Ilocos Road Trip Part 4

We arrived Laoag Ilocos Norte at around 4pm already. I immediately scouted for the famous Iloko Empanada. We found it, near the terminal stations, behind Phil. National Bank. It's a street food. Unlike our usual empanada, my description of the Ilocano Empanada is, "gawang-tamad pero masarap (done haphazardly but yummy)." Instead of the usual giniling, raisins, green peas wrapped thick sweet dough, with little curves on the sides. They made their empadanas, using thin flour (parang turon skin), they just slice one or two longganisas, and a whole egg. That's it. No nonsense. Eat it with suka. It's a cross between pritong lumpia and empanada.



We were debating whether to stay overnight in Laoag or to proceed to Pagudpud. After a few queries with the policemen, saying with hesitancy but yes, it's doable to go to Pagudpud at this hour. Give it 2-3 hours. Ted decided to go for it, which we would soon later look back with regret.

It was a looooooooong journey from Laoag to Pagudpud. It was so long that we felt that we were going to the ends of the earth. It was 4hours! Gone are the little sidetrips on quaint little towns. We only had a singular purpose, reach Pagudpud before sundown.

We didn't have google map yet at that time, so relied on good old map from the Shell station, which was helpful, except that maps don't really tell you how many kilometers it takes from one end to the other, or where you can have your tire fixed, just in case you get a flat, or where to eat the best local delicacy, or advise your driver/hubby, to slow down, and enjoy the sights.



It is you, the lovely lady beside the passenger seat, who had to worry about these little seemingly trivial things, but those are the stuff which memories are made of.



We made a quick stop at Burgos, where the lovely Cape Bojeador Lighthouse is located. It's romantic, because it's quite old, probably in the 50s, and you can see the beautiful sunset slowly disappearing in the horizon. We made perfect timing. It was a bit cold, we hugged. Feeling romantic. Hans and I wanted to go up the lighthouse, pwede naman. But it was already 6pm and we still have 2-3 towns to go before we would reach pagudpud!

It was about 8pm when we finally reached pagudpud. It's actually a town, a laid-back provincial barrio. It's not the beach itself. The famous beach in pagudpud is in Barangay Saud. We asked around, if anyone can point us for a place to stay near the beach. A tricycle driver guided us to the resort of Carol and Albert. It was peak season, so we didn't balk at the 3,500 for overnight charge. we had a 2bedroom, one toilet, and a small veranda. Besides, we were a group of four adults (me, ted, 2 yayas) and two kids (hans and ivan). We didn't see the beach at all because it was too dark.

We woke up the next day, and these view greeted us:





After breakfast, we immediately rush to the beach and play!



The beach is so beautiful, we had the whole stretch for ourselves! It's a great idea to go before the crowd comes rushing in. We went there the four days before the Holy Week. We usually time our vacations that way, so we're not competing for space or caught in traffic jams. a great, great idea!




There are times, that the waves in the beach can get a bit rough. care must be taken especially for non-swimmers, like me. Big waves can sneak up on you. The kids are a bit scared, but they love the sand!

We had the loveliest time in Ilocos. It's something that I want to do again, when the kids are older, or when we would have visitors from abroad. It's a lovely way to see a lot of places in just one trip. Highly recommended!