia Tour (Pagudpud)

12th Mar 01:00pm

It was a toxic afternoon for us. We had to check out of the hotel and 2 had to accompany and pay the bus driver. We agreed to meet at the bus terminal for Pagudpud. Somehow, Joyce didn't quite get our point and chose to stay at McDonalds’. As we hooped on the bus and waited awhile, the bus was already ready to leave. Joyce and Areem had to catch the next bus and meet up with us at the villa. It was almost two hours till we reached Pagudpud but was worth it as we were treated to a lot of scenic spots along the way. It's nice to see people going about with their daily lives and I got to witness this along the trip north.

Some of the photos taken along the way to Pagudpud

It was quarter past four in the afternoon when we reached Pagudpud. It was a good thing that Joyce's bus was fast as they arrived almost the same time as us. We were already starving that we went inside the first restaurant we saw and ordered a late sumptuous lunch. We tried “bagnet”, which was a local version of “lechon kawali”. There was the “dinengdeng” which was we also have back home in Bacolod and known as “laswa”.

Late lunch @ Apo Idon’s restaurant / Our beachfront cottage

Stepping onto the sand at Villa del Mar, Saud beach was like entering a whole new world. The beach was dotted with numerous villas and resorts. The atmosphere was serene as there was no noise from nearby bars like the ones we see on the beaches of Boracay. There were also a handful of vacationers walking along the shore and together with the setting sun on the horizon, made it a wonderful sight to behold. We scurried to check in into our villa, dropped off our bags and took it a moment to click away the nice background of the sun. The water turned out to be very deep and the monsoon winds created big waves which made it quite dangerous to venture out farther to sea. Now with the sunset as background, we again took our practice "pre-nup" photos. We were fortunate that the sun has already set and the reddish hue of the sky made for a great shot. I wish I had an SLR camera so we could capture the crisp colors. Well we got to make do with the compact cams we got.

d'beach / sunset / footprints in the sand

As we got back to the cottage, the guys had already prepped the fish and chicken for grilling. It's so nice going to the province since the prices of the seafood’s aren't so astronomical like in the Metro. You can always haggle for a good bargain. Just don’t be too flashy and overdressed as the vendor might tend to overcharge you.

The night is reserved solely for relaxing. We had to recharge as we had already been travelling the whole day. It was time for some good old liquor to calm the senses and savor the cool atmosphere of the north. The ambiance called for a game of billiard. As the game got exciting, the girls tried their luck and slugged it out with the boys.

As the morning broke on the 13th, I was surprised that all was awake early. I guess they are as excited as me to have another fun filled day. Like clockwork, everyone made breakfast and readied for a whole day tour of Pagudpud. The following snapshots are testaments of how wonderful that trip was.

FB time....waaahhhh..so early

all set for the tour

Maira ira beach

Dos Hermanos

At Bantay Abot

Patapat Viaduct

Kabigan Falls

Cape Bojeador Lighthouse

Kapurpurawan

Bangui Windmills

Tired and exhausted, we went back to our cottage. But even though we were so drained with the whole day tour, I’m surprised the girls are still so hyper and giggly just remembering the whole day’s affair. There will always be bloopers that make the journey worthwhile. I never expected that this place held so many astounding sights that I think a day is not enough to really savor its beauty. While the girls took turns showering, the boys got down to business and cooked the fish and lobsters we bought on our way back to the cottage. Manning the stove was Han2x, our Canadian chef, and Areem. The villas staffs were so accommodating and helpful that they never fail to check on us if we needed anything. We had dinner on the beachfront and chatted as we remembered the scenes we saw earlier during the day.

Back on the cottage, it was already late and still the room was still bustling with the chatting girls. I was curious what was going on inside and found out that they were laughing at the photos we took earlier during the day. After much giggling, the room became quiet as one by one we succumbed to exhaustion with the gentle lull of Pagudpud breeze as our music. Tomorrow will be no less exciting as we will travel further south to the idyllic towns of Vigan.