I ♥ Summer, I ♥ Ilocos: A Travel Diary (Part 2)

Disclaimer: Due to the number of tourists during our visit, there wasn’t a “proper” tour conducted thus the details for each place are insufficient. I had to conduct my own research regarding the places we visited so if there are any corrections on the information, please feel free to comment.     

Read Part 1 here.

I began our second day adventure in Ilocos at around 3 AM. Eight of us are sharing one room so I wanted to be the first one to use the bathroom since it takes one hour for me to take a bath. We were also waiting for the sunrise so waking up first is a must. Unfortunately, the sun showed up on the other side, so medyo epic fail. HAHA.  

Day 2—10 April 2015 (Friday).

We left the beach house at around 9:30 AM and went straight to Paraiso ni Anton. It is said that the water from the mountain has healing properties. The water is cool and refreshing, and the best part is, it is safe to drink.

We went to the Patapat Viaduct for some picture-taking before heading to our next destination.

The next destination is the Kabigan Falls. It took us a 30-minute walk from where we parked the van until we reach the falls. I really enjoy immersing myself with nature and having deep thoughts whenever I go to Mother Nature’s majestic wonders. However, I wasn’t able to reflect that much since there are a lot of people visiting the falls. Maingay kaya hindi ka makakapag muni-muni.

After another 30-minute walk from the falls, we finally went to Bantay Abot Cave. If the Sand Dunes is the highlight of my first day in Ilocos, I have to say that this is the highlight of my second day. Going to the cave itself is somehow buwis-buhay just like the Sand Dunes yesterday, but the view is soo much worth it.

The "lakas-maka-sexy-pose" HAHAHA~

We headed straight to the Bangui Windmills afterwards. Unlike yesterday, we didn’t stop by any fastfood chain for take-outs. We had our lunch at Amian Café, which I think was a very HUGE mistake. It was a very bad experience for us, and I don’t recommend this for travelers during the peak season. I don’t want to elaborate the reasons why as I don’t want to remember that experience or ruin my Bangui Windmills memories.

The infamous "igado"

I don’t really think April will be kind to me this year. Aside from my phone being stolen and heart being broken (charowt, HAHAHHAHAHAH), the lens of my camera malfunctioned so I wasn’t able to take pictures of the Kapurpurawan Rock Formations. Not sure if it’s because of too much heat or what. Oh well, here are some shots I grabbed from my friends’ cameras [please hover the mouse on the pics for the source, thanks!]. 

We were so behind the schedule so we just spent a couple of minutes at the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse.

After the Lighthouse, we finally went to Farm Side Hotel in Laoag to end our day. Actually, we were supposed to go to Vigan to see the Dancing Fountain that night. But since we arrived late, we didn’t push through with the plan. My other tour-mates decided to just roam around the city that night. I originally wanted to tag along but I felt like my energy was drained and somehow disappointed so I decided to give it a rest.

There are a lot of people at the cafeteria of the place so we decided to have a McDo delivery. And sure enough, the two-piece chicken meal is the perfect way to end this tiresome second-day.

Read Part 3 here.