It was like stepping back in time.
The sound of the horses hooves on the cobblestones hallways, the vintage windows reflecting light from the sunset, and hears the local chitchatting in their local dialect.
This is exactly how I described and defined the town if Vigan in Ilocos Sur as we, the BSHRTM students of St. Paul University Philippines together with some teachers of our beloved school, reached our final destination. A destination that makes me feel like it is still remained in a time capsule even though the rest of the world has already moved on.
It was February 22, 2014, past 4 in the morning when we reach Vigan City. Since it was a very long travel, we stayed at Metro Vigan Inn for us to rest and have a place to sleep for a night.
It comprises spacious and well-resourced 21 room accommodations to suffice our needs, each room are equipped with complete amenities ensuring a serene and cosy atmosphere of Vigan. And it is also connected with WI-FI for us to share and post in Facebook, Twitter or Instagram all our doings in our entire tour.
As we go to McDonald for us to eat our meal, i can't help but i think Vigan is lie a themed-city. I mean it seems like the whole city followed on a single theme being that of the Spanish bahay-na-bato house. even McDonald's was made to look like it.
The attraction in Vigan that I love the most is the Dancing Fountain show at Plaza Salcedo.
February 23, Sunday morning we got some kalesa ride, a horse drawn carriage, for 2 hours in order for us to explore and start the Vigan tour immediately.
Our first stop was the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity in Bantay, Ilocos Sur, one of the oldest church in the province that set against the blue sky and highlighted by the sun set an becomes an even more beautiful piece of cultural structure during the magic hour. As with the Spanish-colonial churches, it has a bell tower beside it..
Bantay Church & Belltower was only right outside the Vigan City arch, and when you come to see it you would wonder how it is possible that something so close to the city could be so entirely different. When you’re inside the compound, believe me, you can’t notice the busyness of the city you just left. It’s like the place plays an optical illusion on your eye, making you only see the beauty of the church and the bell tower.
The church & the belltower, though contrast in style, I think they complement each other in a way that saying goes “opposites attract”. They are like opposite styles but they attract tourists, you know ... opposites? ... attract? ... whatever! Never mind! :D:D
The Bell Tower in all its glory. The view from top of the bell tower is quite nice.
Here is our “been there” shot
As we continue riding in a kalesa, we went straight to Calle Crisologo, which for me I called The time machine street because as we step into it, it is like that we are entering the 16th century Spanish colonial period in the Philippines. To add to this nostalgia is the sound of horse-drawn kalesa as they traverse the historic street since they’re the only mode of transportation allowed along that stretch.
Walking in the stretch of Calle Crisologo, I end up with a shopping basket filled with T-shirts, local trinkets and Vigan’s famous snack – Candon Kalamay, chicharon and Vantay Bibingka for my pasalubong.
By the way don’t forget to pass through Calle Crisologo in the evening as it transforms into a total different personality, yellow subdued lights make it even more magical.
And for the most exciting part or should I say the finale of our Vigan tour, no other than the 4x4 ride adventure at Paoay Sand Dune.
Obviously, this was my favourite part of our entire Ilocos adventure. Others may not consider this as their favourite but I doubt if they didn’t even enjoy a bit of the experience. It was an entirely different experience I ever had. It’s not every day that you’d given a chance to ride in this type of 4x4 vehicle with those sand and in uneven surface where the vehicle would climb an extremely high dune and in a second it goes down again, all in high speed. It is really an extremely thrilling ride and actually it’s like riding in an actual roller coaster. I cannot describe enough what was exactly I felt with this 4x4 experience but I think it is closely like WOOOAAHHHH! and WAAAAAHHHH!! After we had the adrenaline rush voyage experience in 4x4 Adventure, we went down to the beach shores along the sand dunes where it is a perfect way to end a beautiful and exhilarating adventure.
In every journey there is always a melancholic portion in which I need to say good bye in the lovely, vibrant and quiant town of Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte. And the only thing I have are the things which I call My Treasures.
I will end up my reflection with a saying,
“Take nothing but pictures.
Leave nothing but foot prints.
Kill nothing but time”
I am a firm beilever of the above-mentioned saying and it is something I always remind myself of when I visit a place. The saying also captures the very essence of respect that travellers should practice to leave a place in the same form as it is when we arrived.
Upon my journey, the only souvenirs I take from my travel are pictures and my memories. Pictures of memories that no one can steal it from me. The reason why I treasure and cherish my photos a lot is because I just don’t take pictures for the sake of being able to say I have been to a place. To me, they are the compilation of a memory and a reminder of what it mean to be in that place.
I hope someday i can visit Vigan again :):):):)
