From Vigan to Laoag

Community Highlights Asia From Vigan to Laoag

Today we left Vigan for Laoag in preparation for our flight back to Manila tomorrow and the end of this first part of our holiday here. The day didn’t start auspiciously as when we checked out and met up with Jezzy and Edwin outside the hotel they told us that the car wouldn’t start! Surprisingly to us, the battery had gone flat with one day of idleness! Fortunately there was a mechanic nearby. They told us the repair might take an hour, and we should wait in the hotel lobby but in fact it was sorted with fifteen minutes.

Badoc

The drive was punctuated with a succession of stops, some scheduled in our itinerary, others added by Jezzy who was keen to show us as much as possible. The first of these was in Badoc where we visited the church of John the Baptist. This seems to be less visited than others in the region as we had it to ourselves.

Jezzy told us that the statue of the Virgin Mary at the altar, La Virgen Milagrosa, was brought here by Japanese Catholics fleeing persecution in their own country in the 1600s. However, accounts online suggest that the statue was sent floating off into the sea by missionaries operating in secret in Japan, along with another statue of Christ known as the Black Nazarene. The statues were found by local fishermen in 1620 on the coast in Barangay Dadalaquiten, on the boundary between Sinait and Badoc. Only fishermen from Sinait were able to move the Black Nazarene, while only fishermen from Badoc were able to move La Virgen Milagrosa. They took the statues to their respective towns, where they became the patron saints.

We also visited a small museum in the town dedicated to two of its famous sons, brothers Juan and Antonio Luna. Antonio was a general and Juan an artist, and both participated in the struggle for Philippine independence in very different ways. Antonio led Filipino forces in battles against the United States after the Philippines had been ceded from Spain to the US in the Treaty of Paris. However he died at the hands of his own troops after disciplining an officer for insubordination. His older brother Juan, meanwhile, used his artistic talents to paint allegorical works with an underlying revolutionary political commentary. Several of these works are displayed in the museum, and Jezzy explained some of the allegorical meanings behind them.

Batac

In Batac we visited the Marcos museum, which tells the story of the infamous president / dictator’s life. He and his family are still popular in this region and the slant of the museum reflects this, celebrating his achievements and more or less ignoring his overthrow.

Paoay

Next on the list was Paoay church, dedicated to San Augustin. It was built at the start of the 18th century and is typical of the fortress churches of this region, with heavy buttresses to protect from earthquakes and a separate bell tower that doubled as a watchtower. The limestone from which it was built contains many fossils that show this area was once under the sea. Despite the buttresses it was partly damaged in earthquakes in 1865 and 1885 but later restored. While fairly simple inside there are a few lovely stained-glass windows.

We had a good lunch in a nearby restaurant, sampling poqui poqui (an aubergine and egg dish typical of this region) for the first time alongside some spring rolls. Then we continued to another of Jezzy's ‘bonus' stops, the Marcos summer residence built 1977 on the shores of Paoay Lake known as the Malacañang of the North. This was a beautiful house, with traditional design, lovely woodwork, capiz shell windows and a fresh breeze blowing through every room even on this really hot day.

The house was built by Philippine Tourism Authority for Marcos in 1977 to mark his 60th birthday. It has seven main rooms, as Marcos considered seven his lucky number. After his downfall it was handed over to the provincial government to serve as a museum.

Although we'd had a good lunch Jezzy was determined that we should try the empanadas at a nearby foodstall which she said were the best. Despite our insistence that we could share she bought us one each and I have to say it was delicious. In the Ilocos region they use papaya instead of the shredded cabbage more common elsewhere which maybe explains the juiciness of the filling.

Laoag

Arriving in Laoag we visited the Museo Ilocos Norte, housed in a former tobacco warehouse. It showcases the traditional way of life in this region. There was a very effective replica of a typical home with features that Jezzy recognised from her childhood, such as a bamboo floor for ventilation. I also liked the display of woven textiles showcasing the patterns traditional to each part of the region.

From there we walked (in searing heat!) past the Abolition of Tobacco Monopoly Monument and on to the famous sinking bell tower, one of the sights of the city. Unusually this stands a good eighty metres from the cathedral, and as the nickname suggests is sinking at a rate of several centimetres a year. Although there are no conclusive explanations of this, one generally accepted theory is that the tower is too heavy for the sandy land on which it was built. What was once the entrance now sits so low that it would be impassable even if entry were permitted, which it is not.

From here we continued to the cathedral, the Catedral de San Guillermo. This was built in 1612 by Augustinian friars to replace a wooden chapel. Today its façade is strikingly painted in white and gold owing to a 1970s renovation. It is relatively plain inside with a statue of St William above the altar. A few details caught my eye, such as the stained-glass panel depicting Our Lady of Guadelupe and a statue of Christ carrying the cross which, like other religious statues I’d observed in the county, had ‘real’ rather than carved hair.

Our last short stop was in Sarrat on the outskirts of Laoag where Jezzy was keen to show us the largest church in the Philippines, as she described it (Wikipedia however says merely ‘the biggest in Ilocos Norte and possibly in the Ilocos region’). It is dedicated to Santa Monica and was built in 1779 from red bricks in the style known as Earthquake Baroque. The interior is barn-like and unadorned, but the wooden ceiling is very striking. The long nave makes it a popular location for weddings, and President Marcos’s daughter Irene was married here in 1983.

From here we drove to our hotel for the night, the sprawling Fort Ilocandia. Our room was pleasant, with a double and a single bed.

In the evening we had our last dinner with Jezzy and Edwin in the hotel restaurant. While not the best meal we'd had on this trip (the meat in both adobo and soup was very fatty) we had a lovely evening chatting over a few beers. Chris made a little thank you speech and we gave them each a good tip – they had earned it!

This featured blog entry was written by ToonSarah from the blog Travel with me ....
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