on day 1, we traveled 466 km by land to Ilocos Sur, Philippines

Sometime in early December last year, one of my cousins asked if I felt like traveling with them. I didn't really think so much about it, just saying "OK!" in a hurry, because it was finals week at school and I couldn't be bothered to wonder if I should really go. To be fair, I think I would really let myself into wherever anyone close to me drags me because that is just the way I am.

So fast forward to a few days, and my cousin said, "File around 3 days of leave from your work, OK? December 19 to 21." I was flabbergasted. What did that mean? Soon, I learned that the plan was to travel to a region in the northernmost part of the Philippines' Luzon island --- the Ilocos region. It was a trip that was, for the most part, financed by my aunt and her partner, who just came home from Dubai. Because I didn't have to worry so much about the financial aspect of the 3-day trip (that would soon become 4 days...), I was dragged from the comforts of my bedroom and into something... unforgettable.

and so on day 1, we traveled 466 km by land

I had my data and GPS on for the majority of the drive from home in Batangas. Because of that, Google managed to capture my travel history that, according to their data, took approximately 466 km and some 11.5 hrs of driving. Crazy.

I am not sure if the 11.5 hrs accounted for our stopovers. Regardless, that's still some crazy amount of time. We left at 2 AM from home, and the last leg of our trip that day ended in our B&B at nearly 9 PM. I tried my very best to capture moments, but cameras aren't really my thing. Still, I attempted to take a photo of the early morning sky overlooking a rice field while in the van.

If I remember correctly, the van's windows were heavily tinted. I felt like looking at the places we passed by in sepia. Because of that, I was treated to really great views of the sunrise and sunset that day. I didn't really have it in me to take good pictures, though! At this point in the above picture, I believe we were around Tarlac province, if not Nueva Ecija.

first actual stop, Manaoag Church

📍 Manaoag, Pangasinan

I didn't really have any idea what our itinerary for the day was. I was, quite literally, dragged around --- and I didn't really complain. It was a Sunday, December 18, and my Aunt T (the financer, LOL), who was pretty religious it seemed, thought it would be a great idea to drop by the well-known Manaoag /maˈnawaɡ/ Church first. Also known as the Minor Basilica of the Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag, the Church's murals depict some of the miracles that were attributed to the Our Lady of Manaoag.

Aunt T prayed that we have a safe and fun (would-be-) 4-day trip. Before we drove off from our home, she prayed that, too. She rubbed off on me that morning, and I prayed for that same thing, too. Needless to say, we were blessed (of course, not without random mishaps, but those were pretty much expected).

We had a quick breakfast, stuff my other aunts prepared the night before, in a nearby shed. But... our next stop in Ilocos Sur province this time was 4 hours away. Of course, everyone was bound to get hungry somewhere in between those 4 hours, with numbing butts, too!

📍 Bacnotan, La Union -> 📍 Santa Lucia, Ilocos Sur

To get to Ilocos Sur, our target destination of the day, we were bound to pass through the province of La Union first. It's a province that's pretty famous for its really nice coastal areas and surf-able seas, and really, we had half the mind to stop over some resort just to have sea-related fun. But we were running out of time and very famished at that point, so we eventually only had one thought in mind.

"Where are we supposed to eat?" We found so many eateries along the municipality of Bacnotan, but my Aunt T's partner and the other men in the trip were also hard to please in terms of food.

Going through interesting eateries, we ended up actually arriving in Ilocos Sur, 4 hours later. 😂 At this point, we were seriously getting nauseous from hunger. The snacks we had just couldn't cut it.

If you somehow end up along this area, we definitely would recommend Susan Eatery and Bulalohan. To be honest, I couldn't remember what he had. I do remember some pretty good bulalo, though!

We stayed just long enough to rest. Soon, we were on the road again!

i didn't know we were bound for a zoo: the Baluarte Resort and Mini Zoo

📍 Vigan, Ilocos Sur

I'm not exactly fond of zoos. Even as a child, I didn't think so much about them. Growing up, the appeal just thinned exponentially.

The animals, some of which are pretty exotic, got the attention of the kids we were traveling with (some were toddlers, by the way, and gosh I have comments about that that I'd like to keep to myself). I just felt bad about the animals, but that's just me. I don't really know how zoos operate so I couldn't really judge, but that day, I was so critical of things.

I was, however, in conflict with my morals later on when we entered a taxidermy museum. I was pretty amazed, but at the same time appalled.

There were so many animals in there that were supposedly hunted by the owner of the Baluarte Zoo. There were notes here and there, and pictures of these animals as they lay dead, though it seemed they were simply asleep. It was, truly, a conflicting experience.

eventually, it was getting dark. but wait -- Bantay Church Bell Tower

📍 Bantay, Ilocos Sur

The last stop of the day was in Bantay, Ilocos Sur, where a popular church bell tower was situated. It's the bell tower of one of the oldest Catholic churches in the Philippines, the Saint Augustine Parish Church.

When we got close to its proximity, we alighted our cars and started to walk... apparently in the wrong direction. A local had to run after us to tell us that we were going literally the opposite way of the entrance. It was getting dark, however, so I'd charge it to that. 😅

Unfortunately, we couldn't get near to the tower as it was -- we later learned -- closed off to the public after a huge earthquake rendered it hazardous due to falling debris. As we walked back to our cars, I took this picture of what was left of the tower.

I learned that our B&B for the day was nearby, and we eventually arrived there by 8 PM, not without dropping by the local wet market and buying ingredients for our dinner that night, and breakfast the next day.

running on adrenaline

Looking back, it seemed we survived day 1 -- 466 km and 11.5 hrs of driving -- purely on adrenaline alone. 😂 We sure wanted to make the most of that day, and hence, we did! I definitely wouldn't recommend that, though!

This isn't to undermine the charms of each of our stop overs, but I think the real winners of that day were the beautiful sceneries we had the pleasure to pass by on our way to our destinations. From the clear mor-night sky in Southern Luzon, to the wide expanse of rice and farm fields in the Central Luzon, to the beautiful coastal views and heritage infrastructure in Eastern Luzon... I was blown away.

speaking of blown away...

Day 2 blew me away... quite literally. 😅 I'll save that for another post on another time. Until then, have a great day!