We headed northwards to the coastal town of Pagudpud. Golden beaches fringed with palm trees, verdant cliffs, an amazing viaduct and a beach front hotel with indoor & outdoor pools.
But, then the rain came!
We were staying for one night and what had promised to be a glorious day of lounging, swimming and strolling turned into as much fun as a rainy day in Clacton.
No worries, at least our hotel had an indoor pool. Wrong! It was out of service. The Nest Beach Resort turned out to be a huge disappointment. No hot water, no WI-FI, inefficient staff, bland, boring food and charges for any extras such as playing a board game.
At least the rain eased for a couple of hours allowing for a wander around the resort. It would indeed have been lovely on a sunny day.
We left after breakfast next day. The sun was starting to make an appearance as we departed. What might have been….
We were heading for the Spanish colonial town of Vigan but we had a few stops planned on the way. First up was the USS Stingray memorial.
The USS Stingray submarine surfaced off the Maira-ira Point in Pagudpud town on August 27, 1944, and unloaded 15 tons of weapons and supplies for the Ilocano guerrillas who fought the Japanese with the help of American forces, a key moment in the liberation of the islands.
Our driver had trouble finding its location down some unmarked dirt roads. We finally found it just a few metres from the sea.
We then carried on along the coast to the Bangui Windmills, huge 70 metre high electricity generating turbines placed on a long stretch of sandy beach.
Boy was it windy, so photos were restricted to phone shots to avoid sand getting into the camera lens.
Just as we set off again we made an impromptu stop to photograph a wallowing water buffalo (or caribou as the Filipinos name them).
Next up Laoag city for a quick stop famous for its sinking bell tower, which sinks into the ground at a rate of an inch a year.
Our last stop before Vigan was Paoay, home of the impressive World Heritage Roman Catholic church.
Completed in 1710 after 2 decades of construction, it has a massive pediment and complementary bell tower standing imposingly on an expansive plain. The church is famous for an architecture that blends baroque, gothic, Chinese, and Javanese.
Coming next – more World Heritage in Vigan
